people throw around the word sustainable all the time these days but between architectural innovation solar panels home composting pits and rainwater harvesting it can seem overwhelming all of the above are great to includeand indeed are becoming essential because global warming will get everyonebut there are less intimidating ways to get started on minimising the environmental impact of your house shares pankaj poddar the cofounder of hipcouch the interior design companywhether youre currently in the process of designing your dream ecohome or are committed to making the most of what you have these nifty tricks and tips are worth rememberinghere are a few trends tips and tricks for the conscious homeowner1 lots of natural lightnot only does a home with lots of natural light have an instantly uplifting effect on ones mood it makes it possible to cut down on electricity consumption ample natural light reduces the dependence on artificial lighting solutions thereby reducing your carbon footprint when designing a new home in this new decade make sure to work this crucial detail into your blueprints2 responsiblysourced ecofriendly materialssustainable homes can be identified by the liberal use of ecofriendly betterfortheearth materials such as cork bamboo or recycled metal and a lot of it simply boils down to making different choices instead of picking massproduced furniture pieces scour local markets for vintage or secondhand pieces if youre handy with woodwork try and source recycled or salvaged wood for a fun diy project3 green spacesthe desire to stay as close to nature as possible even while living in a concrete jungle has meant that newage homeowners are increasingly building green spaces into the designs of their spaces from intricate indoor gardens to smaller green corners this is the most obvious way to go green4 a robust recycling systemif you havent yet start segregating your waste there are lots of handy recycling bins with separate compartments for wet and dry waste in the market to choose from when youre ready to level up look into the possibility of setting up a composting pit in your home and hit a jackpot of bonus points5 energyefficient fixturesif you arent doing this already were confusedwhy there are so many great options to choose from these days we recommend installing smart faucets on all the taps in your home to reduce water wastage opting for energysaver led bulbs and investing in solar panels which are a bit expensive to install but the payoff in the long run is so high that its totally worth it