Rooms that are decorated with a bit of love and care for the planet feel all the more welcoming to live in. If you’re about to redecorate, consider a few simple switches that will make your project more sustainable and give your room the sort of feel-good factor that only comes with ethical, sustainable design and a wish to do good.
Walls.
Sustainable wall paint has been the real game-changer in terms of eco interiors in the last few years. No longer a compromise between colour and your conscience, now you can have beautiful, saturated colours in any finish you like.
At YesColours we believe in leaving the world a little better than we found it so our paints have no added VOCs, NPEs or APEs. The packaging is fully recyclable (no more trips to the tip with tins) and uses fewer fossil fuels, less water and generates fewer greenhouse gases than traditional packaging. Read more about our sustainability promises and how our eco-friendly paint pouches work.
Wallpaper is another area where your choices can make a real difference. Look for papers that are labelled ‘FSC-certified’ so you know the wood fibres come from a sustainable source and go for papers marked ‘low VOC’ - these tend to use water-based rather than solvent inks.
Our Loving Neutral paint colour, as well as our entire YesColours paint colour palette, will help improve your wellbeing... and the state of our planet too. No more rusty tins stuck in landfills; our packaging is here to change the home decor game. For real.
Floors.
For hard floors, think about cork, which is one of the most sustainable materials you can use, being recyclable, renewable and biodegradable. Is there anything cork isn’t amazing at about? Nope. Cork also has thermal properties that will keep your heating bills down. It’s a total interiors hero. If you’re looking at wood, go for reclaimed wood if possible as the most eco-friendly option. It’s also a lovely way to bring character to a room, with flooring that might once have graced the floors of cinemas, schools or churches.
For rugs and carpets, materials such as jute, sisal and seagrass are all sustainable options. There are even soft, textural rugs made from recycled plastic these days such as those from Weaver Green.
Furniture.
The simplest way to shop sustainably for furniture is to extend the life of pieces as much as possible. That might mean upcycling things you already own or find in second-hand shops, or spending a little more to buy investment pieces that will last a lifetime, rather than a few short years. It also means buying pieces you really love, rather than being driven by trends, and looking for furniture that will ‘translate’ to fit in with a new scheme when you give a room a new coat of paint, so you don’t start from scratch each time.
If you’re buying new, look for FSC-certified timber and sustainable materials such as bamboo and hemp. And take time to hunt down furniture companies whose green credentials really stand up to scrutiny. We are currently coveting a sustainable, Derbyshire-built sofa from Habbio. Kind to the planet and comfy on our bottoms. What more could you want?
Soft furnishings.
Organic cotton, wool and recycled fabrics are what you want. We love the range of sustainable and recycled fabrics all milled in the UK from Stitched. You can also up the eco factor by adding thermal linings to keep heat in during winter and out during summer, cutting down on your fuel usage - and your bills. Everyone wins.
Have a look at our friends from Haines Collection too - a pioneering platform for the resale of fabric offcuts that would otherwise most likely be headed to landfill. The Haines Collection enables interior businesses to make small but positive changes to help reduce the negative impact that they have on the planet. Again, win-win.
Lighting.
The most sustainable form of lighting is good old daylight, so if you’re doing structural work at any point, try and allow for as much natural light flooding in as possible. Curtains and blinds that pull right back make a huge difference, too. In terms of actual lighting, however, go for LED bulbs which last much longer than traditional light bulbs - Plumen designs very cool, shaped bulbs for those who don’t want to hide their light under a bushel. But if you are looking for a shade, go for natural materials again - bamboo, jute, organic cotton and the like. Nkuku has an enormous range of sustainable options to light up all your dark corners.
For our shoots we often partner with the amazing folks at House Of - the climate-friendly lighting company that offers stylish, super cool AND carbon neutral design-led lighting products, designed and engineered in the UK. Our favourite is the XOU table lamp designed by another favourite sustainable interior start-up of ours - Volume Creative.
And, in case you're craving some bold colours even when it comes to your lighting choices, take a look at our friends at What The Mood and their colourful, contemporary and sustainable lighting designs.
Our YesColours Calming Peach paint colour and House Of's clear glass dome ceiling light are definitely a match made in heaven.
Accessories.
When you’re adding the final details to your sustainable new scheme, keep your eyes peeled for sustainable storage such as upcycled glass jars or storage and organisation solutions made from 100% recycled plastic.
Then breathe a bit of vitality into your rooms with lots of houseplants. Not only do they help improve your wellbeing, but they’re good for the environment, too, helping to increase oxygen levels and reduce VOCs. Beards & Daisies delivers mood-boosting plants to your door and has a special range of air-purifying tiny triffids to bring life to your home.
We hope these home decor tips have inspired you to create a sustainable and planet-friendly home, or at least be mindful when picking your home decor and interior choices in the future.. And in case you need some help with choosing the right paint colour for your space, feel free to book a colour consultation with us and we’ll sort your colour puzzle in no time. Free option is available too!
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