Naomi and Danilo are well-known for their use of reclaimed products, and find it imperative to use these items within their designs. Both having a love for interiors that utilise reclaimed materials, the pair interpret this into their own work and feel that recycled items are of vital importance to their schemes.
Naomi believes that recycled products are not only an environmentally-friendly method of designing, but can also bring a sense of character to a scheme, offering clients a unique piece of furniture or a scheme that will not be seen commonly anywhere else. Naomi comments: “Materials such as reclaimed timber can add such a warm tone and tons of personality to space. Every piece is unique and makes an interior feel like having a new personality within the home.”
As an Interior Designer, Naomi has seen the trend for renewables prominent for quite some time. She comments: “It’s been very fashionable for quite some time now, but this fashion sadly seems to be coming to an end, which is a shame – especially for the environment. As soon as all the mega high street chains adopt the look, you know it’s approaching its end.”
Closer to nature
Naomi and Danilo’s seperate interior design firm, Relic Interiors, undertakes concepts for many London-based pubs, utilising the renewable/recycled theme throughout their schemes. One of the duo’s projects, The Perryvale bistro in Forest Hill, was a huge transformation where they aimed to create a home-from-home environment. Successfully, the pair completed a warm, inviting, unpretentious, comfortable interior with the external timber cladding to the bar front produced from reclaimed Victorian floorboards.
Reclaimed products for interior design are hugely beneficial to both the environment and interior designers’ clients. The obvious benefit is that the use of reclaimed materials will have less impact on the environment, but aesthetically, materials and products will age beautifully, in keeping with the on-trend theme of interiors becoming closer to nature, and should last a lifetime. For example, a common reclaimed material used by both Naomi and Danilo are Victorian floorboards, which are used for their warm tone. Naomi explains: The wood tone is always warm and the natural variation is pleasing to the eye. Every piece tells a story.”
Offering advice on considering reclaimed products for a scheme, Naomi adds: “All reclaimed timber needs to be kept inside for at least three months before being used for furniture items – otherwise it will have a life of its own!”
Another example of one of Relic Interiors’ reclaimed schemes was for pub chain, Draft house, at its Hammersmith-based pub on Shepherd’s Bush Road. Here, Naomi and Danilo transformed a ‘Granny’ conservatory space into a tramshed-inspired, industrial space. It was important to retain a traditional pub interior, whilst incorporating industrial elements and of course the punch Draft House signage and graphics by Studio Frith. Again, the pair used Victorian floorboards to clad the upper level of the tramshed space and incorporated the use of renewables by reusing and recovering much of the existing furniture.
The pair carried out a further project for Draft House at its Birdcage pub, located on the infamous Columbia Road, London. Commenting on the project, Naomi explains: “It was very important for the Birdcage to retain its traditional ‘olde pub’ look and feel, as this pub has such an incredible history. In fact, we reinstated many original elements that had been previously stripped out and reused and recovered a lot of the existing furniture. We also installed some huge, old glazed partitions that came from an old school to chop up seating areas.”