New build properties have lots of advantages – they’re smart, clean, easy to maintain and tend to come with fewer problems than period homes. One disadvantage, though, is that they can be a bit characterless. We’ve put together some easy ways to add a little individuality to your home.
Work those walls
Painting every room in the house in a pale, neutral colour is an easy decision but can make rooms look boxy and boring. The joy of period homes is that they’re full of surprises – walls that aren’t quite true, unexpected corners and crevices and even different floor levels. Square, modern rooms are much easier in terms of planning furniture, but they can lack the wow factor. Try adding interest with bold, beautiful wallpaper on a feature wall, such as this Wisteria Lane wallpaper, £52 a roll by Lucie Annabel.
Wisteria Lane wallpaper by Lucie Annabel
Another idea is to install wood panelling. This was often done in period homes to help add insulation for warmth and to cover walls that were less than perfect, but in a modern home it would serve a purely aesthetic purpose. This can be surprisingly inexpensive if you use MDF instead of real wood and paint it afterwards. You could make life even easier with this ‘wood panelling’ trompe d’oeil wallpaper by Mineheart, £82 a roll.
Wood panelling wallpaper by Mineheart
Cheat with features
Again, one of the glories of period homes is that they’re unique. Whether it’s original 1930s stained glass in the entrance hall or a working fireplace, each one has something a little different about it. Just because you’re in a new home, though, it doesn’t mean that you can’t introduce your own features! If you don’t have a chimney you obviously won’t be able to retro-fit a proper working fireplace, but you could invest in an electric ‘log burner’ such as this Broseley Canterbury electric log stove, £795 from Stoves Are Us.
Broseley Canterbury log burner from Stoves Are us
It’s almost indistinguishable from the real thing, and there’s an optional flue to make it look even more authentic. Add a fire surround, and you’ll have a fantastic focal point for the room.
Lighting is extremely important in any home, modern or period. With modern homes, though, you can be a bit more flexible. Period homes often need ‘task lighting’ (i.e. lights that are bright enough to enable you to actually see!) in certain areas. Small, oddly placed windows and low ceilings force you to have lights where they might not have the most eye appeal.
Modern homes are generally much brighter and lighter to start with, so you can concentrate on finding the lighting that actually works for you. To create a cosy, welcoming feel try having only standard and desk lamps rather than an overhead light, or invest in a really spectacular light fitting to add interest to the room.
If you really want to give your home a unique feel, fill it with unique accessories. Search on online auction sites, local social media groups and at antique shops for quirky pieces that will add a little individuality. Even better, vintage finds are often much cheaper than buying new so you’ll save money into the bargain.
However you choose to furnish your home, it takes a lot of time to get the look you’re after. A decor that has grown organically as a result of travel souvenirs, finding items in far flung places or just spending hours stalking the perfect piece online will shout personality, so remember that being patient is the best way to get your look.
Main image: Wisteria Lane wallpaper by: Lucie Annabel
Walk through the front door of your house and what’s one of the first things to catch the eye? That’s right, it’s the stairs leading up to the first floor. Practicality and durability are usually top of the list when it comes to decorating this high-traffic area of the house. However, if you think your staircase is little more than a functional pathway to get you upstairs, you’re missing a huge design opportunity. Be prepared to think creatively and make a statement with your stairs!
It doesn’t matter whether your house is large or smaller, whether you live in a Victorian terrace with a narrow staircase or a contemporary home with a more open-plan stair area. There’s plenty you can do to inject your personal style into every kind of hallway, stairs and landing. Here are some ideas to inspire.
Let’s start with the basics. In terms of practicality, it makes sense to choose a hardwearing carpet for your stairs if you have a busy household. Sisal is an extremely durable natural material that’s perfect and popular for stair runners. However, if you want more softness underfoot, 100% wool carpets are hard to beat. Cheaper wool mix options and man-made fabrics are also available. Go for the best quality you can afford for many years of enjoyment.
Of course, you don’t have to fully carpet your stairs (or at all!). A vibrant stripey stair runner can look fantastic on a plain wooden staircase. In terms of style, you want to ensure that your stair flooring complements the rest of your interiors scheme and that there’s a harmonious flow. That said, you can inject interest with funky geometric patterns or an accent colour that you wouldn’t dare put in a room. Visit a reputable carpet supplier near you or, better still, arrange for a mobile showroom to come to you, so you can see samples in situ and make the right choice.
