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Usually, when someone is telling us how we can live more sustainably at home, we get a long list of to-dos and not-to-dos. But Nicole Gray’s guide isn’t at all strict. In fact, it isn’t a guide at all. The interior stylist, art director, and writer’s new book, The Reimagined Home, is meant to spark imagination of what’s possible when we view our homes as an extension of ourselves. In its pages, she tours the spaces of 16 creatives who have all, in their own way, gone green, whether that’s by future-proofing, conscious sourcing, or regenerative design. Ahead, we asked the author to share her favorite lessons from the homes she featured.
One Room, Endless Configurations
I’d heard of kitchen islands or trolleys on wheels that can be moved or tucked away to save space when not in use, but walls on wheels? When I chatted with Shelley Simpson, founder of Mud Australia, about her colorful warehouse conversion in Marrickville, Australia, she identified the true hero pieces of the space, not as the covetable Serge Mouille pendant lights or the BDDW corner sofa, but as her portable walls. “I move them depending on my needs. The living room transforms into a team yoga studio, creative workshop, and Christmas party venue complete with disco balls,” she says.
These movable walls mean Shelley doesn’t need to alter the structure to adapt to her or her family’s changing needs. One minute it’s a cinema den, the next a home office. Game-changer.
Eco Can Be Colorful. Yes, Really
I used to associate sustainable design with white walls, stone floors, and plywood kitchens. The look was minimalist and, (whisper it), a bit dull. But I’ve learned that sustainability can also be joyful, bold, and colorful. One of my favorite spaces from the book is a mid-century modern penthouse designed by Monique Woodward of B-Corp-certified architectural practice Wowowa. The kitchen joinery, crafted from locally sourced Australian hardwood, is turquoise, and paired with a mottled ceramic finger tile backsplash sealed with playful teal grout.
A Home Should Reflect You—Not Your Pinterest Board
I could never resist getting swept up in the scroll. One tab would be open with “modern cottagecore lighting ideas,” another with “pistachio bedding”-all because they were in vogue. Before I knew it I was elbow-deep in a cart full of lights and linens that didn’t reflect me or fit my space.
One of my biggest takeaways from the book is that great design isn’t about copying someone else’s mood board. It’s about finding new ways to tell your own story. In the Tottenham home of Patricia and Gwen, the entire retrofit was inspired by their favorite sculpture called Untitled 1963 by Donald Judd. Its concave shape and arched fins inspired the upside-down curved timber ceiling in their kitchen extension. It may not be trending on Pinterest, but it looks great as well as being deeply personal and unique to them.
No Room Is Too Small For Big Style
I am just as guilty as the next person of falling into the “someday” daydream. You know the one: Someday, when I have a bigger kitchen; Someday, when I finally get that extra bedroom; Someday, when I can fit a jacuzzi in my bathroom. That one. But focusing on the space I wanted made me oblivious to what I already had.
In the pocket-sized apartment of interior designer Sophie van Winden, an unapologetically pink sink (found on eBay for $20) and framed with scalloped charcoal marble tiles designed by Sophie and fabricated by Paragon Stone, creates a focal point in a compact bathroom. The sink creates a fun focal point paired with floating shelves and a mirror that opens up the tight space. The light-reflecting lilac paint on the woodwork also draws the eye upward, making the room appear bigger.
Choose Patina Over Polish
“One should never be the oldest thing in one’s house” —Patsy Stone
I live by this quote now. There’s something special about having pieces in your home that have lived longer than you—pre-loved treasures that keep furniture out of landfills and age beautifully. A worn leather club chair found at a car boot sale, a brass mirror from Facebook Marketplace, or a mid-century credenza gifted by your granny that works harder than anything you will find flat-packed and looks better with the odd scuff mark or two.
In the Brooklyn brownstone of designers Lyndsay Caleo and Fitzhugh Karol, that philosophy comes to life with wall lights salvaged from a ship, a 1920s cast-iron sink from a market and a sheep barn door (from Fitzhugh’s childhood farm) repurposed as a bathroom door and patched using wood in a similar tone that he found in a skip.
Shopping Local Is The New Design Flex
My go-to shops used to be Zara Home, Arket, and H&M Home. But recently, I’ve found a new thrill (and smugness) in shopping down the road. Sourcing locally supports small business while also resulting in fewer shipping emissions and less packaging waste. But the best bit is that you get to avoid the “algorithm effect.” Instead of having the same mass-produced vases and cushions as everyone else, your space gets filled with one-of-a-kind pieces that no one else has. No more cookie-cutter interiors.
In the converted hall belonging to stylist Hannah Ellis in Chester, many of the hero items were bought locally, including a large terracotta pot, which was sourced by a local trader and a vase which Hannah found while rummaging in a secret local bunker full of bric-a-brac.
Not Everything Needs To Go
I used to think that renovations were all about the buzz to be found in the before-and-after stories. The sledgehammers and gut jobs. But the homes featured in the book have taught me that renovations should not be geared towards what we can remove, but rather: what is already there that we can keep?
In a Hampstead family home designed by the founders of Retrouvius, Maria Speake and Adam Hills, rooms have been designed around the existing elements: on the wall between the first and second floors, the original Victorian timber-braced brickwork has been left exposed rather than plastered over, along with limed floorboards, plaster cornices and the backbone of the house—the spiral wooden staircase—once concealed when the property was a series of bedsits but left intact to be a celebration of the new-found volume and scale.
Think, Rethink
Before, I would look at a box of leftover mismatched tiles and see clutter. Now I see a future mosaic trivet or an artsy tabletop. There is joy to be found in using practical and often overlooked items in such unexpected ways. One of my favorite examples of this is in the Salt Lake City home of interior designer Susannah Holmberg, where a woven hammock has been repurposed as a piece of artwork above her bed. It beats letting it collect dust in the garage and also brings joy long after the holiday is over.
You’d be surprised what joy-inducing treasures are hiding in your garage, closet, or that dreaded mystery drawer. Take a look!
