If you’ve been looking for interior inspiration to restyle your home, we’ve rounded up some interior design ideas to get you started.
Whether it’s the start of a new year or new season, from spring and summer to autumn and winter, there is always an eagerness to revamp the home, and with so many possibilities you can be left wondering where to even start. Leave no room or corner unconsidered for a revamp, as any space can be given a new lease of life, a
Whether it’s redecorating an entire living room or just a bedroom corner, we’ve spoken to interior designers and creative directors about some worthwhile updates you can make to your living space, such as using colour to create depth, and combining materials, textures and furniture to make the most of your home’s layout, to marble alternatives and decorating awkward spaces.
Whether starting completely anew or wanting to change certain elements within a room, rest assured there are ways to express your ever evolving interior style with these 18 interior design ideas.
1
Interior Design Idea: Coordinating Colours
Make a feature of alcoves and create a cocooning effect by painting walls and the ceiling in the same colour.
In a living room, a nifty trick is painting the joinery either side of an open hearth (pictured here with a reclaimed marble surround fireplace) in a darker tone, in this case a halcyon sage green, which helps to blend the TV into the surroundings.
‘Painting the walls and ceiling the same warm grey creates a cosseting effect in a spacious room like this but can be equally effective in smaller rooms where a cosy and enveloping feeling is desired,’ explains Anouska Tamony, Interior Designer and Founder of design studio, Anouska Tamony. ‘A custom artwork adds a thoughtful personal touch and a little romance which is perhaps what every room needs above all else!’
2
Interior Design Idea: Soft Lighting
Lighting can greatly enhance a room both functionally and aesthetically. Softer lighting is a more flattering alternative than hard lighting, bringing any look together.
‘Materials are just as important as style when choosing lighting for your living room. Bone China is an ideal choice, bringing a lovely softness of finish and a beautiful translucent glow. This soft light is ideal for creating a cosy atmosphere that makes you feel instantly comfortable and relaxed,’ says Charlie Bowles, Director, Original BTC
Pictured: Pebble Pendant, Original BTC
3
Interior Design Idea: Opening Up A Smaller Kitchen
If your kitchen is on the smaller side, there are still ways to maximise it with storage options, colours, and materials to add to its charm.
‘When designing small kitchens there is always a balance between including all the necessary storage and ensuring the space doesn’t feel claustrophobic with cabinetry,’ says Leila Touwen, Co-Founder of Pluck Kitchens. ‘Open shelves are a practical alternative, a place to display and store objects, they add texture whilst keeping a light feeling. How materials are used will also contribute to that feeling, for example, the grain of wood on base cabinets adds a weightiness to the lower planes of the design, grounding the cabinets and giving a contrasting sense of airiness above them.’
Pictured: Coldharbour Grey with London Plane Wood and Veined Marble Worktops, Pluck Kitchens
4
Interior Design Idea: Curve Appeal
Curved furniture has made a comeback, bringing a soft finish to furnishings with lines that make an elegant addition to living spaces, especially in the bedroom.
‘From 1970s inspired curved sofas to shapely mirrors, 2022 will certainly be the return of the curve. Curves instantly create a softness and femininity as well as lending a retro vibe to a room,’ explains Lou Peterson, Creative Director at Dwell. ‘With its fluid form, curved furniture and homeware adds a unique touch to any space, giving the illusion of depth and movement. Due to its shape, it can be trickier to style, so allow curved furniture to be the hero piece in the home, paired with a more scaled back and uncluttered look.’
5
Interior Design Idea: Patterned Wallpaper
Wallpaper is a crafty way to uplift your bathroom, and patterned designs with multi layered motifs are ideal for creating a striking feature wall.
‘Bathrooms are often small, stark rooms lacking pattern or personality. The addition of a wallpaper is a fantastic way to transform the room, adding colour and pattern whilst not taking up any of the precious space,’ comments Kate French, Creative Director of Dado Atelier. ‘In a small bathroom, opt for a design that’s as beautiful up close as it is at a distance.’
