Latest Homes magazine

How ‘green’ is your scene? Latest Interiors takes a look at how we can all make our homes energy effecient

2007 saw a veritable green revolution in homes and interiors style, and the trend is set to continue – and strengthen – in 2008. Ignore green issues at your peril, modern eco-friendly interiors are practical, stylish and fast becoming the norm. So, if your domestic ethics are as important as aesthetics, what changes can you make to your home? Latest Interiors finds out how easy it is to go green…

Composter (Marks & Spencers, stockists 0845 302 1234)

Sustainable homes

Having a greener home is actually quite easy. Following a few basic principles will put you on the right track:

• Think small, bigger homes use more energy
• Heat with the sun, solar heating is inexpensive, clean and efficient
• Use energy wisely, switch off appliances when not in use; opt for low-energy versions
• Conserve water
• When possible, use local, natural materials in building and furniture, from sustainable sources
• Always recycle

Increasingly, high street and home stores are offering products that can help you will all of these, energy saving light bulbs, switches and appliances, and recycling storage, are in many of the spring/summer 2008 ranges this year.

Green interiors

Eco-friendly furniture and accessories made from recycled (or at least recyclable), natural and sustainably-sourced materials should be top of your list. Paper, rubber tyres, recycled seat belts and wool are all used by designers to produce hip, urban furniture. Look for natural organic or recycled soft furnishing in cotton, wool, or bamboo. Second-hand furniture and furnishings are a real green alternative: re-use where you can, and re-cycle.

Solvent-free organic paints contain none of the chemicals likely to cause or exacerbate asthma, sick building syndrome, allergies or chemical sensitivities. Eco-paints are available in virtually all varieties and colours: Look for brands that contain no (not low)-solvent.

Helping the environment

Use low-packaging, environmentally friendly household products, cleaning products in particular should be vegetable rather than petroleum based to minimise environmental impact. Clean less (scientific research shows that dirt makes us happier and healthier!) and use the bare minimum of products: No-one really needs four different types of detergent.

Clever storage can make recycling a joy, even for the cynics amongst us. Look for stacking boxes that fit neatly into corners, or convert a kitchen unit or under stairs space into your recycling base.

Recycling crates (Marks & Spencers stockists 0845 302 1234)

In the garden, invest in a water butt (if you haven’t already) and keep plants healthy with recycled rainwater. Local councils and water suppliers often run promotions on water butts and composters, so do some homework before you buy. A composter allows you to recycle household waste to nourish fruit and veg. Ditch the patio heater: They produce as much as 7g of carbon on two hours of use, about as much as an average car produces in a day. Instead, you can use a log maker and recycle your household waste (tea bags, paper, and garden waste) into compact ‘logs’ which can be used in a chiminea or stove. Or put on a jumper!

Making your home eco-friendly is easier than it’s ever been, so there are no excuses. With environmental issues rising up the political (and fashion) agenda, any changes you can make to your home that reduce its carbon footprint can only be a selling point for the future. Green? It’s the new black, darling.

Buxtons – a curiosity shop on The Level

Since changing its identity from a traditional furnishing behemoth to a more sensitive interiors boutique, Buxtons has become a sparkling jewel opposite The Level.

Irrespective of being a North Laine sized shop, Buxtons can still source the amount of products that they could at their previous store, dealing with over 25 furniture and accessory companies, providing an interesting mix of contemporary and traditional wares to stimulate any discerning shopper. In addition to this catalogue of furnishing suppliers, Buxtons offer an array of commercial and domestic flooring and carpeting manufacturers, which are now dealt with at their large out of town headquarters at Woodingdean.

Buxtons continually strive to source unique furniture, lighting and giftware, and design that cannot be found at any of the more humdrum chain outlets in the city centre.

The buyers – Damian Buxton and Andrea Dunne – focus on what is great about British design and manufacture, including upholstery by Sanderson and Sherborne; eclectic modern furniture by Tom Schneider or simple oak designs by Cotswolds-based Corndell. Moreover, Buxtons are committed to showcasing locally made craft accessories and lighting, including inspirational work by Amy Cooper and Ulrika Jarl.

From the continent, Buxtons can offer the latest in contemporary styling from Danish manufacturers – Refer-Staer for sublime chandeliers and Verikon for slick modern upholstery.

During January, aside from the general sale items, Buxtons is also having a ‘sofa sale’ with many fabric and leather sofas at significantly reduced prices, including a selection of Sanderson sofas and occasional chairs. Look out for the green tags on products in-store for discounts of up to 35 per cent!

Buxtons, 35 Ditchling Road, Brighton, 01273 691750
www.buxtons.co.uk

The Paul O’Grady Show’s Marc Abraham asks us to spare a thought for the overburdened animal charities at Christmas

Happy and healthy New Year to you all, and of course to all of your pets!

I thought we’d start 2008 on a charitable note as typically at this time of year animal charities need all the help they can get, when unwanted fourlegged presents are tragically abandoned.

We’re all familiar with the big national animal charities and organisations, with their big marketing budgets, shiny purpose-built offices and impressive TV campaigns. But please also spare a thought for the smaller local ones, such as Sussex Pet Rescue and Cat Welfare Sussex, who don’t get left massive legacies and really do rely on kindness, generosity and voluntary help.

“These marvellous charities are snowed-under”

But whatever size of animal charity they all do a truly amazing job, and this month, they’ll once again be under tremendous pressure. Because the annual pilgrimage of the selfish greedy ‘owner’ who goes and dumps their unwanted puppy or kitten will be well underway by now.

Confused fluffy leftovers from the festive season, presents given by thoughtless people to reluctant recipients, who have already decided that a pet was a bad idea in the long-run. It’s a sad scene, not only here but all over the world; and we can only be grateful to all those rescue centres willing to take them in and find new and better homes for them.

