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Interior design has a huge impact on the environment as products and materials to be used affects its sustainability. Therefore, interior designers should approach this by incorporating sustainability principles in their designs, hence attracting more clients. As a result, people can enjoy and connect with their encircling spaces ecologically. Moreover, the interior design accommodates amazing alternatives to produce sustainability by the use of regular materials.
5 Principles of Sustainable Interior Design
Biophilic and Natural Design –
On this aspect, we have to on look at interior design’s beneficial effects in our lives. With the different approaches of natural materials and elements in an interior, our various perspectives and aspects of life improve. This consists of mental health and physical well-being.
Mental health is positively affected when nature involving plants and water are applied in living/working spaces or accommodations. This connection is helpful for people to lower blood pressure, release stress and improve focus and performance when working or studying. This can be innovated by the usage of a wide variety of pots and plants to create beautiful biophilic designs.
For physical well-being, it’s concerned with the usage of explicit natural resources. Hence, limiting the use of volatile particles from the materials used through the lack of chemicals. This highly promotes the use of acoustic and antibacterial materials in interior design.
Design for Flexibility and Longevity –
To sustain an interior design, the longevity of any material to be used should be greatly considered. This will prevent products and materials from getting discarded too often. Therefore, the best approach to this is designing timeless and durable spaces and restrain the wish to reorganize the entire design after a while.
However, people tend to grow and change all the time hence want their surrounding spaces to be part of their growth. They then reflect those changes by relying on their interior designers to come up with adaptable ideas fitting their changing needs. Creating flexible spaces is among the keys to longevity as replacing or adapting is easier rather than renovating or demolishing the individual details of a room in its entirety.
Design for Waste Minimization –
Interior designers have a big responsibility of acting sustainably. They play a major role when it’s about waste minimization. Therefore, with the limited resources, the mindset of discarding products immediately after they are outdated and replacing them with currently trendy is not any more justifiable. Luckily, the sector of design is turning out increasingly conscious of the necessity for sustainable thinking. Therefore, it is undergoing a developing interest in sustainable trends such as repurposing, recycling, and upcycling. These processes give rise to a new life of outdated materials instead of them being discarded.
Additionally, synthetic materials can also be the best option in reducing the exhaustion of natural resources. Interior designers will greatly promote the conservation of the environment by opting to use the renewed or recycled wastes to create and develop amazing ideas. As a result, wastes become raw materials for new products thus eliminating a lot of wastes.
Design for Energy Saving –
Energy consumption highly contributes to climate change. Therefore, interior designers have come up with great ways that promote energy efficiency. They have a great influence on lighting and heating, two critical factors affecting the climate. To achieve this, the use of the right lighting and the implementation of artificial lighting are the best solutions. Rooms with darker walls need more light hence lighter colours will reflect appropriately. Besides, reflective surfaces bounce lights around thus increasing the quantity of light in the room.
Also, on how to manage the temperature of the building, the windows should provide good insulation and be of high quality. Drapes, curtains, and window coverings; shades, and blinds are the best choices when managing the building’s temperature. They can be opened and shut when needed. Furthermore, installing home automation remotely controls lighting and heating systems.
Creation of a Healthy Environment –
Interior design is associated with a lot of materials and some of them might not be linked to pollution but can be toxic. To establish a healthy environment, many factors are considered.
Clean air, good lighting, efficient heating, and good acoustics are the main factors. With many people spending time indoors: at schools, in offices, and at home, these factors should be leading in the priority list of any interior designer.
Designers should implement the use of benefiting quality products when decorating either a house or an office. Equipment or furniture used should be of materials with moderate emissions of pollutants. Other products such as carpets can also be used as they trap dust particles hence act as an air filter, therefore, promoting an environment free of germs from the dust particles. What makes for a healthy environment depends on the setting. For example, mental health facilities may require Knightsbridge Furniture to establish a safe and welcoming environment.
Final Thoughts
Interior designers have a huge responsibility to create amazing things out of the locations we live in. Hence, they must be guided by sustainable design principles to provide a decent and convenient environment. As much as they are dealing with the commercial sector, a healthy environment should be valued.
Author Bio: This article was written by Martin Desmond of Wizer Energy. Martin and his team provide comprehensive Domestic and Commercial PV Systems installation services across Ireland.
