New Year, New Design

Moving house or home improvements are often on New Year’s resolutions lists. It is the perfect time of year to have a rethink as new design trends are filtering through and inspiring new products. Maybe you’re considering moving house because your current home doesn’t offer you the space you need. Your home decoration may need a refresh or you want to put your design stamp on your new home.

We love what we do, and we are incredibly lucky to work with some fantastic clients, as well as developers, who are personalising their home décor. We work with those who need to reconfigure the space in their home to make it work for them, providing clever storage solutions and maximising space. But why should you consider using an interior designer?

Why use an Interior Designer?

There are lots of reasons to hire an interior designer to help design your living and working space, and some of them might surprise you!

Save money

With our knowledge and experience, we will help you make the best choices for your home. This means that you will avoid making costly mistakes when you try and do it yourself. A well-designed house can also increase the value of your house and make it more desirable to buyers; great if you are thinking about putting your house on the market. Design helps too with selling new developments, as it allows potential buyers to see the lifestyle acquiring the property will bring, rather than looking at empty, blank rooms.

Budgeting and Planning

A designer will work within your given budget, making the most of every penny you have to spend. With our resources and knowledge of product ranges, we know where to look, not only for the perfect item but for budget friendly options. We take care of any necessary research and put a plan in place so that everything commences smoothly.

Making the Space Work

Our clients often know the end result that they would like to achieve but they don’t know how to make it happen. This can lead to people moving house unnecessarily because the owners feel the house doesn’t work for them, but with the right design a home can be transformed. A common problem is that people lack storage space; we can find ingenious ways to overcome this. Whatever style you would like to go for – we have the skills to accomplish the desired finish.

Making it Happen

When you are redecorating yourself, it can be easy to procrastinate and put things off; life often gets in the way with things cropping up. As a designer, we focus on your project, designing and sourcing. Having an interior designer involved means that you are likely to complete the work in a shorter timescale, not to mention making it simpler!

Have a look at our full gallery of projects.

If you are considering making changes within your home this year, contact us to find out how we can help you, and follow us on Facebook for more trends and ideas.

January 2020

How to Design a Small Room

When it comes to designing any room there are always challenges, but with smaller rooms the design difficulties are even more apparent. However, if you follow some simple guidelines you can maximise the space you have and make even the smallest room feel airy and spacious!

Décor

When maximising space you need lightness and brightness. The use of too much of a dark colour can shrink any room. Pale, neutral colours are perfect for an airy feel in a room. Brilliant white on walls can be a little stark, but with a wide variety of white, there is something for everyone. Farrow and Ball have a range of white paints to create a stylish look; click here to see their colour range.

Horizontal lines on wallpaper create a simple optical illusion, making a room seem larger by drawing the eyes across the room. You could also install a long horizontal shelf on a wall to give a similar effect and at the same time introduce some additional functional space.

Furniture

A lack of space doesn’t need to restrict your living, but you need to make considered choices. A dining table that folds away can be a great choice and dining chairs with a rounded back mean they are easier to walk around in a snug kitchen. Sofas and armchairs with legs give a sense of space on the floor and you should avoid pushing them right up to walls to give them a ‘floating’ feel within the room.

Here’s some inspiration for your home:

Living

Often a living room is the hub of the home so it needs to be comfortable and suitable for your lifestyle. With sofas being one of the larger pieces of furniture in your home it needs to work for you. There are so many options, but careful choices will give you the perfect sofa for any room. Choose a sofa with high legs and that isn’t too deep; we love this sofa from Swoon and it’s just 80cm deep!

The addition of a footstool will give you added comfort and can double up as a coffee table when necessary; small rooms love multi-purpose furniture. If you are opting for a separate coffee table, choose something narrow. This glass coffee table from Wayfair would look great piled on the bottom with beautiful books and candles.

Dining

When you have your dining area in either a kitchen or living room you often need to consider a more creative design to fit everything in seamlessly. For a table, glass and slim framed pieces work well for a tighter space. This contemporary table from Oak Furniture Superstore would look great in a modern home – the glass will make the room feel spacious and the position of the legs in the middle ensure you can seat the maximum number of people.

Transparent furniture, in general, is perfect for any small room; embrace these acrylic Ghost chairs from Amara to use with your dining table.

Sleeping

Every bedroom needs a bed, but an undersized room might leave you sleepless thinking about how to fit in everything you need. When choosing a bed for a smaller bedroom keep the frames fine rather than chunky and choose styles with high legs such as this stunning copper bed frame from Dunelm. Positioning the bed by a window ensures that you’re not wasting any of the precious wall space.

