When I first started my company, Path Design, the movie An Inconvenient Truth had not yet made an appearance, and words such as “green”, “eco-friendly” and “sustainable” were just beginning to find their way out of the hippie realm.  Design options were a lot more limited.  When I would shop for clients, and asked a vendor if they had any “green” fabrics, I was either met with blank looks, or was asked something along the lines of “do you want something perhaps in sage?”

These days “green” is everywhere.  From the bookstore to the coffee shop, everyone is trumpeting how green they are. Hundreds of books, blogs and newsletters are devoted to the word and the idea.   And what was once something of a feel good word for a particular approach to design, has now become overused to the point of being, as a friend calls it, “twee“.

In interior design, more than just about anywhere else, the word also presents a problem.  We are a profession obsessed with color.  In fact, other than fashion, there probably isn’t another discipline that comes close to being as crazed about hues, shades and tones as we are.  So for me at least, the use of the word green for anything other than color becomes a bit tiring.

So what to call this approach to design?  Well, my favorite choice would be simply “good”, or maybe the even more positive “great”.  After all, design should focus on more than just looks and basic function.  Efficient use of materials, non-toxicity, durability and quality should all be things that make for the best design. But we’re not there yet.  Not everyone has embraced these ideas as necessary to “good design”.

“Eco-friendly” really doesn’t cut it either.  It certainly describes a very important aspect of design.  We are doing what we can to “save the world” after all.  But it’s somewhat limiting in it’s scope, and can still bring visions of granola and patchouli to the minds of the general public.

So, for the purposes of this blog at least, I will generally be referring to what I do and discuss as “sustainable design”.  Although not as popular, short and cute as “green”, sustainability is what sets this type of design apart from what our industry has practiced for so long.  It is the conversation we need to have.