Featured: Paisley Wallpaper in Charcoal, Dado Atelier
6
Interior Design Idea: Mood Lifter
Colours not only affect how a space looks, but the moods and feelings experienced within that space too.
‘Don’t be afraid of colour. Colour sparks emotion and this beautiful red study will ignite conversation and inspire passionate thought,’ says Sophie Stevens, Creative Director at SGS Design. ‘Saturating a space with colour is a great opportunity to change our mindset around our homes, so choose your colour wisely to create the right mood for the room.’
7
Interior Design Idea: Adding Vintage Flair
Sourcing antique items will always add personality to a bathroom, adding a truly unique mix of old and new.
‘Antiques are at the core of HÁM interiors, with antique dealer parents I had a childhood spent in sale rooms, auction houses and fairs. This forged a love of antiques,’ explains Tom Cox, Co-Founder of HAM interiors. ‘We’ve been known to mix in all kinds of antiques into our bathroom schemes, this helps offset the starkness of white porcelain and the uniformity of built-in joinery, plus antiques naturally come with character and a patina that’s hard to recreate.
‘In our Barnes pied-a-terre project we repurposed a former workmen’s chest into a vanity adding a marble scalloped basin which we offset with an ornate gilt mirror.’
8
Interior Design Idea: Colour Ratio
When choosing colours, especially vastly different hues, a ratio can be a handy way to balance between a primary colour, secondary colour, and an accent colour.
‘Consider where you need to inject the colour and what impact you want it to have on the room,’ suggests Meaghan Hunter, Senior Stylist and Art Director at Neptune Home. ‘Here, we’ve stuck to the 60:30:10 colour ratio rule. In this Victorian terraced townhouse, we didn’t want to distract from the clean lines of the contemporary glass-pained roof above and wanted to keep the walls white, to allow for the extension to flow seamlessly with the rest of the house.
‘We therefore chose to only paint Saffron halfway up the walls (to shelf height), resulting in a coloured backsplash of sorts. This helped to focus the colour to a compact area along the cabinet run, without feeling overpowering in this space.’
9
Interior Design Idea: Tonal Hallway
Using three varying tones of light, medium and dark can create a warm and welcoming entrance.
‘Where space is tight, consider using colour to highlight architectural features, creating design impact without impacting on space,’ says Andy Greenall, Head of Design, Paint & Paper Library.
‘Create a colour scheme that brings warmth and light to the space by combining the soft muted peach Desert Rose with the deep and warm Caddie. As a high traffic area, a hallway paint finish should be hardwearing and durable. For plaster walls, use Architects’ Matt Emulsion, and for paneling and trim try Architects’ Satinwood which has an elegant satin finish and is specially formulated to be extremely tough, ensuring your interior will withstand the many knocks and bumps of busy family life.’
Pictured Paints: Acqua Viva, Caddie, Desert Rose and Stone I, Paint & Paper Library
10
Interior Design Idea: Matching With Marble
The marble and brass combination is a perfect mix, with a guaranteed polished finish.
‘Even with smaller spaces, go for luxury. Using beautiful marble and brass in this angular en-suite made a small room feel elegant and glamorous. Don’t be afraid to bring grandeur even to the most modest room in the house,’ says Sophie Stevens, Creative Director at SGS Design.
11
Interior Design Idea: Angled Details
Bedrooms at an angle can be tricky to decorate but there is no reason to compromise on style.
‘It is possible to live large in small spaces, you just have to know how. Create a backdrop with a striking wall mural, a simple design ensures the pattern fills the room without dominating the overall scheme. Size up your lighting solutions, an oversized pendant or table lamp gives the space a more luxurious feel while providing ample amount of light,’ explain Jen & Mar, Co-Founders of Interior Fox.
‘Panelling is an easy way to add texture, depth and interest to the walls. Great for all types of properties, especially new builds as it really helps to add character and interest when architectural features are minimal. This technique is ideal for small rooms when used vertically, as it makes the walls appear taller.’
12
Interior Design Idea: Armchair Ambience
Those awkward spaces in a room can be decorated to provide a snug corner to relax after a long day, as opposed to being left empty.
