Author – Rebecca Denis
Sustainable home renovation is often seen as more of a tailored shopping list than the right building and renovation choices. Bamboo flooring, solar panels, LED bulbs, and recycled countertops are great choices, and those decisions matter, but they don’t represent the heart of a sustainable home renovation. When considering sustainability alongside design choices, the approach should be thoughtful and strategic.
Why Sustainable Home Renovation?
The most recent data available from the Environmental Protection Agency estimated that roughly 600 million tons of construction debris were generated in the United States in 2018. Debris materials include steel, wood products, drywall and plaster, brick & clay tiles, asphalt shingles, concrete, and more.
Sustainable home renovation can’t be only about eco-friendly choices, but also about how those choices are implemented, what is preserved, what is avoided, and other considerations. To follow sustainable practices without compromising design is an intentional, thoughtful process fueled by a creative eye.
Start At Home: Renovations Over New Builds
The most sustainable materials are always those already in use. Whatever you can reclaim and preserve will increase overall sustainability and set the tone for the design. If there’s a brick fireplace original to the home that you’re removing, use those same bricks to design another indoor or outdoor space. Vintage windows can become picture frames, artwork, greenhouses, or room dividers.
Walk through the home with a preservation mindset and think outside the box for cabinets, doors, trim, flooring, fixtures, stone, hardware, and more. Anything that can’t be repaired, refinished, resurfaced, or reused elsewhere should be donated.
Prioritize Energy Performance Over Cosmetics
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but the performance shows up in the energy bills. Some updates change the look and feel of the space (flooring, tile, counters, etc.) but will not affect the home’s energy efficiency. Under-insulated attics, drafty doors and windows, and an overworked HVAC system are the biggest common culprits of wasted energy. Sustainable home renovations should begin with a detailed performance assessment to identify the most cost-effective energy improvements and any tax credit opportunities.
Approach home renovation and design with the goal of reducing energy demand, rather than compounding the problem by adding layers to systems that already don’t perform. Installing an energy-efficient HVAC unit, smart thermostat, or solar array will have little effect on a home with drafty windows, poor insulation, and underrated appliances.
Choose Materials Thoughtfully To Highlight Great Design
This is where most homeowners start their eco-friendly journey or when they plan to “go green”. Things like flooring, paint, counters, textiles, or fixtures carry the design of the home, and they’re an easy win when you lean toward sustainable options. But the eco-friendly label is only the beginning. Further, consider whether the material is durable, appropriate for the room, safe for indoor air quality, responsibly sourced, easily repaired, and still desirable in a few years.
There are so many aesthetic choices that work beautifully in a sustainable home. Think of bamboo, cork, reclaimed wood, reclaimed stone, recycled glass, butcher block, hemp, linen, zero-VOC paints, so much more. Choose what lasts long and fits your design style.
Plan To Strategically Reduce Water Waste
Water conservation is a major part of energy efficiency, and water features and hardware components lend themselves to the overall design. Kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and exterior features are all high-impact zones to shape sustainable habits.
During a home and kitchen renovation is the ideal time to reassess plumbing, appliances, and fixtures. There are so many easy solutions for reducing water waste, like low-flow toilets, showerheads, and faucets. Water-saving appliances that match your aesthetic are plentiful, from washing machines to dishwashers. In addition, consider water conservation when landscaping. Prioritize drought-tolerant planting, rainwater collection, natural shade, mulch, and low-maintenance solutions.
Construction Waste Is Actually A Design Problem
Excess construction waste is actually the result of a planning failure. There will be waste, but how much, what happens with it, and where you can identify usefulness in that waste matter. Make those decisions as early as possible in the renovation process.
Identify which construction materials can be preserved and refinished before you ever swing a hammer. Be selective about demolition choices; tearing it all out to start from scratch may seem like the easier path, but debris piles up fast. Too much waste signals a lack of planning before demolition began. It’s more than what is left after design; it points toward decisions that were never made or made too late.
Be Careful With Smart Tech and Renewable Energy
Order matters when you’re incorporating smart tech and renewable energy solutions. Solar panels, smart thermostats, efficient appliances, induction cooktops, and connected energy systems all play important roles in sustainability. If the insulation and drafts haven’t been addressed, there’s no point in installing energy-efficient solutions. First, improve the home’s function and efficiency before adding bells and whistles. It’s useful on a sustainable foundation, but can be a design and lifestyle distraction.
Think Timelessness, Not Frequent Replacement
Trendy home designs are the enemy of true sustainability. They’re fleeting, that’s the nature of a trend. This means they’re more likely to be swapped out for the next trend long before they’re worn out or no longer useful. However, don’t give up on exciting designs. There’s a vast difference between timeless designs and boring, neutral designs. Make permanent and resource-intensive choices with care and restraint. High-visual-impact components and fixtures should lean toward classic rather than trendy to ensure longevity and a good fit for family life.
A Quick Sustainable Home Renovation Checklist
- Conduct a thorough walkthrough before any demo
- Identify components that can be preserved, resurfaced, reused, recycled, or donated
- Plan how you will sort and eliminate construction waste and debris
- Address any energy leaks (insulation, drafts, etc.)
- Install smart tech and energy upgrades after step 4
- Prioritize timeless, durable pieces and design elements over trends
Eco-Friendly and Design-Friendly Should Work Together
Design that aligns with sustainable home renovation is defined primarily by the quality of decisions made before, during, and after the renovation, rather than by the products and features installed. You don’t have to replace it all, but paying attention along the way is what matters.
Author Bio: Rebecca Denis is the Head of Interior Design at Revive Real Estate and an accomplished interior designer with over a decade of experience creating inspired, functional spaces.
