A Sustainable Christmas Without the Stress

I know, I know. It’s October.  Some of you are already reaching for the remote to switch me off because I said the C-word before Halloween.

But stay with me, because this week on Phil In The Morning I had one of the most genuinely useful Christmas chats I’ve had in years — and not a single inflatable reindeer was mentioned.

My guest was Sorcha Drakeford, interior designer and founder of design@Studio17, based just down the road in Sale. Sorcha helps people create healthy homes, and at this time of year she helps them do Christmas properly — beautifully, simply and with as little waste as possible.

From “Not Creative” to Interior Designer

Here’s the bit I loved. Sorcha told me she never thought of herself as creative. At school she took art GCSE alongside some seriously talented classmates and decided she just wasn’t one of them.
Then it turned out that if you give her four walls and a ceiling, her brain works differently.

After 30 years in hospitality creating new concepts, she founded her own design business — proof that talent turns up in places you don’t expect. If you’ve ever said “I could never do that,” take note.

How a Christmas Design Service Was Born (by Accident)

Sorcha’s Christmas offering started almost by chance. She’d designed a client’s master suite and lounge over the summer, and at the end of September they rang her in a panic: “Our decs are going to look terrible. Can you help?”

She’d never done it for a client before, but said yes. She shared it on her Instagram Stories, someone else got in touch, and it grew from there.

Why Sustainability Matters at Christmas

What really struck me is how much Sorcha cares about waste. The amount of stuff that ends up in landfill is, in her words, wild — and even a lot of what we put in the recycling never actually gets recycled.

So she starts with what you’ve already got, and where she does buy, she works with local artisans, local businesses and B Corp companies. Felt, clay, hand-crafted glass — everything is designed to last. Her goal? A tree you’ll still love in 20 years.

Sorcha’s Top Three Tips for a More Magical (and Sustainable) Home

I asked for three tips. I got a few bonus ones too, and honestly, I’d never thought of any of them.

1. Start with warm fairy lights. The difference between harsh bright white and warm white is massive — not just for the look, but for how the room makes you feel.
2. Stand back and squint. Before you add anything else to the tree, step back and squint your eyes. You’ll instantly see where the glow is uneven. There’s nothing worse than sitting down with your mulled wine and spotting the wonky bit.
3. Bring nature in. Dried gypsophila, hydrangeas, dried oranges, pine cones and ribbon from your local haberdashery. It’s called biophilic design and it brings a real calm to a room.

Sorcha’s very first tree at 21, living on her own with no money, was just fairy lights, ribbons and pine cones — and it looked beautiful.

Bonus tip: put your fairy lights on a timer. Sorcha’s come on 20 minutes before she gets home. No crawling around under the tree hunting for the plug. Genius.

And if you’ve got little ones, take them foraging for pine cones. Just pick up what’s on the ground — please don’t go hacking at the trees in your local woods!

Curated Christmas Tree Packages and Bespoke Styling

If you’d rather someone else did the thinking, Sorcha has a few options:

• Curated tree packages — four styles to choose from, starting at £295 for a six-to-seven-foot tree. Everything arrives in one box with an installation guide, and trade discounts are passed on to you.
• Virtual design — wherever you live in the UK, Sorcha designs your scheme online and sends you a recommended shopping list.
• Fully bespoke — she comes to you and does the lot: tree, mantelpiece, hallway and tablescaping.

Every package comes with a step-by-step guide, so next year you just pull it out and do it yourself. You only need to hire her once.

Her favourite? The Woodland Wonder — all foliage and fairy lights, no baubles, roughly kitten-proof and toddler-proof, and up in 20 minutes. Sorcha also has a sustainable Christmas gift guide on her blog with around 40 ideas for foodies, homebodies and nature lovers.

Christmas That Gives Back

Here’s something Sorcha was too modest to mention on air, so she dropped me a line afterwards. Ten per cent of the profits from all her Christmas offerings go to two charities.

Closer to home, that’s Standing Tall, which matches people who’ve experienced homelessness with stable jobs and safe homes — and works right here in Manchester. Further afield, it’s The Sorcha Children Foundation, an orphanage in Uganda.

So your tree doesn’t just look good. It does some good, too.

The Gift of Time

What Sorcha is really selling, I think, is time. Christmas can be magical, but it can also be over-commercialised and stressful.

Her approach is about doing less, doing it better, and actually getting to enjoy it — Sinatra on, mince pie in hand.  (She also puts Marmite on panettone. I’m choosing to overlook that.)

Find Sorcha Drakeford and design@Studio17  Visit designatstudio17.co.uk for her services and Christmas packages, and follow @designatstudio17 on Instagram and Facebook for Christmas styling tips over the coming weeks.

And remember — local isn’t small. It’s personal.

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