About me and Renovate Green

After studying history at university Natasha went to work in investment banking. When banking proved incompatible with a young family she left her job and did an MSc in Climate Change and Sustainability.

On return from living in Singapore, she and her husband bought an old house in Oxfordshire and vowed to bring it to modern levels of comfort but not at the expense of the planet. Throughout this 5 year journey of eco-renovation, Natasha meticulously researched and managed every element to ensure that no improvement would damage the beauty or health of the house or its occupants. Knowledge gained from her MSc and from courses in retrofit and energy efficiency helped her to understand the physics of old buildings; to seek out sustainable, low carbon products; and to appreciate the complexity of installing renewable energy systems in older buildings.

Renovate Green came to life in 2016 as a blog, to share the process of eco-renovation with others. It has evolved into a website and business that gives advice on how to make older buildings comfortable and energy efficient without damaging them structurally. It also ventures into the world of interiors with advice on eco paints and wallpaper; reclamation; carpentry; and sustainable flooring and lighting.

Natasha is a qualified Retrofit Coordinator under PAS 2035 – the new government standard to deliver sustainable energy refurbishment projects in domestic buildings.

She lectures annually on retrofitting traditional buildings at the Institute of Energy and Sustainability at De Montfort University. She has written a research paper on the application of slim double glazing in historic houses which was published in 2017 in Energy and Buildings.