Eco styling – The ethical way to furnish your home

Eco styling has arrived at Kingsbrook Park – a brand new sustainable way of dressing your home. For the first time in Kent and probably in the UK, the show apartment at Kingsbrook Park - Berkeley Homes’ new development in Canterbury - is dressed using eco products, demonstrating how interior design can be environmentally friendly as well as aesthetically stunning.

This eco initiative follows The Berkeley Group’s Queen’s Award for Enterprise in April 2008. This coveted award, which is only handed out to the business elite, recognises outstanding business excellence and The Berkeley Group triumphed in the Sustainable Development category. Furthermore, the eco styling programme complements the site’s recognised green status, which has been awarded ‘Very Good’ and ‘Excellent’ in an independent EcoHome assessment.

Until now, interior design has been all about the visual effect, with strong emphasis put on the look of an interior rather than how and where the products are sourced. However, Berkeley Homes (Kent) Ltd has worked closely with Love Interiors to create a show apartment filled with head-turning accessories that bear outstanding eco credentials. The project is designed to get visitors thinking in a more sustainable fashion, as well as influencing their buying habits.

Jo Love, Director of Love Interiors comments: “Our starting point for Kingsbrook Park was the River Stour, which borders the scheme on three sides and is a designated area of Nature Conservation Interest. The water inspired our colour palette, so the show apartment is filled with shades of teal blue, pewter, quartz grey, inky blue and silver. We wanted to take the eco theme a step further and decided to source as many sustainable products for the show apartment as possible.”

Wall-hung artwork plays a major part in the apartment’s design. Love Interiors has commissioned a number of pieces from ‘By Rosie’, with each work of art as eco friendly as it is beautiful. By Rosie has chosen an unbleached, organic hessian fabric as the basis of its canvases and each is decorated with an embroidered motif, ranging from bull rushes to the fields of the Canterbury countryside.

Analysing a product’s carbon footprint is also part of the eco equation at Kingsbrook Park. Jo is quick to point out that she prefers to use products made in the UK: “The sofa and chair in the living room were both made in this country. If a product is made in the UK, its carbon footprint will be smaller than something that’s been flown half way across the globe. We’re also keen on customising existing pieces of furniture from our own collection - it harks back to the 1950s attitude of ‘mend and make-do’. However, being thrifty results in a bespoke one-off item.”

Jo continues: “Even the toiletries and household products used to style the Kingsbrook Park apartment have outstanding green merits. We have used the Method range of cleaning products as they are filled with natural ingredients and essential oils, proving that you don’t need harsh chemicals to clean your home. We have also used the Cowshed range in the bathrooms, as all of its products are hand made in Somerset using 100% natural vegetarian ingredients. Both companies never test on animals either.”

The Kingsbrook Park eco styling project shows how you can make a difference to the environment without compromising on style. Walking around the show apartment it is hard to tell how much effort is put in to the accessories. Both bedrooms have immaculately dressed beds but you’ll find Pure and Fairtrade organic cotton bed linen, and a headboard covered in linen dyed with natural colours. Even the clothes hangers in the wardrobes are made from sustainbly-sourced wood. Other eco highlights include hand blown glass vases using recycled materials, recycled fibreboard storage boxes and some FSC certified (Forest Stewardship Council) wooden kitchen accessories.

Jo concludes by saying: “When it comes to specifying and purchasing for new homes, we care about where the items come from, how they are made and the amount of energy used in the manufacture. Although we apply this way of thinking to all our projects, it was refreshing receive this eco styling brief from Berkeley Homes.”

Berkeley Homes (Kent) Ltd is transforming the former Kingsmead football stadium and greyhound-racing track in Canterbury. The scheme, which is part of the wider regeneration of Canterbury, will comprise 184 private three and four bedroom houses, and one, two and three bedroom apartments. The house builder is also contributing to the neighbourhood’s long-term future, with the creation of a new public park of approximately 2.5 acres; a new children’s play area; an ecological habitat zone and further enhancements to the existing river walk.

Set on the corner of Broad Oak and Kingsmead Road, Kingsbrook Park enjoys a fantastic location in Canterbury, with cathedral views and easy access to Canterbury West train station. The journey time from the station to London is set to reduce dramatically in 2009 when the new high-speed domestic line is open, with the travelling time to St Pancras dropping to just 61 minutes.

The approach to Kingsbrook Park is via a beautiful bridge that spans the River Stour, ensuring that residents and visitors make a spectacular entrance. Externally, the development is characterised by traditional render and weatherboard facades, which capture the enduring appal of the Kentish vernacular.

Internally, each home bears the superior Berkeley Homes specification that includes fully fitted kitchens with appliances, and bathrooms with contemporary white suites. Purchasers at Kingsbrook Park can choose to personalise their new homes with the Berkeley Homes Signature package, comprising a range of hand picked options by Berkeley Homes’ dedicated Customer Options Manager. Options include kitchen cabinet doors, kitchen work surfaces, wall tiles and flooring options, to name just a few, enabling buyers to add flare and individuality to their new home with ease.

For further information on the development, visit Kingsbrookpark.co.uk.

For more information and eco styling, visit Loveinteriors.co.uk.