Earth-friendly design

Having endangered the world around us we are inviting it into the home where it can be honoured and preserved. Jane Drew reports.

A knee-jerk reaction to our growing environmental awareness might be to assume that we are using natural materials as little as possible in furnishing our homes, laying laminate (or plain concrete) floors instead of wood or stone, and choosing metal or plastic for our furnishings. In fact the opposite is true - raw nature has never seemed more alluring.

The current trend sees wood and stone surfaces revealed in their natural glory, without carving or ornamentation. Stone adds weight and a sense of permanence, and it runs the gamut from ripple-textured riven slate to shiny marble and cool and contemporary limestone or granite. Wood for wall panelling or floors is equally versatile and, unbeatably tough and resilient. It also improves with age.

Join the environmental advocates and you will opt to decorate only with materials that have been grown under carefully managed conditions or utilised as a by-product of the meat industry. Eco-friendly hemp, organic cotton and natural latex are newly cool for upholstery; hides of all types are chic, while clearly fur is not.

Faux materials, no matter how touchy-feely, are also out, not least because the quality simply isn’t there. A way to replicate the exact feel of mohair or pashmina has yet to be discovered and while no two sheepskins are the same, a batch of machine-made sheepskin rugs will all be prosaically identical. For natural-and-neutral devotees, pure wool for carpeting and upholstery fabrics remains the most popular despite synthetic competition.

Furniture in a natural and neutral scheme is likewise comfortable, functional and fuss free. Just about any restrained and original wood-based item fits the bill. The most interesting schemes see period pieces coexisting with modern designs created in the same spirit.

At the core of any eco-friendly decor is the principle of recycling, something that comes naturally to those who have always loved antiques.

This type of approach also helps you avoid the worst excesses of fashion: robust looking rooms have the appearance of evolving over time; the effect is one of both solidity and elegance. The mood is smart-casual rather than studied or self-consciously coordinated.

The idea is to create a calming refuge in which to take time out, and regardless of whether a scheme exhibits a Japanese slant or not, it’s all very Zen. Materials are natural and colours neutral to induce a restful even meditative effect.

Environmentally aware homes, represent the ultimate in understatement; they are cool, calm and collected without being bland or sterile. The white-on-white schemes that have been all the rage for so long can be exhausting - a neutral and natural toned decor is so much more liveable.

Moving through milk-whites, warm sands and wood tones and incorporating here and there a subterranean flash of black, silver or gold, the palette is also easily as sophisticated. Applied tone on tone or in contrasting layers, beige has a hundred and one subtle nuances - it’s far from basic.

Calming to the eye, the natural-and-neutral scheme relies on a kaleidoscopic range of textures for effect. Schemes are all about touch: the way it feels when you run your hand along the backbone of a leather sofa or hold a suede pillow against your cheek. It’s a sensual attraction, as well as an Earth-friendly one.

Return to the green living homepage for more articles on eco-friendly construction, renovation, landscaping and decorating. Search too for the latest on green celebrities, fashion and travel destinations.