Interior Tips

Today I thought I'd share with you a few of my favourite interior design tips and principles. Yesterday's blog post mentioned a challenge to decorate a really large space. I love the challenges of working with small spaces, but filling a big space up can be equally daunting. The key is to create zones so your furniture is not just floating in the middle, or pushed up against the wall with a vast empty centre. Rugs and pendant lights are both excellent tools for anchoring a zone - one rug for each space. Use furniture to help you zone - by having the sofa out from the wall (see below) it's back creates a divider, like a mini wall.

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Each room should have a focal point. Some rooms my already have an amazing view, or a beautiful fire place, but if not you can create one. Perhaps a striking piece of art, or a picture wall, maybe a special piece of furniture. Once you decide on your focal point, let that be the hero of the room.

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Make sure you have varying shapes and heights in your room to add interest. In the photo below the chairs and coffee table are all quite low, but height has been added to the room with the items on the mantle piece. A beautiful pendant would also work here.

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Contrast is very important in a room. Contrast in texture - smooth and rough, soft and hard; in form - curves and straight lines; and in tones - light and dark. A round table is great way to contrast all the straight lines found in a room. And below the chunkiness of the table is a lovely contrast to the finer chairs.

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It's important that there is a sense of cohesiveness to all of the rooms in your home. You want it to flow from one room to the next and the easiest way to do this is to create a colour palette. Choose three of four main colours and stick to these in varying tones. The photos below are actually the studio of Oh Joy, but you can envisage them as a home. Tones of pink and yellow, and blue and green link each space. It's really not hard to do this as you will find that you already have favourite colours. So if you buy what you love a pattern usually emerges.

Don't forget the details, these are my favourite things in a room. They will add personality and help 'finish' a space. Below this little grouping of furniture and accessories adds colour, texture and pattern, but it's the picture above that anchors everything and makes it belong. Once again, it's playing with varying heights - something low, add something high.

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What's your favourite piece of advice, either from the list above, or your own interior tip? Or is there anything you want to ask my advice about? Let me know and I'll create another blog post around it.