London Design Week

On Tuesday last week, 14 March, I zoomed to London to attend London Design Week at the Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour.

Despite being crazy busy, I know that the time taken out of the week to attend is really valuable, as it is so important for me to keep inspired as an Interior Designer and to also be up to date with new trends. Being surrounded by such an inspiring space reminds you of just how much you love your job and sparks ideas which are so important, not only for projects I am already working on but for those coming in the future.

I hoped to discover new suppliers, and as well as the permanent showrooms that remain all year around, London Design Week showcases new and innovative suppliers in their pop up stands which puts you in the mindset that you might just find new items for current projects, which I am delighted to say I did!

Taking a guided tour of the Centre was an invaluable experience as I was taken into showrooms that I may not have chosen to pop into otherwise. It definitely showed me that sometimes pre conceived ideas of particular brands can be limiting.  For example, Ralph Lauren Home, believing this to only be for extremely high-end projects, I was delighted to find an item for a current project that I would have originally thought would have been out of the projects budget, but was actually just the right find, and my client is delighted.

Stunning Tulips, Daffodils' & spring colours adorned the design centre

DCCH

There was a mood board workshop with Clarke & Clarke that I attended and found it to be a fabulous opportunity to mingle and chat with other designers. Mood boards are such an important part of the design process to help visualise how everything comes together and works in harmony with regard to colour, texture and composition, for both client and designer.

Mood Board Masterclass

Clarke & Clarke

 Learning about Clarke & Clarke’s new collection – Marianne – was a joy and the whole workshop was such a good use of my time, coming away with a mood board that I am really excited could be implemented into a new future project.

Looking at the contrast between physical mood boards and digital ones really confirmed to me how important is it to have a beautiful visual space to get inspired in.

I am so delighted that our new Studio is a reflection of that beauty not only for me as an exciting workspace, but for clients when I present their concept design all laid out with fabrics, colours, textures etc. This is when the clients really start to get excited as they can start to visualise what the end design will be.

Another reason for attending, was to look at artwork for a current project and this proved really worthwhile, with Art gallery pop ups giving me so many great ideas.

Pop Up Gallery of Stunning Art!

Over all it was a very positive experience, enriching my day and with Titch by my side, she had a great time too, not to mention I got to sample the most delicious and amazing chocolate brownie cooked in one of the stunning kitchen showrooms.

Mascot!

A great day was had by all :-)

We also had a lovely pitstop in this beautiful pub which reminded me very much of a project we worked on…

The Highwayman Inn

Elevate Your Christmas Styling

It’s almost time to start thinking about decorating your rooms for the Christmas season and adding that cosy feel that us ‘Brits’ love at this time of year, when the nights draw in and the weather turns colder, at the moment it just seems wetter!

We have put together our 5 Top Tips to elevate your Christmas Styling:

Decide on a theme– be it a colour theme – a lighting theme – a texture theme, then think about what décor you can change out to make room for the added decorations, depending on the look you are going for you may wish to create a subtle or maximum Christmas impact. You don’t always need to remove furniture, although you may wish to rearrange it, to find the best place for your tree (s).

Choose your colour palette – are you going to stick with a traditional palette of reds, greens and golds or introduce a softer neutral with whites and silvers? Or are you going to be brave and bold and choose a more vibrant colour – perhaps Blue, Pink or even Orange, like the examples shown here.

You may love a more traditional Christmas style, where you gather everything with sentimental value and find just the right place for it, this means you may not even need to think about a colour scheme for your Christmas decorations as nostalgia is the theme here.

It may be that you already have a bold colour on your walls or a coloured statement piece of furniture, if this is the case then how about styling your tree and wrapping presents in the same colour palette to pull it all together.

Lighting – adding candles, lanterns, or strings of lights will change the feel of your rooms and are a beautiful addition to any interior. Be bold and place them in different rooms to where you would normally, perhaps lining window sills, twinkling lights wrapped around bannisters, or over bedheads - not just where the main tree is located. Hallways, stairs, mantelpieces, fireplaces and dining tables can all come to life, let your imagination and creative instincts shine through!

The scents from candles always help evoke special memories and remind us of Christmas’s past, place them throughout your home to bring a sense of cosines and create a Christmas ambience throughout the house.

