YES, SUSTAINABLE DESIGN IS POSSIBLE

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN IS POSSIBLE

BUT IT TAKES A LITTLE EFFORT, SAYS SAN FRANCISCO-BASED INTERIOR DESIGNER NOZ NOZAWA

Noz Nozawa sustainably redesigned a San Francisco rehouse into a Mission-style home, renovating the kitchen, below, but leaving hosting spaces intact, top.

Clockwise, from top left: Courtesy of Colin Price Photography; Courtesy of Nicole Morrison Photography; Courtesy of Colin Price Photography No o awa never thought she’d be passionate about antiques. hen the San Francisco designer bought her first home in 010, her style was firmly rooted in Mid- entury Modern. And since 01 , when she career-hopped from marketing to the world of interiors, she has honed a ma imalist aesthetic big, bright, bold. So color her surprised at the way old footstools she now has a collection and other French antiques have resonated with her over the years.

“It’s totally weird that in this modern bo y condo where I live, the most visible piece of furniture in my bay window is this 1 th-century gilded, hand-carved French settee that I re-covered in a denim fabric from ak Fo ,” o awa, 5, says.

It’s not a choice she envisioned a decade or so ago. The interest and appeal came on slowly, over time.

That same kind of open-mindedness and easy-does-it pace is what o awa preaches when it comes to sustainable design. She’ll be the first to admit: Sustainability is tough to pull o in the design world. Despite her own e orts to make environmentally responsible choices, much of what she sources for clients still needs to be shipped a long distance, which isn’t great for anybody’s carbon footprint. Most clients think it’s all about the products bamboo floors, say, over oak. ut the sustainability quotient of bamboo diminishes considerably if it has to be shipped from halfway across the world. Sustainable design is more than a magic set of materials. It’s a mind-set. ere are her tips for putting that mind-set to work.

THINK FIRST (ABOUT YOUR CONSUMPTION), BUY LATER The greenest step a home enthusiast can take is the first one to be mindful of the steps to come, and reali e your choices can and will make a di erence. For e ample, if you buy something whether it’s a hammock or a erman Miller sectional knowing you’ll only have it for a few years and toss it, then it doesn’t really matter how eco-friendly its materials are.

THIS GOES FOR HOMES, TOO If you care about the environment,

Designer Noz Nozawa at home in San Francisco.

o awa says, but find yourself drawn to a house that was remodeled five years ago, and you hate the renovation and plan to redo it, that’s a sign that you need to rethink.

Renovations use up natural resources. uy a house you won’t change as much, she suggests. r find a fi erupper and save it from the bulldo er. This may mean living in the midst of your renovation for a time, with some rooms redone, some unfinished, some empty.

“It’s a huge ask,” she admits. ut a commitment to sustainability often requires accepting a certain level of inconvenience.

INVEST LOCALLY If the latest supply-chain issues have taught us anything, it’s that a sofa upholstered one town over is worth 10 or pick your figure in a container ship.

“ ur clients are proud of the number of local makers we work with,” o awa says. Look around, she advises. Perhaps you live in an area with great woodworkers, or upholsterers. esides being more sustainable, supporting local artisans helps your overall community, and makes each item feel more special.

“And nothing comes damaged or in a huge bo ,” she adds.

PLAY THE WAITING GAME If you have to purchase items from a distance, try to resist the urge to get them here faster.

She calls herself old-fashioned, preferring to buy items in actual stores, rather than online, where the “e press shipping” button is so seductive.

The faster something comes to you, she notes, the more likely it is that every part of the process from production, to the e tra packaging needed to ship it, to the pollution churned out by air transport has a harsher impact than buying something locally and with a slower delivery rate.

SPEND MORE, CARE MORE, ENJOY LONGER hile construction and renovation are, in essence, consumptive, when done right they needn’t be wasteful, she e plains. igh-quality goods tend to last longer, and caring for them will only e tend their lifetime.

The same can be said for life’s creature comforts ob ects and spaces designed purely for beauty or pleasure. If that creature comfort brings you oy, if it keeps you happy and settled in one place, instead of roaming to the ne t home, the ne t renovation, then the purchase no matter the price, or the materials, for that matter was likely well worth it.

Like o awa’s bay-window settee.

“My husband takes naps on it, my dog uses it to stand on and bark at other dogs on the sidewalk. It’s the best.”

And it looks much better there than in a landfill.