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.

30 Lessons

Included with membership

Lesson plan — 30 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 Unique and big ticket pieces

11 Large scale uses for reclaimed materials

04 A city apartment

12 Introducing the apartment
13 Reclaimed materials in the kitchen
14 Reclaimed gym floors in a bathroom
15 Using larger reclaimed items
16 Finding a material palette
17 Salvage encourages flexibility
18 Salvaged marble and teak in the ensuite bathroom

05 Flooring

19 Reclaimed parquet - Part 1
20 Reclaimed parquet - Part 2
21 Older pine floorboards
22 Repurposing flooring

06 A London townhouse

23 Introduction to the house
24 Reusing existing windows internally
25 Tongue and groove
26 Fireplaces
27 Upholstery and fabrics
28 Using salvage in the bathroom
29 Salvaged bannisters
30 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

“I have subscribed to access all the courses so have watched one on interior design and this one with Butter Wakefield who specialises in small garden design. She has a lovely personality and comes across as being a ve...”

Louise Brown Apr 10, 2026

“I love CreateAcademy. I came in for the gardening and floristry courses, but am also watching an interior design one at present. And the photography course is an absolute must, best I've ever done.”

Wellesley Apr 1, 2026

“What a great investment, I have learned such a lot from the first three courses. My evenings have gone from not being able to find anything that captured my imagination on TV to learning and expanding my knowledge on ...”

sojojo Mar 30, 2026

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