Textures - Festive or colour themed cushions and cosy winter fabrics such as woolen throws all help to add texture and create warmth.

A rug is a great way of incorporating colour as well as texture and when placed on hard floors can really make a difference to the comfort underfoot for added house guests who haven’t thought to pack their slippers!

Perhaps you will have guests staying over, how lovely for them to walk into the guest bedroom and it feel linked to the decorations down stairs by adding lanterns or lights over the headboard, or a mini tree on a dresser in the same theme.

Placement of décor - You could make a centre piece of your coffee table, linking to your theme and colour choices.

Add themed Christmas items to your alcoves and/or shelving, or to your kitchen worksurfaces. By switching out the day-to-day items you have looked at all year and enjoyed, you will create a sense of cohesion with your Christmas styling

However you decide to style your home this season, if you are considering improvements or changes to your Interiors in 2023 do take a look at our Interior Design Service page to see how we might be able to help and don’t hesitate to get in touch.

How to choose the perfect paint colour

Choosing paint colours is something that not everyone is comfortable doing, updating any interior can often be stressful, not to mention expensive especially if done in a hurry without much thought as it then just becomes something that needs to be redone at a later date - This is why when you hire an Interior Designer you lift that weight off your shoulders and pass it straight over to us, at the same time eliminating the chances of making expensive mistakes that you will later regret.

You may remember reading one of our previous blogs when we visited Decorex Interior Design show . One of our favourite guest speakers was ‘Suzy Hoodless’ – We could really relate to her views on how we as Interior Designers have to edit our clients ideas in order to pull them all together. Producing a paint schedule is most definitely part of this process as often a client will have so may ideas about how they want their space to look feel and function but with no idea of where to start in order to achieve this. It can so often be achieved simply by choosing the right combination of paint colours even if this happens to be various shades of white we can not express the importance of getting this right.

Some interesting colour facts!…

There are many words that can be used to describe colour, some you may be familiar with and some not so much.

• Hues and shades of colour are examples - Hue is another word for colour whereas shade is a darker version of a colour made by adding black – for example dark blue.

• Tint is a light version of a colour made by adding white – for example pink is a tint of red.

• Tone is a lighter or darker version of a colour.

• Primary colours (red, blue, yellow); secondary colours created by mixing the primaries (red + blue = purple; red + yellow = orange; yellow + blue = green); and the tertiary colours (red-orange; yellow-orange; yellow-green; blue-green; blue-purple; red-purple).

• Warm colours – reds, oranges and yellows – think of fires, sunsets etc

• Cool colours – greens, blues and blue purples – think water and sky

• Neutral colours – colours that strictly speaking aren’t warm or cool but more likely to be applied to colours that aren’t on the colour wheel for example greys, blacks, browns and whites.

What do we take into consideration when helping our clients choose the right paint colour for their Interiors?

As we have said choosing the right paint colour can have a huge influence when it comes to the overall design of any space, it can make a small room feel bigger and a large room feel more intimate – it has the potential to lighten a dark room or make a room come to life in evening light.

A little colour theory can go a long way and we can help you to understand how the orientation of your room may affect what the paint will actually look like on the walls and how colour behaves in different conditions.

It is important to know which way a room faces because the quality of the light that comes in is different depending on whether the room looks north, south, east or west and this will in turn alter the appearance of the paint colour once it is on the wall.

North facing rooms receive cooler and harsher light, whereas South-facing rooms get warm, colour-flattering light all day long.

East-facing rooms are bright early on but become cooler as the day progresses and West-facing rooms will feel cooler in the mornings then benefit from warm light later on.

As part of our initial Interior Design consultation we start to get a feel of which direction we would likely go in when helping you choose paint colours, we may ask about the colours you love to wear and the environments you like to spend time in also any hobbies you might enjoy. Thinking about these sorts of things will help us understand the mood you may want to create and what personality you want your space to have. We will also consider any items or features in your home that you particularly love and would like to incorporate into the final design.

There are so many ways to find your own inspiration such as looking in magazines, or on the internet with all the images that are available on google or apps such as Pinterest and Instagram. Pinterest is particularly great for creating inspiration boards of your favourite ideas which can be kept all together and shared with us to get a great insight into your likes and dislikes but fear not we will work with you to ‘edit your ideas and pull them altogether.’

