A New Year means new decorating opportunities and maybe even a fresh start for your home décor.
We’ve all got a few things we’d like to achieve at home over the next year, but how can you be sure that your choices will have longevity?
To help combat those problems we’ve got a set of trends and ideas from three expert interior designers, who were helpfully recommended by Time4Sleep.
We’ve called upon the views of Rachel Newcombe, from Fresh Design Blog, Carolyn Parker, who runs her own interior design company and Rosemary Ridgeway, who founded April Hamilton Interior Design in 1995.
Paintbrush at the ready? Let’s go then.
How to work a style for the winter months
Most people spend a lot more time at home over the winter months, so you want a lovely homely look that will welcome you when you walk back in through your front door and out of the cold.
Rachel Newcombe is a big fan of the traditional approach to winter decor, rich and warm colours which can give that feeling of cosiness.
This can be brought out by accessories, curtains, lamps, and cushions which also allow you a chance to create a changeable look when the winter months are over.
Rosemary Ridgeway subscribes to this theory, relying on accessories to move with the seasons, while using a neutral colour on walls.
Carolyn Parker takes a similar approach, pointing out that neutral colours are unlikely to become dated and will work with most styles.
However she adds that an extra feeling of warmth and luxury could be created by dark rich colours such as deep purples, plum, red and navies, mixed with gold or bronze.
We think that these choices are really about personality and the kind of home you’re decorating.
It can be difficult to make choices for the winter, when you know those lovely cosy warm tones will then be with you all summer, but making a bold choice can be really rewarding.
Considering when you are going to get best use out of a room and decorating it accordingly may be the best policy, but if in doubt neutral is probably the way to go.
Are patterns making a comeback? What are the latest trends?
Patterns can offer a slightly different look in your home, but it’s vital to pick something which is going to offer you lasting style.
Rachel says that warm red tones, as well as purple and plum, are really in vogue this year and we’ve certainly seen a lot of evidence of that, with some really lovely room sets designed around purple in particular.
However it is patterns which seem to be making a huge comeback, but Rachel advises that if you want to use them in the home you need to be careful, as they can be overpowering in a small space.
They may instead be best utilised to draw attention to a feature wall, so you’ll want to use white or other neutral colours on the other parts of the room.
Carolyn firmly agrees, suggesting that papering a fireplace wall or chimney breast could work, and that tartans or plaids are particularly good go-to-patterns.
For Rosemary however it is more about getting back to nature as she says the historical palettes of greys and taupes are super-fashionable at the moment.
This seems to fit with the trend towards the environment, so it should be no surprise that this has made its way into home decor.
Future-proofing
Nobody wants a style which is beautiful interior design today, but dated and garish tomorrow.
Dodging this is tricky, especially with tastes changing so quickly.
Rosemary suggests that if a style isn’t broken, it isn’t worth trying to fix it, so instead you should look at what can be recycled and kept from old styles.
This would seem to make a bit of sense; something which has been popular for a long time is more likely to remain popular than something new which may just be a flash in the pan.
Rachel thinks that an example of this is stylish wallpaper, which will only continue to rise in popularity with great new designs.
Saving money
In these belt tightening times saving a bit of money is on pretty much everyone’s mind and one way you could do this is to use locally-sourced products and materials says Rachel.
This is not always that easy though as the world of interior design remains quite London-centric.
However Rosemary adds that you can find a lot of beautiful timeless things that can help you create a unique style, provided you are not in a huge rush.
How about the perfect bedroom?
There aren’t many more important rooms in the home than the bedroom and if you don’t get it right you might not be able to sleep too easily!
Calming colours should help to sooth you into a deep restful kip and Carolyn suggests looking at mauves, pinks, jades and greens.
Rosemary is a firm fan of traditional and vintage style bedrooms, emphasising the need for people to consider lighting as a major priority.
One area that is particularly difficult is how you should look to decorate your children’s bedrooms, especially as their interests are likely to be hugely prone to change.
Rachel says that this is a good reason to look to neutral colours which can be used as a base for the wall, with wall stickers an option to create a design which can be easily removed.
Carolyn agrees, picking out warm whites on the walls and linen curtains to allow bedding, pictures and furniture to create the personalised effect, or even just the traditional pale blues or pinks.
And finally?
Enjoy yourself! Creating your own perfect interior design is not something to fret about, it should be a fun and rewarding experience. Go for something you really like and stay true to it, often you’ll find that if you liked it, others will too.
For a bit more help Time4Sleep have put together this lovely mood board. Enjoy!
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