Meet the interior designers who take pride in their green houses
Amanda Hilton Sawyer, founder of Irish Girl in Brooklyn. Picture: Don Moloney
Lifestyle and interior designer Amanda Hilton Sawyer is founder of Irish Girl in Brooklyn. She lived in the US for 25 years and moved back to her native Limerick two years ago – she wants to bring “that Brooklyn look” here.
*What have you done to make your home more eco-friendly?
“I have a Victorian house in the city – that it’s 100 years old is of itself an environmental choice. The walls are two feet thick. When we were putting in a window, the builder said thick walls were that era’s insulation – they didn’t allow damp to penetrate.
“Everything I do is sustainable – I have expensive taste so, if I buy anything, it’s for life. I believe ‘sustainable’ should include workers’ rights and fair trade. When I lived in America, I bought from union factories [where workers have a union]. If you buy something cheap and the materials are sustainable but it was produced in a factory where labour’s underpaid or conditions are sub-par that’s not acceptable. For me, coming from a working-class background, that’s a deeply-instilled belief.
“I have an aversion to anything disposable. If I get tired of it I change its use, repurpose it or send it to auction. Most of my choices are based on that philosophy. I’ve had old linen curtains repurposed into roman blinds for most of the house.
All my furniture’s old.
“I only ever use low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paint. My wallpaper isn’t vinyl-coated. All my sheets are organic fair-trade linen, which wash so well and become better with time – well worth the upfront investment. My cutlery’s old silver-plate, available at every flea market in the world – cheap and fabulous. I also collect and use old mason ironstone white plates – they have a great look.” *What’s the most do-able eco-friendly home decor idea you've come across?
“I love the [current] dried flower trend. Many florists are trying to do only local flowers now because the flower business can be so toxic – roses in supermarkets are usually from Africa, where they’re grown with lots of pesticides. But at certain times of year, there aren’t many local flowers, so there’s a trend towards using dried flower arrangements. An over-the-top arrangement looks amazing on mantle, sideboard or dining table. You can have fun foraging for branches and twigs, as well as drying your own flowers, e.g. hydrangeas. And at the holidays dress it up to be festive, or add fresh flowers in spring.”
*What sustainability-conscious household habits do you routinely practice at home?
“I use eco cleaning products. I buy veg at farmers’ markets to avoid plastic packaging. We walk 90% of the time – that’s why it was important for me to live in town. It’s how we lived in Brooklyn and I didn’t want to give that up. I’m not getting in a car to buy a pint of milk!”
An interior designer for 25 years, Gwen Kenny is founder of Dublin-based Divine Design. She lives in South Dublin.
*What have you done to make your home more eco-friendly?
“It was a two-storey, three-bed house. Then we did an attic conversion and two extensions. We insulated all exterior walls and the roof space to reduce heating costs.
“We also changed the heating system. It’s much more economical. It’s a zoned system – you can have just the upstairs heating on or the downstairs. It’s operated by thermostat – once it hits the temperature you’ve set, it turns off. We have thermostatically-controlled radiator valves so you can set the temperature you want in each room.
“We added a stove in the back extension, where we mostly live. It’s a wood-burning stove – of course, there aren’t endless supplies of wood – but it’s more efficient than a coal fire. All our light-bulbs are energy-efficient.” *What's the most do-able eco-friendly home decor idea you've come across?
“I bought an amazing sideboard and mirror in an auction house – a huge, fabulously-carved Jacobean piece. It was heavy, dark brown and nobody wanted it. I got it for €300, I painted it and then everybody wanted it! Nobody could see it out of its ugly duckling phase – my husband said ‘what did you buy that for’ when he saw it. I painted it grey and highlighted it with very soft white. We went to see Downton Abbey and they had the exact same sideboard. My husband, Tadhg, said ‘look, they have our sideboard’ – I wanted to rewind, but of course you can’t in a movie!
“I could see the quality in it from the start, the weeks alone it’d have taken to do the carving – they don’t make stuff like that anymore. I didn’t use any new materials other than paint, so I see it as really minimising our footprint.” *What sustainability-conscious household habits do you routinely practise at home?
“We try to be a non-plastic family – for example, we buy vegetables loose rather than in packaging. We recycle as much as possible – I have a wormery in my garden. You get plant food and composting out of it. We use old-fashioned hand soap rather than plastic bottles. I do in the shower too. I get them from Dalkey Handmade Soaps, which also makes shampoo in bars. I haven’t convinced the kids yet though – they’re 17 and 10 – that’s a work in progress!”
Cork-based interior designer Cathy Angelini set up Flamingo Interior Design in 2017.
*What have you done to make your home more eco-friendly?
“A lot of the furniture is vintage – most rooms in my house in Waterfall have two or three pieces. Any storage unit I buy is vintage or antique. I have a 1960s writing bureau in the hallway that we use as a hall table. Nearby is an armchair from the 1970s next to a table from the ‘70s with an old record player on it.
“I didn’t go vintage with the sofa – it can be hard to get one in good condition. Comfort’s key in a sofa, so we went new with that. My bed’s also new but my eight-year-old daughter Nancy’s bed is an old iron one we got on Done Deal.” *What's the most do-able eco-friendly home decor idea you've come across?
“When looking at décor, go for natural materials. Choose eco-friendly paint – with fewer chemicals and where pots are recyclable. Get hands-on with up-cycling. Rather than throwing out a tired old bed-side table, I painted it bright blue and put some brass handles on it and it’s now in my daughter’s room.” *What sustainability-conscious household habits do you routinely practise at home?
“I don’t own a dryer and have no plans to get one. I line-dry clothes or use the clothes horse.
“I don’t use spray cleaners. I buy a bar of cleaning soap wrapped in brown paper from Green Outlook (https://www.greenoutlook.ie/). I bought one in October, it lasted four months and cost only €4.50. You wouldn’t clean an oven with it but it’s great for cleaning down countertops, the sink, dining room table or, when doing a deep clean, the window frames. And it smells lovely.
“Green Outlook also does eco-friendly beauty products – I use reusable make-up pads, as well as bamboo toothbrushes. They’re biodegradable and look nice.
“My daughter’s using solid bars of shampoo and conditioner from Holland & Barrett. I’m shortly going to make that switch. When you squeeze shampoo out of a bottle, you tend to use too much, whereas a bar’s a slower process – and it’s great for travel.”
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