Homes and Gardens / knowle
Flora and Fiann’s almost sustainable abode
Since 2020, Flora Beverley and Fiann Smithwick have been putting their heart, soul and sweat into making their home beautiful and sustainable.
In a world where sustainability is associated with sacrifices, the couple have set out to explore conscious ways of making changes that are beneficial both for them and for the planet.
Fiann believes sustainability is not difficult, but “time-consuming” in a fruitful way.
is needed now More than ever
“You have to put a lot of effort into it and pay a lot of attention to it,” he told Bristol24/7 on a recent morning.
A small leap through their backdoor leads you into this beautiful garden that the couple have spent hours bringing to life
He added: “A lot of it basically involves storing things that I knew could be used at some point. I think for a lot of people if they can’t think of a use for it right away, then it just goes in the skip.”
His choice to save timber early on has now given them new life in the form of indoor storage units, workbenches or gifts for friends and family.
Flora admits that their house in Knowle is not entirely sustainable: “There are many, many things that we couldn’t afford to do, that probably the government should be subsidising to allow us to do.
“For example, putting on solar panels or solar water heaters or replacing the very old windows or getting external insulation on this house – all of these things were not cost-effective for us to do currently.”
Built from scratch, this small work desk fits in perfectly with the aesthetics of the home
From the living room sofa to the lights in Flora’s office, most rooms in Flora and Fiann’s home are like a delightful puzzle, painstakingly put together with carefully sourced second-hand goods.
“If you’ve gone to Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace, there’s always people giving away sofas and things for free,” Fiann said.
“You don’t have to rush out and buy an expensive sofa!”
Flora also emphasised that most of their finds were of high quality from reusing timber, discarded scaffolds, used tiles, and gifted paint.
She added: “There are so many benefits to looking for things second-hand and waiting for the right thing to come up.
“I think when you move into a place you’re short of money, you just spend all your money on buying the place. But you want the place to be filled with beautiful things.
“Well, look secondhand because you find these wonderfully made items in various styles.”
Elegantly curated with carefully chosen items, Flora is in love with their loft room bathroom
Much of the home renovation kick-started after the couple endured some freezing nights in what used to be the poorly insulated home.
Fiann recalled one of these dreadful nights: “The worst one was when it was about minus-ten outside and we came downstairs and there was ice covering the whole inside.”
That’s when they decided to pick up the tools and give this home a much-needed makeover.
All photos: Karen Johnson
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