Oliver Heath on Urban Eco chic

Urban Eco Chic

Interior design guru Oliver Heath speaks to BuyAssociation.co.uk Property Editor Paul Collins about his new book on environmentally-friendly interior design.

Introduction

As the property market in the UK appears to be still stuck in the doldrums, more of us are thinking about the possibility of staying in our homes for a few years longer. With that idea in mind, thoughts turn to the possibility of updating the current décor, adding that extension or conservatory, or making the loft space into another bedroom or home office. It almost makes one nostalgic for the days when it seemed it was impossible to go through an evening’s TV viewing without stumbling into one of the staple home makeover shows; pining for the days of Changing Rooms and MDF…

Now, one of the stalwarts of the erstwhile BBC series is to release his own book on updating your home. Oliver Heath is about to publish Urban Eco Chic (published by Quadrille, available in hardback from 5th September, £20.00), a book designed to make people think about the choices they make when decorating and designing the interior of their homes. Not only does he point out the alternatives to traditional materials and techniques of decorating a property, Oliver also gives some advice on the strategies to adopt when trying to make one’s home more eco-friendly, as well as where to find the kinds of materials he uses in the book.

In the midst of launching the book and running his own interior design businesses, Oliver found a few minutes to catch up with BuyAssociation.co.uk Property Editor Paul Collins.

Personal Expression

From the very beginning of our conversation, it is easy to see just how passionate Oliver Heath is about the environment and our impact upon it – and he is seeing more people taking environmental matters seriously. “Environmental and ecological matters are becoming ever more important,” he says, “from a social, moral and ethical point of view, as well as the economic and immediate effects we have on our environment. Eco matters have become a key part of personal expression in the ‘naughties’, and spreads beyond how much you use your car or whether you change to energy-saving light bulbs. People are looking at how their food and clothing are sourced now, and that can only be a good thing.”

Oliver has long been committed to reducing his own environmental impact, and carries this through to his work as often as possible, as well as in his own home. “When I moved into my 1850 Victorian terraced home, I seized the opportunity to carry out a largely sustainable refurbishment,” he says. Oliver also set up, with business partner Nikki Blustin, a store selling design-led, environmentally-conscious products for the home, called EcoCentric. Clearly a man who practices what he preaches, then.

Three strands of eco design

So, where do we get started with making our homes and interior decoration more environmentally-friendly? “Essentially, there are three concepts that run through the whole book,” says Oliver. “The technological side of things is used to cut down on the resources we use within the home, as well as to develop new products and materials that have less of a harmful impact on our environment. Secondly, the use of natural materials throughout the home is very important, not only for their touch and feel, but also because they don’t employ chemical processes to create them, therefore avoiding bringing toxins into the home. Thirdly, I’m always keen to encourage people to use vintage furniture to get that extra bit of character into their home – if everyone buys Scandinavian flat-packs, it will be boring.”

Some people will feel that making this kind of change to their home environment is too expensive, and that interior design of this kind is substantially more expensive than what they are used to. Oliver feels the small extra expense is worth the results: “Some of the materials will be more expensive, for example, natural, non-toxic paints cost between £12 and £25 per tin, but if you are able to incorporate some of the other technological and vintage elements into your design, you can recoup that extra money quite quickly. Simply by installing energy-saving bulbs you can save around £90 per bulb replaced, over a period of five to ten years.”

There is also an opportunity to cut down on the amount of unnecessary lighting that is placed in a room. According to Oliver, the key is to make the most of natural light sources, and bounce as much light as possible back into the room. “Technology can then be used to bring in LED lighting where it is needed, which is much more energy-efficient than other forms of lighting. Big, vintage lampshades are also great to create a lighter room, and you should be able to cater for the three different types of lighting you might need – mood, general and task.

Think global, act local

Now, you may be wondering where it will be possible to get hold of LED lighting and toxin-free paints, but the book also gives ideas of where to get the things you might need to begin to make these changes. Oliver is also a fan of some of the more inventive ways of getting hold of vintage furniture and accessories. “Eco stores sometimes have re-conditioned pieces of furniture, but eBay and local Sunday markets can give some of the best bargains. If you see something at a boot fair in your local town, it can be cheaper and there is space to bargain.”

Oliver is also adamant that the process doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, should readers of the book not wish to, or be able to, tackle the whole house. “For relatively small amounts of money, people can insulate their home, get some recycled furniture from local markets or charity shops and modify it, or even paint a couple of walls with natural paints which are free of toxic chemicals. The important thing for me with this book is not to get people to re-design the whole house in one go, but to try to bring this new way of thinking into their lives as a whole. The basic principles of reducing the use of resources are simple to understand but make a massive difference.

Given the fact that many of these celebrity-penned books are simply vehicles for the author to plug their own products and get as much exposure for their own business, it is nice to come across someone who genuinely wants to just put their ideas across. Although Oliver has his own store for certain eco-design products, he really does seem to want to share his experiences, and he does genuinely care about what materials and techniques he has used in his own home. For that he can only be applauded.

Urban Eco Chic by Oliver Heath, published by Quadrille, available in hardback from 5th September, £20.00.