
These 8 quick tips are game-changers.
Unique Styling Ideas to Steal from London's Top Interior Designers
These 8 quick tips are game-changers.
Bored of staring at the same walls every day? Wishing you could start your decor all over again? Well, the good news is you don’t have to redecorate to make your home feel a bit different. Moving artworks to unconventional spaces, celebrating neglected nooks (yes, we’re talking about the kitchen sink) and upcycling is an inexpensive way to add fresh flourishes to corners of your home.
Interior designers have endless styling tricks they use when dressing a space, so we’ve mined the projects of some of our favourite London-based creatives to bring you some ideas to try this weekend. Some people call it ‘faffing’, but don’t ever think you’re being unproductive…
1. For That Awkward Blank Spot
There are a few spaces where art just won’t work, and the abyss above a wardrobe or shelving unit is one of them. Enter crinkly blooms. Clusters of dried hydrangeas stacked haphazardly on top of a bookshelf in the living room of creative duo Buchanan Studio make for an unexpected – and romantic –
climax to draw the eye up.
2. Get Matchy-Matchy
…and be proud about it! Coordinating lamp bases and shades can help unite a colour scheme, especially if there are lots of patterns in the mix too. So get happy with that spray can (and primer first, where needed), and upcycle something old and brown into something beautiful.
3. Plant It, Pot It
If you’ve ever tried to spruce up a patio, you’ll know sourcing planters and pots of the more desirable variety quickly adds up. And don’t even go there if you’re after something super-size. This is why Beth Dadswell is thinking outside of the box with a repainted oil drum; it's a budget-friendly winner. Roomy enough to hold a small tree, in plain black it boasts simple industrial appeal.
4. Go Unexpected
A crisply tiled kitchen is probably the last place you’d expect to encounter a piece of bold Pop Art, but that’s what makes the inclusion of this tin of soup by Ham Interiors so eye-catching. Filling a utilitarian space such as a kitchen, bathroom or even a utility room, with art helps it feel just as considered as any other room in the home.
5. Do The Colour Drench
Got a quiet weekend, some leftover paint and a creative itch to scratch? Then get colour-drenching. This trend sees the ceiling, woodwork and any decorative details native to a room get the paint treatment too. Not only does this make a room feel taller, it also feels cosy as you are wrapped in your chosen palette.
6. Play With Mirrors
It’s not breaking news that mirrors help open up a space, but how much are you maximising this trick? A tall mirror in a narrow hallway helps bounce around the light, as will one on the chimney breast of a light-deprived room. There’s no such thing as too many mirrors!
7. Let Those Shelfies Breathe
We get it - artfully styled shelves are for Instagram, not reality. But if your cookbooks are fighting to see the light of day and your utensils are spilling out of a pot, take time for a little faff-around. Turn books on their side with ceramics perched on top, and rotate your inventory to ensure everything gets its moment in the spotlight.
8. …and Don’t Forget the Kitchen Sink
Bring joy to post-dinner washing-up with soaps decanted into pretty vessels, bud vases and artworks or trinkets (ones which you’re not too precious about) scattered around your worktop. This is transformative if your sink isn’t blessed with a garden view.
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