Paint colour choices are a great way to add personality to your home but this doesn’t mean it has to be overpowered with colour (if this is not your thing), combinations of a main neutral shade with an accent colour can allow you to go as bold as you like and at the same time be subtlety striking.

The way in which the colour is added can also add further interest such as to woodwork as opposed to walls or to a feature area or piece of furniture for example the options to add colour are endless it doesn’t just need to be applied to walls.

We appreciate and understand that even with seeking professional advice picking a paint colour that you will want to live with for years is perhaps one of the hardest design decisions to make and this is where test pots or swatches of colour are key.

With painting these onto the wall or onto a large sheet of white paper it allows you to really consider all of the factors that we have mentioned such as light, orientation and other items that will remain in the room.

Top tip- Don’t be tempted to position swatches next to each other on the same wall as this makes it harder to make a clear choice as they may well distract from each other.

So as we are sure you will agree you can see that choosing the perfect paint colour isn’t just a case of going to the DIY shop and picking a colour there and then.

If you think you may like assistance with choosing your ideal paint colours then please don’t hesitate to get in touch and we can arrange a discovery call to chat through your project no matter how big or small.

Interior Design ‘Top Tips’ on how to bring a touch of summer to your interiors

This summer the UK has experienced exceptional history making temperatures, usually a British Summer can be widely unpredictable, and rain can stop play for many days, but who knew what the summer of 2022 had in store...…..

What has been your favourite part so far? – is it the sunny skies and warm temperatures, that bring with it contentment and brighter happy days?

For most of us summer means spending more time outside rather than in, visiting places, family and friends, exploring and making memories– taking time to enjoy being outside.

Now how can we replicate that summer vibe inside and keep the summer going for as long as possible?

One simple way to start is by adding greenery to your interiors – whilst this may seem obvious, the impact of green plants being styled in your home can often be overlooked and if you don’t have green fingers then artificial plants work just as well for a fuss-free, don’t have to worry about watering alternative and there are many very lifelike looking options these days.

By adding in greenery, you can heighten the natural connection to the outdoors and create a botanical feel.

Simple vases of fresh flowers, in all their beauty, can make such a difference, and you can take inspiration from their wide colour palette, not only will they look and smell beautiful, they will also make you feel good too.

Being surrounded by nature, be that, indoor plants and /or vases of delicate blooms, it is proven to have a positive impact on our wellbeing and will brighten up a day in more ways than one.

With the high temperatures we have been enjoying be sure to at very least make your interior seem cooler, do this by resisting the urge to dig out those winter throws and candles for just a while longer and instead lighten things up with some bright summery cushions. Save the cosy candle burning and layering of fabrics for when its time to bunker down come late October.

Photo credit to Prestigious Textiles

Another way to keep the summer vibe going is in your bedroom perhaps change out dark bedding or pillow cases and cushions, and replace with bright fresh colours.

Open the windows and let the sun and summer breeze into your home, in some cases it has even been known for a client to ask us to change heavy winter curtains out and add some lighter or sheer fabric to get that “billowing in the wind” effect....

Working our way around the house, rooms such as the kitchen can be lifted by simply adding a bowl of lemons or limes – that citrusy feel and the colour yellow is guaranteed to be an instant mood enhancer, and will seem light and bright whatever the weather. 

Yellow has a freshness and warmth that makes it an ever-popular colour around the home perhaps for a quick update just try adding a vibrant tablecloth to your dining table.

Or go all out by creating beautiful settings of layered patterned linens, with coloured glassware and tableware, perhaps even add some twinkly fairy lights and a vase of fresh flowers.

This will give that summer tea party feel; always try to add as much interest and colour as possible!

If you didn’t already know- Afternoon Tea Week is coming up here in the UK 8th - 14th August 2022 which celebrates the great British tradition of Afternoon Tea and is of course the perfect excuse to get creative with your interior styling as well as catch up with loved ones over a cup of tea and some expertly created treats, so get styling those tables people! #dresstoimpress

If however, like us you don’t actually believe you need an excuse to brighten up your interior, you just love an all year round happy bright décor then look no further we can help, we would be only too pleased to assist making your home an all year round contented place to hang out-brighter happy days 365 days of the year!

We have recently updated our Interior Design Service page so do take a look to see how we might be able to help.