Eco friendly wall finishes

Eco or natural paint
Eco or natural paints are made from a variety of materials, including water, chalk, natural oils and clays. Toxic solvents, or Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), are firmly left out of eco or natural paints. These solvents evaporate off as paint dries and for some time after, and can cause headaches, dizziness and nausea, breathing difficulties and allergic reactions.

As well as being VOC-free, eco paints allow moisture to move through walls, preventing damp and saving paint surfaces from cracking. Natural coatings are available as emulsion, eggshell and clay paints, as well as a range of varnishes, lacquers and oils.

Insulating paint
By using tiny, hollow glass microspheres (no bigger than a grain of sand) that trap air, insulating paints act like a thermos flask to insulate your walls. These microspheres are mixed with normal paint finishes and, without hindering breathability, can be used indoors to trap heat or outdoors to reflect heat.

Lime plaster
The current resurgence in lime plaster is down to its porous nature, allowing moisture to seep in and evaporate out. Lime plaster can be used on interior walls alongside breathable finishes such as clay. Use lime plaster when re-pointing brickwork to prevent bricks from retaining moisture and losing their protective face.

Glass panels
These are a great way to draw natural light through the house, and so reduce the need for artificial lighting. Use glass panels to create internal partitions within spaces that do not require privacy, such as kitchens, dining rooms and living rooms. Use glass screens, blocks or partitions especially in places where light falls onto walls or the floor.

Recycled glass tiles
Recycled glass tiles add a contemporary sparkle and translucent quality to kitchens and bathrooms. Although best used on wall surfaces, they can be used on horizontal work surfaces, but not floors. Currently glass tiles are not widely available and can be expensive, due to the relatively small scale of production combined with high labour and manufacturing costs.

Recycling plastic
Plastics are sorted, cleaned and chipped into flakes, then, through a combination of heat and pressure, reformed into solid plastic sheets. These sheets have a mottled look as the colouration from the recycled materials does not mix. Whilst some sheets are colourful, the mixes can be made subtler. Decorative recycled plastics work well as splashbacks, cupboard doors, bathroom surfaces and tabletops.

Ecoresin™ Panels
Made from clear plastics – 40% of which are recycled – Varia™ ecoresin™ panels provide a stunning range of wallcoverings. The panels are made up of layers, allowing other materials to be incorporated, such as grasses and flowers. Ecoresin™ works well as back-lit wall panels, tabletops, splashbacks and partition screens. The texture of the natural materials added to the resin provides warmth, and it’s also tough, with almost 40 times the impact resistance of glass.

Recycled composites
There are a number of crushed and recycled material composites that can be used as kitchen or bathroom surfaces. These composites use small segments of otherwise unusable materials, including stone, glass and plastics, that are crushed into tiny pieces before being bonded together in a resin (ideally solvent free) to create solid, zero-maintenance surfaces. Being recycled these composites can have a mottled surface, but are generally available in a variety of colours.

Timber cladding
Also known as tongue-and-groove boarding, timber cladding is similar to solid wood flooring but is thinner – generally ranging from 7.5mm to 9mm thick. Unadorned it lends a soft rustic effect akin to a log cabin or farmhouse. The wood should be oiled to protect it whilst allowing the timber to breathe. Alternatively, painting the cladding prevents it from visibly aging and warming in colour. As timber cladding is likely to be made from a soft wood, ensure it comes from a FSC certified source.

Reclaimed timber cladding
Source timber floorboards from reclamation yards and clean them very gently with a wire brush or mild soap and water to retain their character. Timber expands and shrinks so it’s best to let the boards acclimatise to your home for a few days before fitting them onto the walls, using screws and battens.

Eco wallpaper
Environmentally friendly wallpapers are now easy to source in a wide range of decorative designs. Made from 100% FSC certified timber or with a high percentage of recycled paper fibres, the paper pulp is made with long fibres so it withstands wet adhesive and stays strong. Once in its paper form, the fibres are printed with vegetable inks, left to dry and then packaged in bio-degradable materials. The average lifespan of an eco wallpaper is between five and six years, and at the end of its usable life, eco wallpaper degrades completely.

An extract from Urban Eco Chic by Oliver Heath, published by Quadrille, £19.99