Let’s be honest, staircase walls have the potential to be bland and boring, but they don’t have to be. Instead of sticking to tried-and-tested neutral colour schemes, how about going all-out with darker shades?
There are many fabulous stair and hallway paint schemes that generate drama with bold or moody shades such as Farrow & Ball’s Inchyra Blue, Bancha dark olive, Downpipe grey or Railings off-black. Paint the walls and woodwork in the same or contrasting colours for maximum effect, as you wish. As an added bonus, you’ll discover that darker colours are an excellent backdrop for other decorative elements like artwork, mirrors and lighting, making everything pop.
Flamboyant wallpaper is another way to draw attention to the space leading upstairs. From delicate Chinoiserie to blowsy florals, Art Deco geometrics to modern tropical prints, it’s a sure-fire way to add colour, drama and intrigue. As the Creative Director for Little Greene points out, you should “select a wallpaper or paint shade for your hallway that gives a sense of continuity and transitions from room to room in a warm inviting way.”
And why stop with paint or wallpaper when you can add more interest and texture to the walls? One popular option is to create a gallery wall with original artwork, prints or even family photos to draw the eye up the stairs. Choose something to unite your collection – a common topic, colour theme or choice of picture frame – and lay it all out on the floor to decide what goes where before you drill holes in the wall.
The best gallery wall ideas are those that don’t try to cram in too many small frames, which might make your staircase feel fussy and cluttered. Experiment with going large-scale or even oversized, perhaps featuring just one fabulously unique piece.
Of course, artwork is not the only option for embellishing walls. Think creatively and fit wall mounted shelving, not necessarily for books but to help create displays for accessories or houseplants that can be updated through the year to vary the look. Add some quirky and unexpected items too that bring a smile to the face.
If your staircase goes through the middle of the house, it may suffer from a lack of natural light. Period cottages or terraced houses can be particularly affected by this design flaw. Nobody likes going up poorly lit stairs – it feels uninviting and possibly unsafe if you cannot see where you’re going.
Adding more light to the area can be done with lamps and light fixtures that can be as decorative as they can be useful. Think of investing in a central pendant light, chandelier or light installation that turns a humdrum staircase into a wow design feature. Wall sconces are a popular option for stair lighting, but also consider unconventional lighting choices for added interest. One idea is to integrate small LEDs in the stairs or bannister, ideally with a dimmer switch, which can act as task and mood lighting and give your home a sleek, contemporary touch.
Strategically positioned mirrors can also act as a statement piece on the wall while bouncing more light around an otherwise light-starved staircase.
Hallways, stairs and landings can be tricky places to decorate. They are the central artery that runs through the centre of the house and connects all the rooms. If there is no coherent flow in your interiors scheme, the staircase can be the area where this becomes all too obvious. In this case, neutral schemes are perhaps your best choice for stairs and landings, though you can still create impact with feature artwork or statement mirrors.
But if you have the opportunity to have fun with your stairs, do take it. As Farrow & Ball’s Brand Ambassador Patrick O’Donnell says: “The most welcoming spaces don’t take themselves too seriously – let your artwork do the talking with a colourful gallery wall, paper a feature wall in oversized florals, or paint an alcove in a shade that makes you smile.”
The coastal interior design trends are a little different from anywhere else, making people feel like they’ve really arrived somewhere idyllic and beautiful. Choosing to decorate in this style can really make the most of being close to the ocean, making even ordinary days feel a little lighter and breezier. Whether you simply love living at the beach or want to stage your home for sale, these home accent choices are likely to make anyone who comes in feel like they’ve gone on vacation, even if it is just for an hour or two while eating dinner with family and friends.
The light greys, whites, and sandy beiges that are standard for a beach house go particularly well with pops of sky blue or other light blues. The room can give the look of the sea, sand, sky combo that you see when you are out for a walk on the beach.
Covering up the natural light can make a coastal interior design feel less breezy, and after all, life at the beach is supposed to feel a little breezy. Accent your natural light by using sheer curtains that have some movement to them, especially when the windows are open. Other sources of natural light, like adding skylights or mirrors to rooms that need more light, can add to the breeziness. Another option is bright art – if you have wall prints of sunny days or beach scenes, you’ll emphasize the coastal theme as well as add brightness.