It is the old, old story of the responsible resolving the chaos created by the irresponsible, with the poor pet as the ‘pig’ in the middle.

These marvellous charities are snowed-under with calls and visits. “We never wanted the pet in the first place,” and “The pet did not turn out as we had hoped,” are common excuses. The list is endless and the charities have heard them all before. The real truth is that they never considered the implications of pet ownership and are now not willing to adjust.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Rarely, someone will ask “What can I do to help?”, but it’s not enough.

These animal charities desperately need our help, and you as an animal lover can really be of great service to pets which have been abandoned. The charities don’t run on fresh air. They need our support and our money, always spending what they have wisely.

Charities are also crying out for responsible dog walkers, cleaners, blankets, food and fund-raisers; and with the unbelievable identity muddling ‘Rent-a-Pet’ craze recently hitting our shores, please consider the free alternative: If you’re in a situation for whatever reason where you can’t own full-time a pet of your own, then helping at a rescue centre is a wonderful way of enjoying animals without the permanent commitment. Who knows, if your situation did change, you may well be walking the same dog in 2009 and beyond, as your own loving pet.

Have a wonderful 2008 – you and your pets.

For more information about local animal charities, please contact Sussex Pet Rescue on
01273 553735 or visit www.sussexpetrescue.org.uk; or Cat Welfare Sussex on 01273 423861, or visit www.catwelfaresussex.com.

Resolve to make your garden a magical place for the New Year

With Louisa Bell of City and Country Gardens

I’m making a new year’s resolution to make my garden the best it’s ever been. Last year I spent just a little extra time and effort sowing seeds, and tying things in as they grew, and the rewards were so noticeable. I had beautiful white sweet peas growing over my pergola and the scent was beautiful when we sat there for lunch. They all mixed in with my purple verbena bonariensis, and looked so lovely. Definitely a combination I’ll be repeating.

I sowed cosmos and Californian poppies in the borders, and large swathes of nigella – love in a mist. They all did so well, because I watered them properly, thinned them out and generally looked after them. Sometimes it’s hard to make yourself get out in the garden and life is so busy. We do create some lovely low maintenance gardens, where you can just look out of the window and it will all look neat and tidy, but higher maintenance does bring greater rewards.

Whether you’re a high or low maintenance gardener, I’d like everyone to have a beautiful garden this year. It really is easy to knock a garden into shape. It’s something we do all the time and, remember, you have a whole room out there! It really can be turned into something special.

With the addition of special seating, comfortable cushions (that stay out all year), beautifully built walls and expertly planted beds, you can have a garden that makes you long to be outside.

Some plants are especially slow growing, or can be clipped and shaped to give formality to your garden. If you’re a very tidy person, these topiary shapes are especially comforting if you like order. I like a mix of order and nature, and the clipped shapes in my garden act like punctuation in the borders.

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The drain of Spain

After the rush of Christmas it is nice to get back to the relative normality of a New Year. Just before Christmas, my internet connection wasn’t working, so I had to go to the pub every day for lunch to do my emailing. I rather enjoyed having the excuse of regular solo pub visits and relished the experience of sitting cosily with a pint of Guinness, which I only ever drink at lunchtime, curiously, a jacket potato and my laptop.

The Big Daughter pointed out that Wifi is also available in places which don’t sell Guinness, but I ignored her and went to the pub anyway. This is rich coming from The Big Daughter, who rarely goes anywhere during daylight hours, but if she’s managed to get out of bed can regularly be found in Varsity with her friend Steph – not a jacket potato within 50 yards.

While sorting out the freehold valuation of my flat in Hastings, which requires hideously tedious e-mailing to approximately one thousand very disinterested participants, I accidentally strayed onto the British Airways website. I then randomly booked flights to Barcelona for myself and ALL of my offspring during the next Easter holidays. The flights were so cheap that I couldn’t resist it. I know that, for most families, the family holiday is a regular occurrence but, strange and slightly tragic though it might sound, I have never been on holiday with all of my children; as it is usually astronomically expensive. Besides, most of them are way too busy lying down or drinking beer to be able to get to the airport.

“Most of them are way too busy lying down or drinking beer to be able to get to the airport”

As well as the expense involved, there are many complications to be considered when going on holiday as a family, if you’re our family. Holidays – at least as far as The Big Son and The Small Daughter are concerned – have to be in the school holidays. The Big Daughter couldn’t give a toss, having no current relevant calendar to follow. Then The Ex Husband and I have set weekends with The Small Daughter. Schoolholidays and set weekends permitting, we then only have to taken into consideration the fact that The Big Daughter will only agree to go to Europe and America. Next to consider is The Small Daughter’s travel sickness, which happens whenever she’s on anything other than a plane and a train, thus ruling out cars, buses and boats – and certainly curtailing any thoughts of cheap back-packing. Last, but by no means least, is the fact that one should enjoy oneself on holiday – surely that’s the whole point? – and keeping a 42-year-old, 17-year-old, 19-year-old and six-year-old amused is a pretty tall order.

After much thought, I remembered a holiday gone by, when I took The Big Daughter and The Big Son – who could at the time have been described as The Small Daughter and The Small Son – to Barcelona for a week on the train. I was far less organised then and we had to take a train all the way there (which cost about £5,000) and on arrival could find nowhere to stay. This was because I’d inadvertently timed our trip to coincide with August the 1st, which is the first day of the National French and Spanish holidays… Arrrggghhhh.

So I’ve booked Barcelona again, and this time, we’re taking the plane at Easter, but I still haven’t got the week off work. Ooops.