If you’re full of decorating ideas and have a project in progress or are about to start, you may be wondering how you can incorporate eco-friendly decor into your project to reduce waste.
Of course, green home improvements can come in everything from sourcing sustainable fabrics to investing in green heating, but one of the simplest green steps to take is to use and repurpose unused decorative materials, which often require the form of clippings.
‘We have to start changing the way we use materials. We need to stop thinking we have infinite resources when they are gone. We should all be trying to minimize the amount of cutting we’re doing, because every time we create another smaller piece, we’re effectively minimizing its potential reuse,” says interior designer Maria Speake.
Below, we show you some of Maria’s and ours’ favorite ways to use decorative materials that would otherwise go to waste.
Maria Speake, together with Adam Hills, founded Retrouvius in 1993, the UK’s destination salvage company. Maria creates incredible interiors for design studio Retrouvius, who respectfully transform repurposed materials into distinctive, contemporary properties ranging from contemporary penthouses to a medieval priory.
1. Rethink where to use the stone
(Image credit: Margaret Austin)
If you are on the lookout for sustainable kitchen ideas, you can simply cut down on the stone waste created to create holders for your kitchen countertop ideas and replace it with a more renewable source or simply do without it completely.
“Practical joints — for example, the little backsplashes you have in your kitchen to hide the seam between the countertop and the wall — require small pieces of materials, often some wood or stone,” says Maria. “My favorites to use are architraves, baseboards, and kitchen backsplashes.” Or you can manage to set aside small scraps of stone or marble to make one of those little shelves next to the stovetop where you can store olive oil or salt.’
2. Use leftover paint smartly
(Image credit: Suzy Hoodless)
“Using eco-first paints is your most earth-friendly approach to tackling the paint ideas you’ve lined up for your decorating projects.” But there is always a paint residue, which often goes to waste, and waste is waste,” says Editor-in-Chief Lucy Searle, Houses and gardens.
“One way to use it is to paint it in another room in just one area to create a flash of color that is both eye-catching and impactful.” And if you have a whole-house color scheme or a strand of color running through the house, you can do that without a problem.’
Interior designer Suzy Hoodless (opens in a new tab) shows how it is done in his living room with the door trim in bright citric yellow.
3. Make imaginative use of the remaining tiles
(Image credit: Future)
When tiling, we are always told to order extra to account for breakages. But what to do with the extras you can’t always return or the broken tiles? There are plenty of clever options, from the scales treatment above to Maria’s favorite option:
“Leftover tile or tile clippings can easily be inserted into the joinery pieces—an easy way to lighten up a very boring cabinet door.” They can be slightly recessed or milled into wood or plaster. You can also do the same with pieces of mirror or stone, or contrasting woods,” he says.
4. Reuse unused wood flooring or siding
(Image credit: Retrouvius)
Laying wooden floors? You’ll inevitably have leftover lumber, which can be used in clever ways, from making new furniture to siding or flooring small spaces that don’t require a lot of wood.
‘One of the fun things we did with leftover parquet was cut it thin enough to use it as an almost lightweight inlay. We make decorative parquet panels to be used as inserts and the resulting geometric effect is very interesting to observe,’ says Maria.
5. Use leftover wallpaper
(Image credit: Lucy Cunningham)
Your wallpaper ideas are unlikely to be inexpensive and it’s awful to see paper go to waste. So ask yourself, can you use scraps or the odd roll or half roll left over elsewhere in the house?
‘It’s amazing how little you need to make a big impact. Wallpapers are a pretty obvious choice, but you can have a lot of fun using them to line the backs of bookcases or drawers.’
6. Reuse fabrics – new or old
(Image credit: Future / Polly Wreford / Sally Denning)
If you’re replacing old curtains that you love, but maybe one got damaged or they’re worn or faded in places, could you repurpose them elsewhere? Or maybe you’re looking to shop for your home sustainably by buying pre-loved fabrics that someone else has discarded?
Either way, there are plenty of ways to avoid buying new ones when you can rethink, from creating new bed head ideas to adding a skirt to an open vanity shelf to simply making bowl covers.
What’s the easiest thing to upcycle?
The easiest household item to recycle is the simple glass jar. Mason jar crafts are a good source of inspiration for ways mason jars can be repurposed. Think: rustic flower pots to create and DIY material containers.