Compared to other kinds of interior design, coastal interior design relies heavily on materials that you won’t usually find in other styles of home decor. Particularly, driftwood for frame edging, tables, or chairs is unusual outside of coastal interior design, but its a great look in your beach home. Thick rope can also make for great borders and can make for great chunky rugs, all contributing to the combination of hard seafaring and soft relaxation that characterizes the beach.
Actual wood floors and carpet can take a beating at the beach, between salt water dripping and sand tracked in from adventures in the surf. One great option for getting the coastal look but having an easier time cleaning and maintaining is to opt for vinyl in a very light grey bleached wood tone. You get all the easy tidying of having vinyl floors but with the look of a deck that has been weathered by the sea and sun.
If you want to create a coastal interior design, you don’t have to revamp everything at once. Consider your options wide open, whether it be starting with accentuating natural light or adding some rope-lined placemats to the dining room. Any replacements of furniture or decor items that turn it from a darker-toned room to a lighter toned one are going to be a move in the right direction.
We’ve all heard of minimalism – pared-back interior designs based around calming shades of creams and pale neutrals that exude elegance and harmony while making the most of light and space. For decades, it’s been the go-to approach for decorating small rooms on the understanding that it makes them appear bigger. Well, no more. Enter maximalism, the recent design concept that turns everything on its head.
The problem with minimalist designs is that the restricted colour palette can make rooms feel cold, even sterile. They can also be extremely high maintenance. You need to be a very tidy person indeed to keep your home looking streamlined and organised at all times! A maximalist approach allows a much freer rein in terms of colour and design choices, encouraging experimentation and self-expression through fun and funky interiors that are much easier to live with.
“Maximalism is a loud style composed of mixed patterns, excessive, but curated collections, and saturated colours,” says one interiors expert. If you are struggling to reconcile the idea of visual excitement in a small space, you will be surprised to hear that a maximalist décor done right can actually make a home feel bigger, which is great news for small spaces.
Perhaps you have a box room in a small apartment that is crying out for an injection of personality and style? Are you planning a loft conversion in a terraced house and looking for decorating inspiration for the new attic room? Or maybe you’re stuck with ‘deceptively spacious’ living accommodation in a detached new-build home and simply want to make the most of it. Whatever your small interiors conundrum may be, maximalism has the answer.
The trick to making maximalist interiors work in a small space is intentional design. ‘More is more’ doesn’t mean randomly throwing more stuff at a room – there has to be a method to the madness. In order to get the right results, it’s important to focus on the overall effect you are trying to achieve.
Let’s start by breaking some rules. Newsflash: small rooms don’t work best with small-scale patterns. In fact, large patterns can visually expand a small space by drawing the eye upward and outward. Use blowsy floral wallpaper or floor-to-ceiling murals to create depth in the room and make it appear larger and taller than it actually is.
The same goes for dark colour palettes on walls and ceilings. From charcoal black to burnt toffee and deep navy, “going all over with one colour can blur the edges of the room, so the eye can’t focus on the dimensions of the room, making it feel larger,” explains Abigail Ahern, interior design guru and the queen of moody hues.
While you are heartily encouraged to go bold in your choice of colours, textures and patterns, do make sure they harmonise, not clash, with each other. You might pick items with similar patterns or shapes to achieve a sense of cohesion. Perhaps your sofa, coffee table and bookcase have rounded edges, or your cushions match the pattern of your rug.
With not much room to spread out, layering takes on a whole meaning. From walls and floors to furniture and accessories, all components need to play off one another. This is what tricks the eye: With only so much visual ground to cover in a small space, packing it with carefully curated elements helps to make the space feel larger.
That said, layering requires a confident eye for what works. This doesn’t have to mean entrusting your vision to an interior design professional. Instead, take your time and decorate slowly. The most successful maximalist interiors grow organically. Add one statement piece, stand back and see how it feels, then add another bit, and so on.
Don’t forget that even maximalist rooms need some negative space for the eye to rest. This helps to ensure that the room doesn’t feel too busy, helping the brain to compute what the eye sees. Open space on shelves, plain areas of wall, flooring visible under a rug – these are all tricks interior designers use to make a small room look interesting rather than chaotic.
When it comes to furniture, one easy-to-follow recommendation is to choose simple pieces to ground the room, then adding maximalist touches with decorative pieces to your heart’s content. Make use of awkward nooks and crannies with built-in storage, but give the room personality with a bold colour scheme.
