Sustainable Interior Design for Every Budget
Decor + Design 2025 just wrapped up here in Melbourne, and it would have been impossible to miss the focus on sustainable design. One talk that stood out was Lyzadie Renault’s seminar on ‘Slow Design’ hosted by Karie Soehardi of Circular Design Thinking.
An artist and archidesigner based in New Zealand, Lyzadie designs stunning furniture and art pieces inspired by the land and with a deep focus on environmentally conscious practices. But her commitment to sustainability definitely doesn’t stop with her own work, and the conversation during her talk ranged from furniture handed down through the generations and lovingly restored, to the bargain antiques found on Facebook Marketplace.
That got the ISCD team thinking – how can we make sustainability in interior design something that everyone can achieve? How can interior designers help their clients to choose more environmentally friendly and lasting options, and how can everyday people like you and I make our own homes greener?
Promoting Sustainable Design
When Lyzadie was working as an architect, she struggled to reconcile the amount of waste she saw on building sites with the sustainable design practices she wanted to promote.
Knowing that she wanted to do things differently, Lyzadie began to work with craftspeople, creating pieces that tell the story of a place (and often using locally sourced, natural materials) without contributing to the destruction of the very land from which they come.
Her principles of slow design inform her own business practices, and they’re something we can all take into consideration when designing more environmentally conscious spaces.
What Lyzadie believes slow design really means:
- The use of ethical and sustainable materials.
- Craftsmanship and working with skilled makers.
- Pieces grounded in the place where they were designed and made.
- Pieces that provide value – as functional art that can appreciate in value or be kept for generations.
When asked how designers can work with their clients to promote sustainable design, Lyzadie suggested that the best way to present sustainable options is as part of a story. Depending on the client’s tastes and budget, they may be looking for options that imbue their homes with a sense of sustainable luxury, or they may be wanting to make the smart decisions that will save them money in the long run while leaving a lighter environmental footprint.
Working with the client to discover their particular motivations and interests, interior designers can then create a mood board or presentation that tells a story and gives the client a vision of sustainable options they’ll fall in love with.
Lyzadie Renault and Karie Soehardi in conversation for the ‘Slow Design’ seminar.
Make the Changes You Can
When it comes to making more sustainable design choices, sometimes it can all feel very overwhelming – and expensive!
Lyzadie was quick to acknowledge that none of us are perfect when it comes to pursuing a more sustainable life. “We all drive cars,” she says, acknowledging that the realities of modern life will often clash with our ideals, but still firmly believing that at some point, and in any way you can, “you have to take action.”
In order to pursue more sustainable living, you don’t have to change everything overnight. In fact, it might be better not to.
Slow design encourages a different approach to our own interiors, creating slow homes where we pause to appreciate the uniqueness of our spaces, rather than chasing after every new trend… even if that trend is the sustainability movement itself.
From buying less, to giving items a second life, we can all make the changes we want in a considered way. By making small changes that fit your lifestyle (and your decorating style) you’re much more likely to find that those changes stick in the long term.
One easy change to make is to press pause on the constant cycle of buying, using, and throwing away. This practical and economically sustainable step is one that can work on any budget. Start by looking around your home for things that you want to keep, re-use, or upcycle.
You might be a little over re-using old jars and bottles as candle holders, glassware, and vases (everyone wanted their home to look like a hipster coffee shop, until suddenly, they didn’t) but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other things you can give a second life to.
And if you do love fresh-picked flowers in an old jam jar, then please, don’t let changing trends stop you. Sustainable design doesn’t necessarily mean ignoring current trends, but there’s a whole world of freedom in discovering that you don’t have to be ruled by them either.
A table from Lyzadie’s LETSWEAVE Collection, on show at Decor + Design 2025.
Investing in Sustainable Choices
Furniture is a significant investment, and you can follow different paths to find pieces that are eco-friendly.
You might go down the path of investing in quality pieces. They may not be cheap to start out with, but they will provide you with much better value over time than something that was mass-produced and only made to last until the next season’s trends make it outdated and obsolete.
Furniture from beloved designers can even appreciate in value over time, and is more akin to investing in artwork in this sense.
Then there are the pieces that simply provide value by serving you for years or decades. Rather than buying the same, almost disposable furniture again and again, paying a little more upfront can save you money in the long term, as you buy once and enjoy forever.
Lyzadie’s signature pieces are art pieces, but in order to balance these with the more commercial aspects of running a business, she now creates pieces that are more accessible as well. These are still thoughtfully designed, handcrafted, and made from quality materials, but with a tiered approach that sees Lyzadie using reclaimed timbers or locally sourced materials that won’t contribute to transport costs, as well as other clever workarounds that can actually enhance the eco-conscious aspects of her designs while also making them more commercially viable.
Lyzadie’s FLOW Collection was inspired by the braided rivers of New Zealand’s South Island. Photo by Aleksandar Jason on Unsplash.
Go Bargain Hunting
But if you (or your clients) don’t have the funds to see furniture as a high-end investment, then another sustainable (and fun) option is to search for quality pieces second-hand.
Finding pre-loved furniture often means finding pieces with a story behind them. Whether it’s the mysterious maker’s mark that sends you down a Google rabbit hole, or the time you spend sanding and varnishing a rescued antique, a quirky retro find, or something handed down through the family – when you spend time recontextualising furniture and decor, you discover and create stories that remain attached to those pieces.
Buying second-hand also allows you to express your personality. You’re no longer bound by this season’s trends, and are free to explore that mid-century modern, ‘70s style, or old farmhouse aesthetic to your heart’s content.
If you do choose to source second-hand pieces, then you’ll find there are other rewards in addition to the cost and environmental savings.
One of the guests at Lyzadie’s talk mentioned the pre-loved designer dining set she found online for a fraction of its worth. Because the furniture had already been worn in, she and her family don’t feel the need to protect it as the type of “good furniture” that is admired but rarely used. Instead she described it as “loved,” “scuffed,” and “lived in.”
This appealing patina of use is usually only something you see with furniture that was of a higher quality to begin with. A table made from natural timber can be sanded and refurbished, with marks from wine glasses or coffee mugs only adding to its character over time. Mass-produced furniture, on the other hand, often won’t withstand such hard treatment, and once laminate peels away from chipboard, you’re left with something that’s only future is in landfill.
Chair and table from Lyzadie Design Studio’s PIN Collection.
Learn How to Incorporate Sustainable Interior Design into any Budget
If you’d like to learn more about incorporating principles of sustainability into interior design projects, then ISCD’s courses and microcredentials can help point the way.
You’ll learn about sourcing furnishings and materials, following ethical considerations, and presenting to clients. You’ll also learn how to work with each client’s unique style and budget to create something that’s just right for their needs.
Further Reading:
Crafting Luxury: New Zealand’s LyZadie Design Studio is a Master Storyteller
Practical is Beautiful: How Economic Trends Are Inspiring Thoughtful Design Choices
Embracing Local Design and Art: Why It Matters and How to Make It Work
What is the Slow Home Movement?
Blending Retro with Modern: How to Incorporate Vintage Charm into Contemporary Design
Using Client Pieces to Recontextualise a Space: Transforming Interiors with Meaning and Style
Adaptive Reuse in Interior Design: Giving Materials a Second Life