It’s time to do more.

There is a lot of good in my home with the use of natural fibres and materials, vintage & antique pieces and LED lighting but there are many hidden horrors in the form of toxins within the products and finishes.

I have always valued the concept of creating lasting spaces: ones that evolve and age gracefully rather than be replaced with the next trend. This approach makes sense for many reasons not the least of which is the environmental consideration. Our health and the environment are intrinsically linked and though I have always approached a project with the best intentions, it’s time to do more: it’s time to make health a project demand.

We spend 90% of our time indoors, what we surround ourselves with in our homes and areas of work are critical to our well-being. As designers we need to ask ourselves if we are taking care of the health of the dwellers of this building as much as taking care of functionality and aesthetics. I have to create beautiful spaces, it's in my bones (in my world, beauty and functionality operate as one), but I can not, in good conscience, create beauty for clients without addressing what lies beyond the pretty surface: what effects it may have on health.

Asthma, cancer, birth defects, reduced IQ, infertility, skin irritations, etc. have all been linked to our interior spaces. We inhale, absorb through the skin and ingest (especially infants) chemicals often in the the form of dust and polluted air. We put ourselves at risk with our interiors. By avoiding the use of materials with toxic chemicals in the first place we remove the risk factors in our environment.

I am making a concerted effort to educate myself on these hidden horrors and propose healthier materials to our clients and contracting team. In doing so I hope to contribute to the world in a positive way: making it not only more beautiful but healthier as well.

I have recently completed the Healthier Materials and Sustainable Building course through The New School (Parson’s School of Design, NYC) which was eye-opening to the outrageous use of toxins in nearly every building and furnishing item on the market. Though many of these toxins are currently unavoidable, we can’t be discouraged by not being able to do it all. Each time we make a choice to select a product that has fewer or no toxins at all is a step in the right direction. My first step is in editing my sample library and I am starting with fabrics - one of my favourite materials. I am eliminating all fabrics that use flame retardants (read more about them here) as well as water-repellent and antimicrobial coatings. Unfortunately this means that I’ll see a lot of lovely fabrics go back to their suppliers… but the more we push back the more manufacturers will shift the way they make their product and realize healthier - as well as gorgeous - options.

I’ll be asking questions.

It’s a falsehood that we have all fallen into that if a product is on the market it is safe for us to incorporate into our lives. My studio’s robust design process has always included research and we’re scaling this up so we can ask even more questions and find solutions that, though they may not be perfect, they’ll be better. Better for our clients, for the trades who work with the materials as well as those who make them. After all, every material has a story, for better or for worse. How the entire lifespan of a material affects the earth and those that extract, create and ultimately dispose of the material is as important as our own interaction with it. Someone lives next to the plastics factory… and someone else lives next to the garbage dump. Every material comes from and goes somewhere.

Like the ingredients on our plates, the materials that make up our indoor spaces are just as important to our health.

Ultimately, the final decision on material selection will always be in the hands of the client. I hope to assist in their decision making by bringing critical information forward so that they can make an informed choice. Each client will have different priorities: those who have small children (who spend a lot of time on the floor!) may want to prioritize healthier materials in flooring and carpeting finishes as well as improved air-quality through wall finishes. Other clients may find their priorities are in over-all improvements which may come in the form of a simplified palette (fewer pieces mean for fewer toxins). I am looking forward to the challenge as well as in the exchange of ideas between trusted suppliers and trade professionals. It will be a team effort, one that will benefit all of us.

Thank you for reading and I would be interested to know your thoughts on material health. Please contact me if you are a supplier providing healthier options for our environments or if you’re a client interested in pursuing a project with health at the forefront.