Sustainable design with House of Hackney
When it comes to sustainable luxury design, one British design house comes to mind: House of Hackney. Renowned for their celebration of the natural world through bold animal prints, lush botanical wallpapers, and high-contrast maximalist designs, their commitment to nature shines through both their aesthetics and ethos.
Now, with the launch of their new paint range, House of Hackney continues to inspire decorators—including our team at Paint The Town Green.
We spoke with their design consultant, Chloe Vince, to explore how to infuse their distinctive style and environmental consciousness into our own design schemes.
What advice do you have for choosing colours, patterns, and textures that are sustainable and timeless?
When it comes to choosing a paint and finding the perfect hue for you, it’s best to start with mood and how you would like the room to feel. For a bold maximalist aesthetic, pick a paint that contrasts with your print. The end result will still feel harmonious as you will have crafted a cohesive colour palette. If a minimalist approach to colour is more to your taste, imbue your space with an understated softness by selecting a muted tone from your print to match your paint to.
What tips do you have for balancing statement patterns with more neutral/ already existing elements?
My top tip for achieving a harmonious scheme is to break it down into the following three categories; Florals & foliage, Carpet and geometrics, Stripes and Animal print (which is our neutral at House of Hackney!). Combining all three categories will enable you to achieve harmony and if you already have a gorgeous floral fabric in your scheme for example, you can easily layer in your carpet print and animal print to complete the look.
How can homeowners update their homes to reflect the seasons without encouraging wasteful behaviours?
Transitional rooms are a great way of honouring the period features of a property but adding a modern twist. With this in mind, paint becomes one of the most, if not the most important factors when building a scheme. Whether you're drawn to dark and dramatic or light and fresh, mid tones neutral are a great place to start for a bedroom. A great example of this is our Dahlia paint which is a beautiful soft apricot. The yellow undertone adds warmth and creates the perfect cosy backdrop. Alternatively, if you are drawn to darker schemes but are worried about it being too overbearing then Lobelia, a soft mediterranean blue, is perfect for creating a sense of tranquillity.
Once you have found the perfect paint you can now be playful with print whether it be investing in a statement piece of furniture or giving a beloved family heirloom some love. Two great prints to consider when building your scheme are Artemis and Hollyhocks. If you have a period property with a lot of warm wooden furniture then Artemis is a great option. There is a plethora of colours to pull out of the print which provides you with a great base to transition through the seasons. You can amp up the warmth with rich tobacco tones in the Autumn and have a spring refresh with dusky pinks and yellows. It truly is a timeless print.
If you're looking for something more playful than Hollyhocks is for you. It's the perfect print to refresh any scheme and will give you that wow factor which is perfect for a guest bedroom. Although it is fun, it is also very restful and a great way to bring the outside in.
How can homeowners feel confident they’re making a positive environmental choice when choosing design elements?
Be curious and question everything! There is no one perfect product, especially given how complex modern supply chains have become. However, purpose led companies will be open and honest about the pros and cons of their product credentials and plans for future improvements.
When choosing products, seek out information to better understand what the product is made from, where and how it’s made and what happens at the end of its useful life. There will be environmental and social impacts along the way. Certifications can signify high standards: at a company level e.g. B Corp, Living Wage Foundation accreditation and product level e.g. Forest Stewardship Council, OEKO-TEX 100. The certification landscape can be overwhelming, we find this is a helpful guide.
Certifications are one tool, smaller businesses may not use them as they can be expensive to access, so research beyond them and go with your gut. You will know when a company fits with your values.
How can homeowners select pieces that will stand the test of time, both in durability and design?
At House of Hackney, we don’t make ‘products’; we make ‘future Heirlooms’. Unique, authentic pieces that are inspired by the past and designed to be passed down to the next generation. Each design is a celebration of traditional craftsmanship and sublime artistry, made to stand the test of time.
A great way to add in print and colour to your scheme with a nod to tradition is with our Artemis Blush rug in collaboration with Axminster. It is both a celebration and inversion of the classic floor covering, entwining centuries of tradition amongst the subversive blooms of ARTEMIS.
For a playful twist on traditional furniture our Wildcard wilton sofa is the perfect addition to any scheme. The print is grounded in butterscotch tones and helps to unify any scheme as well as being a playful accent. The combination of Artemis and Wildcard will provide you with a great base for your scheme and with this you can decide whether to be bold and brave with paint or opt for a complimentary neutral for a most restful scheme. COSMOS is a great option for mid tone paint colour with its earthy brown and warm pink undertones helping to create the perfect cosy lounge scheme.
What sustainable practices should homeowners bear in mind when purchasing wallpaper or fabrics?
We encourage our clients to rip up the rule book when it comes to interiors so avoiding trends is the best way to do this. I feel the best interiors are those which consist of collected and curated pieces as they grow with you. If you’re looking for a sustainable way to refresh your scheme, re-upholstering a chair or adding a fun pop of paint to your woodwork can completely transform the feel of your home.
Designing your home can be overwhelming so our complimentary Decorating Consultation Service is a great way to break this creative block. Having a fresh set of eyes will help you reimagine your space and the team is always on hand to assist with working out paint and wallpaper quantities to avoid any excess waste.
With the complimentary design service, you will receive a complimentary sample pack of the scheme discussed so that you can proceed with your project with confidence!
Are there ways to mix and match House of Hackney pieces with vintage or upcycled finds? Do you have any examples of this?
Upholstery is a great way of giving a beloved family heirloom or your favourite vintage piece a new lease of life! I love the juxtaposition of using carpet prints on an armchair or sofa. It’s that added element of not only texture but decadence!
How does House of Hackney approach waste reduction, and what practices could homeowners adopt from this to make their own decorating process more sustainable?
The simplest way to keep our ‘waste’ impacts down is to make less product with a long life-span. We call our products ‘future heirlooms’; beautifully designed, made with love and built to last. Since House of Hackney was founded in 2011, the majority of our products have been made-to-order. Currently over two-thirds of our product offer is produced to order including our wallpaper (printed to order) which makes up 48% of our revenue overall.
Even with a large portion of our products being made to order, material waste cannot be avoided entirely, particularly during the fabric production process. Currently only 0.26% of our emissions are from waste, however we want to eliminate waste entirely from our production.
With fabric waste that does occur, we have partnered with a local Hackney charity called Restoration Station, who are part of Spitalfields Crypt Trust. They are a furniture repair and restoration social enterprise who work with people recovering from addiction, building confidence through creative craft activity to support a prevention of relapse.
We have set up a fabric scrap/surplus collection network with our supply base and donate offcuts and waste, which will be used by the charity for their woodwork training programmes. So far we have collected and donated 65kg of materials, which otherwise would have eventually gone to landfill or incineration.
Looking forward, what trends or shifts in sustainable design are you excited about, and how is House of Hackney incorporating these into upcoming collections
Our ambition is to create products that honour Future Generations. We are doing this by evolving our supply chain to source regenerative cotton directly from farmers, explore wood fibre free wallpaper innovations and substitute fossil fuel derived ingredients in our paint for plant based alternatives. That’s just our main categories. We embrace opportunities to champion and trial material innovations such as mycelium and microbes in all products and packaging.
Our suppliers are the heart of our business, we have worked with them since founding House of Hackney in 2011. Together, we are at the beginning of what we hope will be a two year journey to make these industry shifts a reality.
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