That said, there’s no hard and fast rule about matching the scale of the furniture to the size of the room. Large pieces can absolutely be incorporated into a bijou room without crowding it. A statement sofa creates a focal point, and an oversized feature mirror tricks the eye and adds space. Create balance with other, smaller items to avoid a crowded look.
Maximalist decorating is an opportunity to show off your treasures. Whatever the size of your home, find a table, mantle or shelf where you can display meaningful keepsakes, heirlooms, travel souvenirs or junk shop finds. When your home is filled with all the things you love, it can boost your mood and increase happiness.
Gallery walls are all the rage, and they can be a fantastic feature for tiny rooms that are taller than they are wide. Use family photos, original artworks, wall hangings, old masters and curios to create a display of all your favourite pieces. Take your art gallery wall up to the ceiling to create the illusion of height.
Finally, take a leaf out of biophilic design and fill your room with living plants. It’s a great way to break up the space visually and add diversity, while counteracting any danger veering towards ‘stuffy museum’ vibes. Play with scale, texture and location to give the room both interest and balance.
Interior design trends may come and go but it looks like maximalism is here to stay. And there’s much more to it than ‘more is more’ – it’s about the art of more. With a bit of strategic thinking, that can be applied to any sized space, including the smallest rooms in the house.
Wood panelling was one of 2021’s hottest trends and we think it will continue this year. It’s relatively easy to put up, creates a stunning visual effect and hides a multitude of sins, if you live in an older house! Some people are also putting a twist on the trend with ‘wall panelling’ wallpaper and panelling made from more modern materials. Here’s our guide to why and how.
Pros and cons of wood panelling
Advantages – first and foremost, wood panelling allows you to channel your inner Downton Abbey, and who can say no to that! It will lend a hint of elegance to pretty much any room, and helps create a warm and cosy effect. As modern panelling is usually attached with an insulated panel, it can help to add acoustic and warmth protection. It’s relatively quick and easy to fit, and helps hide any flaws such as unevenness in the walls. You can use recycled wood for environmental purposes, and you can also use hardboard rather than solid wood and paint it to change the look.
Disadvantages – using ‘real’ wood can be expensive. Wood is prone to warp and deform in a damp atmosphere, and unpainted real wood will need some looking after in the form of regular wax treatments. Dark wood can also make a room feel smaller.
Modern twists on wood panelling
Although it’s associated with stately homes and ballrooms, wood panelling works very well in the modern home. Using it on the ceiling instead of the walls helps create visual and textural interest and stops a room feeling too stark and boxy.
You could also try using panelling to divide a room up visually. For example, a free-standing partition should be used as a permanent screen for a home office corner.
Rustic walnut acoustic wall panels, Acupanel
Rustic walnut acoustic wall panels, Acupanel
Acupanel is a beautiful wood strip decorative panel which has high-quality acoustic properties. It can be easily applied to walls and ceilings, be it domestic or commercial use. Modern styling personified in every way. Panels measure 240cm by 60cm and cost £159.99 from The Wooden Veneer Hub.
Panelling doesn’t have to be the traditional wide, flat panels that you’d find at Gosford Park. Narrow tongue and groove panels laid vertically or horizontally will give the advantages of traditional panelling with a sleeker look. You could also try panelling only the bottom third of the wall (panelling which doesn’t cover the entire wall is known as wainscotting, fact fans!)
Faux panelling
If you like the look but don’t want anything as permanent (or don’t have the budget), then wood panelling effect wallpaper could be the answer.
Mustard panelling wallpaper, Mineheart
Mustard panelling wallpaper, Mineheart
This sumptuous mustard panelling wallpaper (above and main image) by Mineheart combines Georgian elegance with contemporary colour. Wallpaper that looks like panelling is great for a traditional home – but equally adds a luxurious feel in a modern setting too. Made in England by Mineheart and printed onto 300g textured paper. It costs £48 for a 10m x 52cm roll from Lime Lace.
Dark blue panelled wallpaper mural, Wallsauce
Dark blue panelled wallpaper mural, Wallsauce
To get the look in a hurry, you can order a custom-sized stick-on mural. Easy to install, you can just stick it onto your wall. Priced from £30/square metre, it’s available from Wallsauce.
If you feel that using panelling on the whole room would be overkill, you could also try putting panelling on just one wall. Panelling an end wall will help a small room appear deeper, for example. Putting panelling around another feature such as a fireplace will help to emphasis it and make it into a real eye catcher!
Main image shows mustard panelling wallpaper by Mineheart.
