Sustainable Interior Design

Is Sustainable Design achievable? There are so many designers out there creating spaces which are not only just beautiful but also sustainable and regenerative. We speak with Chloe Bullock, a renowned interior designer; through her company Materialise Interiors she helps clients who want a more consciously sourced and specified interior with sustainability and human-centred design at its heart. She is a founding signatory of “Interior Design Declares” which is a body that exists for people working in the interior design industry and its supply chains to strengthen working practices and the design of spaces that have a more positive impact on the world around us.

Chloe’s early career included 10 years working with Anita Roddick at the body shop during which time she developed the strong commitment to ethical business and sustainable design that drives the work of Materialise Interiors. Her designs focus on compassionate design, the use of healthy materials, ease of repair and the use of regenerative design principles.

We talk about many things, including her NEW BOOK Sustainable Interior Design. Listening to her speak, it’s clear why she is a popular panellist/commentator and regularly has articles in the press. In this insightful podcast Chloe explains how her principles drive her work and how important Biophilic Design is to her.

From her early days with the Body Shop and through the period of its early success, she saw how exciting it was to learn about transparency, material health and sustainability as she it became a global brand.

Experience she cites as being invaluable in defining her interior design career.

There are so many amazing projects she showcased in the book, that our conversation explores many aspects of healthy buildings, sustainability, as well, of course, as Biophilic Design principles.

Expressing her feelings on Biophilic Design and sustainability in particular, Chloe explains that it is important to her because the more she has become vocal about it and incorporated it into her work, the more her mental health has improved. She says “I feel better for it, and I feel better for sharing learnings on it and not keeping it to myself”

As a designer, Chloe felt “lit up” when she started studying the Well Building Standard and explains how she believes designers have an amazing opportunity to have an impact by listening to nature and responding to nature in a way that improves the planet and how humans live within it. Her heartfelt passion comes through clearly in her words.

Talking of the Living Building Challenge, Chloe talks extensively about the Burwood Brick Works in Melbourne, Australia and how the breadth of consideration of Biophilic Design principles has impressed her. From a full sensory experience to restrictions on the use of harmful chemicals by tenants in the building, the living roof and the regenerative design she included it as an example in her book to demonstrate how such a wholistic approach can have a positive impact on the human experience.

Chloe talks of the many aspects of her own approach and her passion for Biophilic Design and sums up her motivation for incorporating them in her work as:

“I don’t want misery in my clients’ spaces. I don’t want it in my own space. I know that when I walk past things they can make me feel good or bad. I don’t want that [feeling bad] for my clients, even if they know about it or not. I want to know as much as possible about the people in our supply chains as well. So I just want to make as light an impact as possible”

In this summary, it is hard to capture such a wide-ranging discussion of the benefits of Biophilic Design and how passionate and advocate Chloe is. All we can do is recommend that you listen to the podcast and enjoy Chloe’s passion.

To find out more about Chloe visit: https://www.materialiseinteriors.com

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Credits: with thanks to George Harvey Audio Production for the calming biophilic soundscape that backs all our podcasts.
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