‘This corner is the first thing we see when you enter the bedroom so it needed to be cosy and inviting as it sets the mood for the rest of the room,’ explains Stella Weatherall, Interior Designer and Founder of interior design studio, Stella Weatherall. ‘Here layered are colours and textures to draw the eye in, using a Moroccan rug, kilim and velvet cushions, a folded antique red quilted bedspread and a raw textured curtain fabric (The Cloth Shop). The armchair remains un-upholstered, but I rather like the informality of it and the texture of the hessian being viable. A chair in a corner is also hugely practical for tossing one’s clothes over at the end of a long day.’
13
Interior Design Idea: Simply Scandi
Drawing inspiration from the Scandi style can allow neutral tones to come together to create a hygge oasis.
‘Structured simplicity is a natural evolution from the Scandi-inspired interiors that we’ve seen dominating interior trends over the last few years. This look is a stripped back style with rustic elements and layered textures. Creating a relaxing, comfortable environment, soft neutrals are used to create a calm and uplifting space, with more sustainable accessories choices,’ comments Adam Black, Co-founder, Button & Sprung.
14
Interior Design Idea: Island Space
A kitchen island can be a solution to many design problems, from a lack of storage to wanting more cooking and prep space, and integrated breakfast seating.
‘Islands are a focal point in a kitchen, uniting different areas of the room. People are naturally drawn to gather round them, which means whoever is prepping food or cooking feels part of the action. They are also a great way to incorporate storage, giving deep and conveniently located cupboards or drawers, which can be designed around the island’s use, for example, whether it includes a sink or hob,’ says Leila Touwen, Co-Founder of Pluck Kitchens.
15
Interior Design Idea: Invest in a Larder
Sometimes the usual kitchen cupboards are not enough to store away all your utilities and spices, but larders are much deeper, making a useful alternative.
‘Larders maximise space in every kitchen regardless of space, from slimline full-length single units to double larders that stow away bulky electricals such as microwaves, toasters or even your coffee machine, the possibilities are endless. Kitchen islands offer the most creative storage solutions, they are designed to give you more workspace and all the storage options you could ever dream of – they are an extension to your existing cabinetry and then some,’ explains Al Bruce, Founder of Olive & Barr.
Featured: Landsdown Kitchen Larder, Olive & Barr
16
Interior Design Idea: Marble Alternative
There are plenty of marble alternatives that still provide a beautiful effect and are incredibly durable.
‘Porcelain marble effect tiles are fantastic,’ says Yousef Mansuri, Director of Design at C.P. Hart. ‘As ink-jet technology has improved dramatically over the last 10 years, manufacturers can create some of the most beautiful and realistic stone lookalikes – porcelain is now a genuine alternative to real stone. A strong non-porous surface with a reduced weight, a porcelain tile wall or floor is incredibly easy to maintain and will stay looking clean and smooth in years to come.’
Featured: Rowan Furniture, Arabescato Oro from the Cosmopolitan Tiles range, Epoch 3- Piece Basin Mixer and Epoch Shower, C.P. Hart
17
Interior Design Idea: Art of Display
For the space under the stairs, organising a display is a useful way to utilise it decoratively.
‘One tip for maximising the space you have is to use reclaimed timber to create more shelving space, where art and objects that have meaning to you can be displayed,’ suggests Angus Buchanan, Co-Founder of Buchanan Studio.
18
Interior Design Idea: Hallway Mirrors and Tables
An ornate mirror paired with a console table is a way to give the illusion of space and helps to draw in natural light if near a door or window.
‘Hallways tend to become a natural dumping ground, however they should always feel uncluttered, streamlined and inviting the moment you enter a home,’ says Katie Glaister, Co-Founder of K&H Design. ‘Opting for a shallow console table, such as this one designed by K&H Design ourselves, not only looks elegant with its hand-carved legs, but also has the added detail of being covered in leather, so as to muffle any noise upon arrival.
‘In smaller houses, the design should create a flow between adjoining rooms. This can be achieved by placing a mirror above the console to create a sense of connectivity and space.’
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