Sustainable Interior Design: Eco-friendly Materials and Practices

In today’s rapidly evolving landscape and the planet barrelling towards several climatic hazards, the importance of sustainable practices has increased even more. This applies to the realm of interior design as well. Creating environmentally responsible spaces through interior design advances the cause of sustainable development further. Many interior designers in Whitefield advocate incorporating sustainable and eco-friendly materials into the home design process.

In this blog, we have mentioned a few ways in which, as a new homeowner, you can use eco-friendly materials in your home design to practice sustainability.

What is Sustainability in Home Design?

Before we delve into ways of using eco-friendly materials, let’s explore the meaning and importance of sustainable practices in home interior design. Ensuring sustainability in home design means using ecological materials with a low carbon footprint to build your home, especially materials that are:

Now that we have a clear idea of what goes into creating a sustainable interior design, let’s look at ways to implement it in our homes.

Different Materials to Use for a Sustainable Design

There are more than a few eco-friendly options that you can go for when choosing the materials for your home design. They include materials such as bamboo, polished plaster, natural stone, terrazzo, rattan, glass, recycled aluminium, and recycled wood. Let’s look at the properties of these materials in some detail.

Bamboo

Bamboo is an efficient, eco-friendly material. Being a kind of grass, it grows really fast, which makes it a quickly renewable resource. It takes much less energy to produce than wood. It is a beautiful material that can serve as an excellent alternative for creating hardwood floors. It is also a very strong and flexible material that can be used structurally in the form of walls, floors, window treatments, or statement pieces of interior decoration.

Polished Plaster

Generally ideal for larger spaces, polished plaster is a great replacement for tiles as well as concrete walls. Since it is naturally made, it has much less environmental impact than concrete and also has a smooth finish and soft feel. It is a non-allergenic & non-toxic material that contains no VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), which are known to cause adverse effects on health. This quality of polished plaster makes it a great replacement for paint as well. There are many kinds of polished plaster, among which clay plaster, micro cement, and limewash are some of the most popular.

Natural Stone

Natural stones are highly recyclable and long-lasting in nature. They can be locally sourced & used for multiple purposes. Due to their various shapes and colours, they can be used for bench tops, wall cladding and fire mantles. Incorporating natural stones in your home design can give your place a rustic look as well as a calm and inviting aura.

Terrazzo

Terrazzo has gained quite a huge popularity among both homebuyers and interior designers because, just like natural stones, it is also very versatile and produces less waste. It can be used for various purposes in home interior design, such as flooring, kitchen countertops and backsplashes. Moreover, Terrazzo also provides a smooth finish and polished look, is highly customisable, and allows you to choose from a variety of design options.

Rattan

Much like bamboo, rattan grows quickly and requires less energy to be produced. It doesn’t require too much treatment or processing like engineered wood. Moreover, it is naturally made, lightweight, and biodegradable, which makes it easy to recycle. Furthermore, it is relatively flexible, so you can use it for furniture, wall cladding, or screening. Rattan is most commonly used in living room design; however, you can also use it in home office spaces.

Glass

Glass has been used as a decorative element to create the most beautiful and charming spaces for ages. You can feel its significance in modern interior design as well, whether it is in the form of glass railing design for balconies, glass windows, or glass door designs. Additionally, glass is highly recyclable, versatile and effortlessly classy, so you can also use it for highly customised decorative purposes. Some of the common patterns that you can go for include frosted, etched, laminated, or tinted glass designs.

Reclaimed Woods

By using reclaimed wood for your home interior design, you can reduce your carbon footprint significantly. Reclaimed wood can add to the aesthetics of your room while also being used to practice sustainability in many ways. To begin with, you can utilize outdated wood by using it in your flooring, decorative items to display in your living room, or a support beam.

Parting Thoughts

There are multiple benefits of using eco-friendly and sustainable materials, including improved air quality, less carbon footprint, an ethical high ground, and satisfaction about doing your part for the greater good. We at Asense Interiors also support this cause. Our team of in-house interior designers in Whitefield are determined to provide you with not only visually appealing but also highly customisable and environmentally responsible interior designs to choose from. Hurry up and book a consultation today!