It’s here! 
Timeless Not Trendy: A Designer’s Guide to Sustainable Interiors
A word from the author…
Hello, I’m Kate St James — an interior designer, author and former design magazine editor. After four decades working in the Australian design industry, I’ve learned that good design doesn’t need to be wasteful or trend-driven. I created Timeless not Trendy to help others design beautiful, sustainable spaces without compromising on style or comfort. I hope my work inspires you to create interiors that last — for you, and for the planet.
Follow me on Instagram @katestjames_thedesigntimes for more inspiration and ideas.
Timeless not Trendy
In a world where fast furniture and trend-driven interiors flood our feeds, this guide offers a thoughtful alternative: one that values quality over quantity, style over fleeting trends, and longevity over landfill.
Drawing on decades of design expertise, Kate St James shares a practical, inspiring approach to sustainable interiors, where beautiful spaces are created with integrity, and every piece serves a purpose. From sourcing furniture with transparent supply chains to selecting durable materials, this guide will help you create interiors that look great and do good.
Whether you’re furnishing your first apartment, rethinking a single room, or creating your forever home, this book will help you to make decisions that reflect your values and style. Learn how to identify quality, edit with restraing, support ethical makers, and create a home that evolves with you, one intentional piece at a time .
Step into the 1980s…
Not Just Another Pretty Roof: Part memoir, part practical guide, The Billinudgel Solar House is the story of two designers who set out to build a home that worked with the sun, wind and seasons—and how that decision shaped the way that they lived.
In the early 1980s, Kate St James and Ian Cleland left Sydney for The Pocket near Billinudgel, Northern NSW, to design and build a passive‑solar house from the ground up. The book blends warm, first‑person storytelling with clear, practical insight: why the house faces true north, how deep eaves, cross‑ventilation and thermal mass were used, and which materials, colours and furnishings were chosen to make the home both sustainable and beautiful.
Alongside the narrative, you’ll find easy reference tables (Passive Solar Principles; Materials & Finishes), a Southern‑Hemisphere sun‑angle diagram, construction photos from 1982, and an interiors section that connects palette and texture to the surrounding landscape. “Life in the Solar House” shows the design at work—cool in a humid summer, warm in a damp winter—while “Moving On” and the Epilogue reflect on lessons that carried into every project thereafter.
This is an inspiring, down‑to‑earth book for renovators, owner‑builders, architects, designers and anyone curious about living lightly: design for sustainability and energy efficiency first, then layer in beauty, comfort and style.
Inside you’ll get:
- A real Australian passive‑solar case study (Northern NSW, Southern Hemisphere)
- Practical, actionable principles you can apply to any home
- Materials & finishes with sustainability notes
- Interiors guidance and colour cues from the landscape
- Archival construction photos and a sun‑angle diagram
