Aline Dürr is an award-winning interior architect, thought leader, author, and vegan advocate based in Sydney.
A true pioneer in the emerging field of vegan interior design, Aline is founder and director of Vegan Interior Design, a studio and educational platform offering online courses and client consultations worldwide. She is also the founder of the world’s first Vegan Interior Design Week and author of Vegan Interior Design, an award-winning book published in 2020.
Alongside her busy professional life, Aline is active in animal rescue, a dedicated foster parent to countless ex-battery hens, and mother of two young children and many rescue animals.
We were thrilled when she agreed to bring her expertise to the Nourish Vegan Awards as a panellist in 2022.
Nourish: What motivated you to explore veganism/plant-based living?
AD: After watching ‘Dominion’ in 2018 I became vegan practically over night with some gradual adjustments. It started with food and personal hygiene products and quickly took over my wardrobe and work as an interior architect.
Nourish: How does your day-to-day work reflect your values?
AD: When I rebranded my interior design studio to Vegan Interior Design in 2020, I committed to incorporate my vegan lifestyle fully into my day-to-day work. I also decided to create an educational platform teaching many people worldwide about vegan interior design rather than only work with one on one clients.
Nourish: What has changed in the vegan world since you started on this path?
AD: Everything is accelerating. When I looked into vegan wall paint in Australia in 2019 there wasn’t really much on offer, at least not locally. Now there are at least two brands that are a terrific alternative to non-vegan Dulux for example and this applies to most other areas of interior design such as vegan leathers and silks, appropriate wool alternatives, comfy lounges that are not full of feathers, etc.
Nourish: Why did you choose to be part of the expert vegan panel for the 2022 Nourish Vegan Awards?
AD: I have been following the awards for the last two years and I think they are so important; we need many more awards for vegan products and initiatives. As someone who tries out every new vegan product that comes to the market and someone who is quite critical about taste, I love being involved in collectively creating a shortlist of products as a guidance for non-vegans or new vegans. I am also hoping that being on the panel may lead to a few more homeware categories in the future!
Nourish: What impact do initiatives like the Nourish Vegan Awards have?
AD: They really make it very clear and public that there is an abundance of vegan choices out there that cannot just be brushed off as ‘small niche’. They raise the profile of vegan products and make non-vegans more curious about trying vegan products.
Nourish: What vegan product/option could you simply not live without?
AD: Oat milk for my daily coffee and oat cream for cooking. Cow’s milk in coffee was the absolute last and only thing I could not give up for a while at the beginning and I still don’t like soy or almond milk mixed with coffee but oat milk (I’ll refrain from mentioning my favourite brand here!) changed my life for the better.
Nourish: What isn’t yet widely available that you’d love to see developed?
AD: Clearly my answer to this needs to point out the still very underdeveloped vegan interior design products. We have vegan wall paint covered but vegan materials and finishes in general still need to hit the mass market and become more readily available, more affordable and more ‘normal’.
Nourish: What’s next for you on your vegan journey?
AD: Continuing to help vegans and non-vegans think about the products they surround themselves with in their homes and workplaces by sharing my knowledge about vegan interior design with more and more people worldwide. It’s really just talking about my two passions – interior design and veganism – with everyone I meet!
Nourish: Thanks Aline: more power to you!
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Discover the nominees for the Nourish Vegan Awards 2022, and vote now to support your favourite brands, venues, and advocates. By casting your vote, you’ll also be in the running to win from this year’s outstanding prize pool. Voting closes on 17 July 2022.
