One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure

Of course this was a challenge close to my heart. I certainly do not live a fanatically "Green" life but I do try to lead a "responsible" one. I spent two years designing a collection for Crabtree & Evelyn that was a reflection of just that. I was conscious about removing the harsh ingredients but keeping the friendly ones. Everything was reusable or recyclable but not in a scary, granola kind of way but in a practical elegant way. Packaging was kept to its absolute minimum and little went to waste. We all need to begin somewhere.

The context of this "Green" challenge was the specific room by room brief, alongside the potential restriction of having to reuse furniture and objects that were nobody's treasure. Despite the lack of resources, plus the cruel twist of being made to move one key to the right, the designers were able to dramatically improve these work spaces.

The dictionary defines Green as commonly representing: growth, youth, calm, sickness, positive, energy, go, and of course enviromentalism. Each contestant gave us more than a hint of those words Growth...Andrea, forced out of her safety zone, inherited the blue and survived Youth...Natalie, reminding us how young she is Calm...Preston, calm even in the face of decorating adversity Sickness...Eddie, needing Benedryl after touching the second-hand fabrics Positive...Nathan, who saw this as a chance to show creative solutions Energy... Ondine, went for it with her water bottle chandelier Go...Wisit gone.

Each elimination day would bring a weakness to my knees. Looking someone in the eye and asking them to leave left my heart pounding, and if there seemed to be a smile playing on my lips I apologise; it was in fact an expression of pain. By this point in the season we knew our contestants well and when the moment came to ask Wisit to leave a shiver ran down my spine. As a decorator you are asked to create settings for certain lifestyles. Wisit's were always those where etiquette, chic, and grace were prized above all else. Thank you Wisit. P.S. if Eddie felt his living loft was "a disgusting dump" then he should see what living with four kids, two dogs, a parrot and cat looks like.

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