Doing my bit...Sally Bourne of Sally Bourne Interiors

‘We have kept chickens for many years in our back garden in London. They provide us with a plentiful supply of eggs and process some of our waste as well as helping with the composting. We also have a culture in our family of saving up to buy quality items which will last. Everyone knows about recycling these days, but there are other ways of making use of old things that would otherwise go into landfill.

‘We have just launched a workshop with courses designed to encourage people from our community to learn new craft skills. For example, we have started to run workshops to show people how to revamp their old furniture; how to make soap using natural ingredients; and how to recreate a new lampshade from an old frame. Many of the basic materials can be found in skips. This is a pastime in itself and is astonishingly popular with children!’ (020 8444 3031; sallybourneinteriors.co.uk)

Period Living magazine March 2010. Words: Rebecca Fishenden.