Our story

Beautiful interiors. Better choices.

The person behind Sustainable Interior District

I'm Lidija Popovic, an interior designer whose career has taken me across international markets, primarily the United States, alongside projects in the UK and Australia.

Working with clients from different backgrounds has shaped the way I think about homes, the choices we make when furnishing them and the role designers play in those decisions.

But over the years, certain things began to trouble me.

When something stopped making sense

I saw clients replace entire interiors that had been renovated just a few years earlier. Not because the furniture was worn out or the spaces no longer functioned, but because the look had become outdated.

Often, neither the old nor the new furniture was particularly well made. It was simply fashionable, affordable and easy to replace.

I also witnessed another side of the industry. When a relatively inexpensive item arrived damaged, manufacturers would sometimes decide that returning it wasn't worth the shipping cost.

“Dispose of it. We'll send a new one.”

I encountered this response repeatedly.

The financial logic was understandable. But I couldn't stop thinking about the resources, materials and energy that had gone into making something that was now considered disposable.

I began questioning a system in which replacing products was often easier than keeping, repairing or reconsidering them.

The project that changed my perspective

Then came a project that would change the direction of my thinking.

A couple had purchased a property surrounded by nature and wanted to create what they described as a “100% sustainable home”.

At the beginning, none of us fully understood what that would involve.

I started researching materials, manufacturing practices, certifications and furniture brands. Despite my professional experience, I found myself navigating an overwhelming amount of information, struggling to understand which claims were meaningful and where to find products that genuinely met our expectations.

The project never fully achieved the sustainability ambitions we had set at the outset. Our budget and timeframe made some of those choices difficult to realise.

I could have moved on to the next project. Instead, I kept thinking about everything I had discovered — and everything I still didn't know.

If making more responsible choices was this complicated for an experienced interior designer, how difficult must it be for someone furnishing their home without professional guidance?

That question stayed with me.

Why I created Sustainable Interior District

That experience became the starting point for Sustainable Interior District.

I wanted to create a place where people could find the kind of information I had struggled to access myself — clear, practical and carefully researched guidance on materials, furniture, manufacturing practices and more responsible approaches to interior design.

A place where beautiful design and thoughtful choices belong in the same conversation.

Because sustainability isn't a label, a colour palette or a marketing phrase. Natural materials aren't automatically better. Expensive furniture isn't necessarily well made. And a product described as eco-friendly doesn't always come with the evidence to support that claim.

Sustainable Interior District brings together my professional experience, ongoing research and curiosity about the people, materials and processes behind the products we bring into our homes.

My aim is not to present sustainability as a set of perfect answers, but to make complex information more accessible and help people ask better questions.

Discovering better design

Across Europe, designers, craftspeople and manufacturers are exploring different ways to create furniture, lighting and home décor — from considered material choices and responsible sourcing to craftsmanship, durability and more transparent production.

I believe these stories deserve to be explored and understood.

Through Sustainable Interior District, I want to introduce brands and makers worth discovering, look more closely at how their products are designed and made, and examine the choices that shape their approach.

Not every product is perfect, and no single certification or sustainability claim tells the whole story. What matters is looking beyond the marketing and understanding what a brand can genuinely demonstrate.

Alongside these discoveries, I'll continue sharing practical design knowledge to help people create interiors that are beautiful, functional, healthier to live in and made to last.

Because better design begins with better understanding.

Beautiful interiors. Better choices.

Lidija Popovic
Founder, Sustainable Interior District