General Rules

  • Reflect light where you can to create a feeling of space. Mirrors and lighting can be used to accomplish this
  • Keep clutter to a minimum in rooms; a plethora of ornaments and accessories will make a room feel crowded and closed in
  • If you are pushed for space in a small bedroom wall or ceiling mounted bedside lights will save valuable bedside table space
  • Don’t let a lack of space restrict your storage. There creative solutions and furniture that has craftily concealed storage aplenty.

If you would like more interior design information, hints and tips, follow us on Facebook.

March 2019

Should you use bold colours in your home?

Interior design is not all about muted colours and minimalist rooms. As a designer, we talk to our clients to understand their preferences, and design a room to perfectly suit their tastes.

When you want to include a bold or bright colour or design into a room, it is important that you don’t overpower the room by using too much. To help you avoid making a mistake we’re bringing you some ideas of how to introduce statement colours effectively.

Feature Walls

A feature wall, or accent wall, is one that is different to the other walls in the room. It can be a subtle difference, however we are talking about making a bigger difference and creating a dramatic effect.

We love striped wallpapers and Sallie herself has a bold French blue stripe wallpaper in her kitchen which has been featured previously. We love these designs by Sandberg, which can be used to great effect to bring a strong colour into a design. With a range of colours, there’s something for everyone.

Farrow and Ball have a great range of colours and have released their new colours for 2018. With such a variety there are plenty of options for a standout feature wall and complementing colour scheme.

Key Pieces

Every home, every room needs certain key pieces of furniture, whether that’s a sofa in a living room or a table and chairs in a dining room. These pivotal pieces do not need to blend into the background and can be a feature in any room.

We love these chairs with their strong blue colour and fantastic floral backs from Turnball and Thomas. A striking, luxury addition to any meal time.

And this statement green velvet sofa from Swoon is another key piece that we love, and it looks far more expensive than its price tag

Artwork

Hanging a piece of art on your wall allows you to bring in a bold splash into a room; abstract art can often be the perfect option. There is plenty of choice from Kari Taylor and Nancy Ortenstone at www.art.co.uk. The work of these two abstract artists can enliven and add interest to the barest, bleakest of walls.

Rugs

Remember, the floor is also a part of a room’s design, and the installation of a striking rug can transform your home. We have recently installed a Paul Smith bold striped runner in a client’s home to give a contemporary hallway the wow factor, we balanced the other side of the room with strong artwork and kept the rest beautifully simple.

We also love this abstract rug by Bluebell Gray; splashes of colour bring a room together and make a bold statement.

It is important to note that, in order for bold statements to work, it is all about balance. When you have chosen your bold colours and pieces, ensure that they are not all placed in one area of the room.

 

If you need help deciding your colour schemes, and want ideas for brightening your rooms, contact us now. And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for more interior design ideas!

 

 

Seasonal Trends for Interior Design

Autumn is here, and winter is coming, so we’re looking at the hottest interior design trends for the season. With new styles being released you can use the opportunity to freshen up the feel of your home. You can do that by adding a carefully chosen piece of furniture or some seasonal accessories, or by using the season’s trends to redesign a room. We’ve picked some of our favourite pieces from these trends identified by House Beautiful that we feel are the perfect seasonal update.

 

We’re seeing a variety of greens in the Season’s colours and there are lots of ways you can introduce green into your rooms:

 

Emerald Green

We’re obsessed with this amazing chair from Anthropologie; the Elowen Swivel Chair – the most incredible desk chair!

 

Teal

We love the stunning colour of this gorgeous teal footstool and the texture of the velvet! The gorgeous brass base makes it look much more expensive than £149! You have the choice of matching chairs if you want to extend the look.

 

Natural

You can get back to nature with this fab, updated take on the classic Hans Wenger wishbone chair; the Murciana Goat Hair Armchair. It’s a really fun, and also comfortable, addition of the goat hair seat that really adds the wow factor and some great texture to your scheme. If you want a more affordable alternative then this one from Only Home is a great option!

 

This wallpaper – Trees One wallpaper fresco – gives real impact to a room bringing in a pop of green. It’s an affordable way to introduce the colour as everything else can, and should, be fairly neutral. Wallpaper and wall decorations can be fun to use to change the colour and feel or a room.

 

Pastel

We love these pastel coloured Geometric tiles from Topps Tiles – beautiful colours and the perfect balance of interest without being over the top! We are using them in each of the 3 colour ways in a commercial job right now and can’t wait to see them in situ! We’ll be posting the finished job on our Facebook page.

 

Whether you want to refresh one room or refurbish a whole building, contact Interiors at 58; we can assist with your interior needs however large or small the job.

 

You can follow us on Facebook for more tips on interior design and current trends.