Maria Speake

Maria Speake co-founded Retrouvius in 1993 and has spent the three decades since putting reclamation at the heart of contemporary interior design. Named Interior Designer of the Year by House & Garden, she reimagines salvaged hardwoods and textiles into rich, characterful, liveable rooms — a quiet revolution in how thoughtful homes are built.

Reclaimed Materials Interior Designer

Course

Designing with Salvaged and Reclaimed Materials

In her first ever course acclaimed interior designer and founder of renowned architectural salvage and design firm Retrouvius, Maria Speake shares her philosophy of reuse and shows how to bring warmth, character, and sustainability to any home. From sourcing and restoring to designing and building, Maria reveals the beauty of imperfection and the craft of giving good materials a second life, inspiring you to create spaces that tell their own unique story.

34 Lessons

Included with membership

Lesson plan — 34 lessons

01 Introduction

01 Meet Maria

02 Exploring reclaimed materials

02 Introducing the salvage warehouse
03 Beginning to recontextualise reclaimed materials
04 Reclaimed doors - Part 1
05 Reclaimed doors - Part 2
06 Understanding lighting
07 Reusing unique pieces
08 Iroko worktops
09 Using salvage fabric, leather and suede
10 Sometimes salvage isn’t worth it

03 Bathrooms

11 Mixing modern and reclaimed in bathroom schemes
12 Antique bathroom fittings

04 Unique and big ticket pieces

13 Large scale uses for reclaimed materials

05 A city apartment

14 Introducing the apartment
15 Reclaimed materials in the kitchen
16 Using reclaimed wood on doors and walls
17 Reclaimed gym floors in a bathroom
18 Using larger reclaimed items
19 Understanding different types of timber
20 Finding a material palette
21 Salvage encourages flexibility
22 Salvaged marble and teak in the ensuite bathroom

06 Flooring

23 Reclaimed parquet - Part 1
24 Reclaimed parquet - Part 2
25 Older pine floorboards
26 Repurposing flooring

07 A London townhouse

27 Introduction to the house
28 Reusing existing windows internally
29 Tongue and groove
30 Fireplaces
31 Upholstery and fabrics
32 Using salvage in the bathroom
33 Salvaged bannisters
34 Farewell

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“Maria Speake is a pioneer in the U.K. ~ bringing an educated, artistic, and inspiring eye of a great architect to all of her projects.”

Antonya Fults

“Create Academy has been such a great resource. I'm in the middle of renovating a bungalow with a very large garden and the courses have offered a wealth of information to dive into and explore new ideas. I'm loving Ni...”

Harvey Jun 10, 2026

“Absolutely love Create Academy! The instructors are extremely informative, and it is beautifully filmed. Create Academy is great value for money and plan on renewing my subscription yearly because there are such inter...”

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