As experts in eco-aware home design selection, focusing on renewable, recycled or YOUR ABODE’S and construction, Darryn Parkinson and recyclable products, energy harvesting systems, PHILOSOPHY IS TO Sharon Hamilton strive to educate, inform and water- and energy-efficient appliances. SPECIFY AS MANY and inspire their clients. Your Abode’s philosophy is to specify as many The owners of Sydney-based building company ‘unprocessed’ materials throughout the interiors ‘UNPROCESSED’ Your Abode are transforming their clients’ quality as possible. ‘We have a heavy leaning towards MATERIALS of life by creating high-performance, sustainable those materials that are the least fabricated and THROUGHOUT homes that are cheaper to run, healthier, and more manufactured,’ Darryn says. Think timber, steel, THE INTERIORS comfortable to live in year-round. low- or no-VOC paints, and natural fibres – AS POSSIBLE Their approach is holistic; every element of products with low embodied energy that limit our each individual project – from onsite construction demands on the earth’s resources, and deliver processes right through to the interior finishes and cleaner, healthier interiors unpolluted by potentially fixtures – is carefully considered and selected to toxic volatile gasses and other chemicals. optimise performance outcomes and minimise the Perhaps even more importantly, Darryn says home’s carbon footprint. it’s important to fit out interiors with both durability While ‘green’ homes offer a multitude of benefits and longevity in mind. This means choosing high- – to the occupants and the environment – the quality products that will remain serviceable for the standout difference and major selling point of this life of the home – and eschewing the latest trends style of housing is always going to be its superior for timeless finishes that will age gracefully. This is internal comfort – from a thermal perspective, and particularly pertinent when it comes to kitchens and in terms of air quality. bathrooms – the ‘big ticket’ rooms. And this, Darryn says, is something that can only ‘If you take a fashion-forward approach to be achieved when the building envelope is correctly kitchens and bathrooms, in five to seven years designed and constructed. ‘The building envelope they’re getting trashed because it looks so 2017,’ must be built to a sufficient standard to protect the Darryn says. Home buyers’ increasing urge to occupants inside from whatever’s going on outside, go for cheaper, trendy finishes and fixtures and Darryn Parkinson whether that’s extreme heat or extreme cold – the update ‘looks’ from season to season is largely and Sharon Hamilton premise being that when you’re in your house driven by the fast fashion phenomenon, he adds, of Your Abode you want to be at a comfortable temperature,’ he which is crossing over to home decorating and explains. ‘It’s got to be designed to provide shading,housing in general. This ‘churn’ approach is driving be well insulated, fitted with better performing glassunprecedented levels of waste and over-taxing the and double-glazed window systems and things like planet’s resources. It’s also entirely unnecessary. that. Those are the fundamentals.’ So how does Darryn create beautiful, yet The home’s overall carbon footprint can then sustainable kitchens and bathrooms that his clients be further minimised through thoughtful material will continue to enjoy for decades to come? timeless finishes age gracefully CHOOSE HIGH-QUALITY PRODUCTS THAT WILL REMAIN SERVICEABLE FOR THE LIFE OF THE HOME MAY 2018 HOUSING 67 INTERIORS