Expert advice
Make your home
more eco-friendly
We all want to do our bit to help combat climate change, so check out these ideas for steps you can take at home to make a difference Charleston chalk paint in Rodmell, Tilton and Firle, all £21.95 per 1L, Annie Sloan
Choose eco-friendly paints Adding colour to your walls doesn’t mean adding to the planet’s problems. Nowadays there is a wide range of eco-friendly paints on the market to help you decorate with a clean conscience, from milk paint to chalk paint, mineral paint to clay paint. But what makes a paint eco-friendly? As a rule, eco-paint contains sustainable, non-toxic ingredients and/or is manufactured in ways that are kinder to the environment. Eco-paints have few volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in them, which are the bad fumes that come out of paint when it’s used. If you’re looking for a good eco-paint, always check the label. Some paints contain seemingly great things like natural oils, but you might then need chemicals like white spirit, rather than water, to clean your paintbrushes. The most sustainable option is to reduce the amount of times you repaint your walls, so keep in mind quality, durability and longevity too.
Mineral paint in Thrift, £21.95 per 500ml, Cornish Milk Mineral Paint
Upcycle old furniture Upcycling is a sustainable and fun way to kickstart an eco-friendly lifestyle. It breathes new life into old furniture that would otherwise end up in landfill and is a costeffective and crafty way to update your home décor. Look for specialist furniture paints, such as Annie Sloan’s chalk paint, which don’t need a primer and are ecofriendly. Check out our monthly Upcycling Challenge feature (on page 86 in this issue) for ideas and inspiration for your next project.
Crocky Road Claypaint, £47 per 2.5L, Earthborn Paints
Flat matt paint in Maverick by Frank Newbold, £40 per 2.5L, COAT paints
Chalk Paint in English Yellow, £21.95 per 1L, Annie Sloan June 2021 89
Feature Anna-Lisa De’Ath
W
ith climate change and its effects hitting the headlines almost daily, more and more of us are inspired to make changes to the way we live to reduce our carbon footprint. We can all take steps to reduce our impact on the planet, but it can be hard to know where to start. Here are some effective ideas on how to make your home more environmentally friendly, from simple eco swaps to longerterm investments around the home.
