Sustainability Special
Mia Lundström, Creative Director, Ikea moved halfway across the world to set up a cosy home in Bangalore which is sustainable and stylish.
CONSCIOUS CONSUMER
Ikea India’s creative director Mia Lundström's walks us through her Bangalore home and shares top eco-freindly practices
HIGH FIVE
These five designers and architects reinterpret sustainability and share their top ideas, tips, tricks and techniques.
DOOR TO DOOR
Did you know that windows and doors play a very big role in making your home environment friendly? Experts from Fenesta tell you just how important they are.
Lush green and dense after a monsoon shower, draped in tree canopies with birdsong in the air, it is hard to imagine that you are just a few feet away from the city’s central business district, Bangalore’s bustling MG Road. A narrow staircase leads you to the first floor apartment of Mia Lundström, Creative Director, Ikea, who calls Bangalore her home after a stint in Gurgaon. At the foyer itself that you know this isn’t a typical Scandinavian home. A large console table is stacked with memorabilia from her travels. From Tibetan handicrafts to Oriental souvenirs and local finds like metal trunks, it is a traveller’s nook of sorts. Step inside and the space opens out to a dining area bathed in sunlight with long glass windows on two sides. “It was quite a challenge to find a place like this. I think I saw about 20 apartments until I decided to move here,” says Lundstörm.
CONSCIOUS CHOICES
Keeping in line with Ikea’s sustainability endeavours, Lundstörm incorporates
several habits into her daily life to minimise her carbon footprint, keep wastage at a minimal and save resources at every step. “To use proper light sources for energy is most important. I don’t like a dark home but I use sustainable sources like LEDs all over the house,” she says. Garbage is segregated, kitchen leftovers turned into meals and ceiling fans preferred over air conditioning in each of the rooms. Going a step further, her access and work with the textile industry has brought about a conscious approach to sourcing and using fabric and textiles in her own home. “The industry (textile) has been fascinating and tying this in with Ikea’s approach has been crucial. I have been very conscious of where I source my fabrics from, ensuring they are made using organic cotton. It is a privilege to learn about sustainability at work and apply it in my
own home,” she says. When setting up she was also conscious about not restructuring or re-painting every part of the house. “Not everything needs to be sparkling. I wanted to keep certain things the way they were. I was also particular about the type of paint that was being used,” she says. Sustainable alternatives for cleaning agents and detergents also find their way here.
KEEPING IT FLUID “I don’t believe in being conceptual in a home. Sticking to a theme is often a missed opportunity,” she says. The result is a classic contemporary dining space with a large table, minimal flower vases as centre pieces and pop art on the walls. Look closely and you’ll find simplistic wooden benches that double up as seating and storage. Lundström found them on one of her many sourcing trips while furnishing the house and admits she wouldn’t go anywhere without them now. The large living space with its grey walls is cosy with warm lighting, white sheer drapes. The far end of the same room is made up of framed pieces of Indian embroidered fabric and a dramatic black fabric chandelier. A small corridor has an Indian-style upholstered diwan sourced from an antique dealer. There are local accents in every part of the home and for Lundström it has been her way to connect with the city and the country. The bedrooms are minimalist and more Nordic in style with muted tones, as is an office space abundant with Ikea storage shelves and work tables. A break in the pattern comes in through a clothes rack placed in a corner of the master bedroom with colourful outfits.
PREFECT BLEND The living area opens out into a terrace with a lot of green, comfortable seating, bright fabrics, a large table and a woven basket repurposed as a pendant lamp. It is here that Lundström often entertains friends and family. A large velvet upholstered sofa was a local buy in Delhi, with the cover sewn by a local tailor who arrived with a sewing machine and produced one at the end of a day’s work. “I like how something I inherited from my grandmother blends with something I bought here and something from Ikea in a single space,” she says.