Assuming that your house is de-cluttered and that you have left those things that you really need you are probably at the ‘replacement only’ phase – that time when you don’t need to buy anything for the first time you only need to replace things when they are past repair. This, of course, will not be the case if you are expecting a first baby or you, or one of your family has developed a medical condition that needs specialist equipment, but for most of us we do have all that we need in terms of material goods. A simple lifestyle should not be about replacing things just because they are out of fashion, or because we would like a change them; things should need replacing only if they are no longer fit for purpose. All simple households, certainly mine, has ‘heritage items – those things that are regularly used and have active life still in them, but would not be your choice if you were buying them today. For these items consider simplifying them, furniture can have the paint stripped off back to the natural wood, or furniture can be given a fresh look by painting it. Chairs and sofas can be transformed with a throw or simple cushion covers. Very ornate furniture can be transformed into something more functional; we have a large pre-war German sideboard which makes a wonderful cupboard for produce storing!
When replacing any item, durability is important. I once several years ago stood waiting outside a huge DIY store; I watched large numbers of people coming out with trollies bursting with goods happily loading them into their cars. Turning around I could just see the entrance to the towns ‘dump’ which had similar people queuing up to discard unwanted goods. It stuck me then that some purchases from the DIY store probably only had five- or six-year active life before they would be taken to the dump and disposed of to landfill – this is why our planet is in trouble!
Replace items, when needed, with things that will last, things that can be recycled, things that can be handed on, things that will not be victims of fashion trends. This kind of replacement may cost you more money, but over a lifetime, it will save you more money, time, and inconvenience.
Wood
Where possible buy things of wood. For the price of some item made of MDF or plastic or plywood or some other substitute you can buy something made of real wood, it may be second hand, but it is still a better buy. Wooden items last longer, are more easily repaired, and decorated, they generally look better and are less environmentally damaging to manufacture. Eventually at the end of a long and useful life wood can be burnt for energy – no wood need ever go to landfill. Choose wood for flooring and kitchen worktops and cupboards when yours need to be replaced and choose wood that was grown close to you, native hardwoods and not tropical woods that have been harvested from rain forests at considerable environmental cost! You should never need to buy wood that comes from another continent unless you live in the Antarctic! Wear and tear on wooden floors and worktops can be made good by sanding down every decade or so, a laminate floor is useless when wear and tear have taken their toll. You can buy reused timber for flooring and furniture, and it looks aged, faded and wonderful. If you have any carpentry skills yourself, then use them to make and repair your own furniture where you can.
The Shakers developed furniture making skills and the products of their labours has outlived the Shakers themselves. The furniture always manages to capture a simple form, but with inbuilt practicality and durability. Few of us can aspire to own real Shaker furniture, and few of us have the carpentry skills to make anything quite so simple or so beautiful, but we can follow the Shakers in their aim to have houses with useful, long lasting, well designed and well-made items of furniture.
To keep your house looking clean and simple paint it, forget complicated ideas of wallpaper or other textured surfaces, paint is the simple solution. Use only three or four colours throughout of paint throughout and you can save money by buying larger pots and always have some spare to ‘touch up’ where necessary. If you live in an old property with uneven and irregular walls, then don’t worry too much about that, if the surface isn’t perfect, it will look all the better for painting. Light paint shades help to make rooms look bigger, look brighter and contrast with dark furniture well. Avoid fashion colours that will make your home look dated very quickly and distract from the atmosphere of simple quiet space that you want to create. Always try to buy paint, which is minimal or low in volatile organic compounds, it is far more pleasant to use and will cause less harm to the environment.
Fabrics
A simply home should be easy to clean and, for this reason carpets are not as acceptable as a wooden floor with rugs, you can easily sweep a floor and wash it when it needs it, carpets on the other hand need to be vacuumed cleaned and occasionally shampooed. In any case, nothing looks more simple than a wooden floor. For windows simple curtains with wooden poles are best. Avoid strongly patterned curtains which will ruin any simplicity they you have established in the room otherwise. Chose light curtains for summer, but heavier curtains will hold in the warmth better. Washable curtains will save dry cleaning bills. Old curtains can be turned into any number of things with some simple sewing machine work, cushion covers, bedspreads, tablecloths and throws, you may need to think about dyeing the fabric.
(C) Ray Lovegrove 2016, 2022
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