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NATURAL FLOOR COVERINGS AND PAINTS

The ground floor living area of our house had not been decorated since the early 1990’s and was in need of freshening up.  The wallpaper was of good quality but a bit claustrophobic and the carpet was past its best.

We decided that we wanted to use natural materials as these would not off-gas (Volatile Organic Compounds – VOC) and could contribute to improved air quality.  For instance, in Sweden, people tend not to have carpets as they are considered to harbour dust and associated mites.

We employed a local decorator, who would have preferred to work with the products he was used to, but was happy to try the products we wanted if we sourced them.  That wasn’t a problem as Luke at Ty-Mawr was on hand to provide technical support so that I got the right product.

On the walls we used Earthborn Clay Paints, which come in a really nice range of colours.  They also create a thin clay layer on the wall (2mm), which will help to absorb smells and excess moisture to some extent; although this effect should not be over-estimated when the layer is so thin.

For the woodwork we decided to try out a product that our decorator could source from his local supplier, Dulux Ecosure Eggshell.  If he found this acceptable it might encourage him to use low VOC paints in the future, which was something he was already trying to do.  This was used on the downstairs woodwork, the stair rails and on the FSC doors that we had fitted upstairs to replace the old 1970’s hollow doors.

For the floor we decided to have an engineered, sustainable-sourced wood floor.  We went to Artisan Timber, who had a good technical knowledge, sourced the Kähr’s flooring and organised installation.  The installers were very good and got top marks from us for their workmanship and approach.

For the stairs we decided to have a jute carpet as we wanted to use natural materials.  What we didn’t realise was that fitting a jute carpet involved other materials that we were not so happy about – a foam rubber underlay and lots of glue.  The expanded foam underlay used recycled materials so that was a step in the right direction.  However, the glue was producing fumes for days and it was really uncomfortable to be in the house during fitting.  Apparently it had been reformulated to reduce the solvent, but we still found it very noticeable.

The transformation was wonderful giving us a light, airy space that looks attractive and feels comfortable.