This was to be my third programme with the DIY SOS and certainly the most emotional, not least of all because of the heart wrenching story behind the shoot. Davina Rivers nominated her own home to be transformed; a small terraced house in Enfield North London, where she has lived for the last 13 years [...]
Author Archives: oliver
Beat the drought….simple eco water saving measures at home
April 10, 2012 – 1:01 pm
I don’t know why im quite so obsessed by water use, perhaps it’s because I grew up in Brighton, swimming in the sea from an early age, or even that I was even a windsurfing instructor for a few years – which teaches you to respect water and the sea, that’s for sure. Or perhaps [...]
Temporary Structures: Working With Nature
April 5, 2012 – 9:33 am
With summer just around the corner, my mind turns to the camping season. It gives me the chance to get outside, be closer to nature and make the most of my fabulous new Bell Tent. But what we are also seeing in the design world is that there is a new found fascination with [...]
Biomimicry: What eco design can learn from nature?
March 30, 2012 – 9:36 am
As a designer, there’s really no greater inspiration than the marvels of nature. Increasingly we’re seeing science taking its cues from the natural world in an effort to solve complex design issues in a more organic way. Hopefully creating better spaces for us to live in. In a nutshell (nice idiom right?), biomimicry or [...]
Does an eco-home lead to an eco-lifestyle? no and here’s why
March 21, 2012 – 10:36 am
It seems inescapable that the way we live here in the UK and around the world is changing. The impacts of the global economy, the search for sustainable fuel sources and climate change have impacted on us all over the last few years. And when it comes to the home, we will see these [...]
Superhomes – energy efficient eco homes opening up in your neighbourhood soon!
March 7, 2012 – 10:31 am
Last summer I had the pleasure of giving Greg Barker MP Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change, a tour of my home. And if you thought I only open my home for Royalty and the occasional passing MP well you’d be wrong. As it happens Greg was the 98th visitor to take a [...]
Bored Of Cotton? Here Are Some Brilliant New and Unique Sustainable Fabrics For The Home
March 1, 2012 – 4:24 pm
It has has been said that the battle for greater sustainability in the home will be fought on a material front. I for one am always appalled at the hidden damage many conventional materials that we use create and am similarly thrilled to find new materials that tackle the same functional issues but without [...]
Eco homes need more sustainable heat and power. How decentralised heating systems and combined heat and power (CHP) systems could be the power stations for eco home of the future.
February 23, 2012 – 11:51 am
I have been asked to give a talk at the launch of a scheme delivering renewable heat and power to homes from a single local power plant, and not a coal-fired power station. So, what’s the benefit and is it really relevant for supplying the heat and power to today’s homes? The talk is [...]
Sustainable communities and The Big Switch
February 16, 2012 – 4:14 pm
This year, a quarter of all households in England and Wales have fallen into fuel poverty thanks to a high increase in energy bills this autumn. According to a report by Consumer Focus, there are just under 7m households in Britain living in fuel poverty, the highest figure on record. Apparently, four out of 10 people are [...]
Up-cycling Industry: Does It Conform To All The Guidelines?
February 15, 2012 – 12:02 pm
Fire is one of those things that has always fascinated me. In fact i became a trained fire breather when i was just 14 and was always mesmerised by its destructive beauty. This picture was taken of me breathing fire on the sand dunes of the Moroccan Sahara desert – (some years ago i might [...]
