- 04 November 2020
In the era of Pinterest boards and “instagramable homes”, homeowners are now more than ever looking for new ways to keep their homes up to date with the latest home fashion trends, so we decided to have a chat with our interior designers from Interhouse Design to get their thoughts on upcoming trends and ask their advice about decorating your new home and where are their favourite places to buy home wear.
TH: What interior design trends do you see coming up this season?
ID: At the start of the year bold colour and pattern looked set to be popular this Autumn/Winter, however with the upheaval and anxiety of the pandemic, a switch towards more calming neutrals has emerged. Comforting cosy textures in the form of throws and cushions along with soothing spice accent colours, creates a much needed place of sanctuary.
TH: What’s one piece of advice you would give to new home buyers wanting to decorate their home?
ID: Live in your house for a few months before you make any major decorating decisions. See how natural light affects each room and think about how you would utilise different rooms / how you would live in the space and want to use it. This should prevent you from making expensive mistakes by diving in headfirst in excitement!
TH: Is there a room that you would always advise people to start with when decorating/designing their new home?
ID: There is no right or wrong answer here. It may be down to furniture you’re bringing with you from a previous property or budget constraints. However, if you are starting from scratch with the whole house there are 3 items that it’s worth spending a good portion of your budget on: your sofa, dining table and your bed! As a result, it may be worth considering the areas where these items go and make sure that there is a plan in place, even if you cant execute it immediately.
TH: What are your go to high street home wear brands that would help people design/decorate their home on a budget?
ID: There are too many to mention! The UK high street is a fantastic place for being to buy well prices, design led homeware accessories and soft furnishings. Our favourites would have to be HomeSense, H&M, The Range and Matalan. Ideal Home magazine is also a brilliant tool with the ‘Ideal V Great Deal’ feature showing more top end items and where to get well priced alternatives. If you have the patience, wait for in store offers and online discount codes to grab an even better bargain.
TH: Similarly, what brands/ideas would you recommends to those wanting to decorate their home sustainably or as best for the environment as possible? And are you seeing a shift in people wanting to be more conscious and sustainable in their interior designing?
ID: There does seem to be change in the consumer demand towards more sustainable and environmentally friendly products for the home and many smaller companies such as Nkuku offer ethical and eco-friendly products with which to furnish your home. Most leading paint manufacturers are also offering paint in which VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds – unstable chemicals that release gasses harmful to both people and the environments) have been drastically lowered. Higher quality pain brands containing more natural materials have begun to be sold in large DIY stores rather than just specialist shops, making them more widely available.
TH: What do you find is the best way to utilise space in a home, especially for smaller homes with less storage?
ID: In today’s market there are many items with inbuild storage such as ottoman beds, coffee and side tables and wall hung shelving units. Buy multi-functional pieces to make your furniture work harder for you! These can be really useful for smaller spaces as can an extending dining table and stackable dining chairs. Built in wardrobes are a fantastic way of utilising space far more efficiently than freestanding pieces. Consider mounting your TV on the wall rather than on a media unit to create more space in your living area. Utilise every inch of space with built in storage: a desk in an under stairs space, a well of shelf desk, make use of ceiling height taking storage all the way up to the ceiling.
TH: Bold or neutral?
ID: Do what you love! Our best piece of advice would be to try not to follow a high fashion interior trend too closely as your interior will quickly feel dated. If you’re obsessed with a trend, soft furnishings and accessories are more easily interchangeable and the best way to go.
TH: What colours do you think work well in smaller rooms?
ID: Again, there is no right or wrong here, a small rom can work just as well with a dark paint colour than a light colour. What’s more important is the aspect of the room – is it north or south facing? Once you have figured this out, the tone of your colour may need to change. For example, if you wanted to paint a room grey and it is north facing, your grey will need to be a warm grey with a yellow undertone otherwise the room will feel cold. In a south facing room with lots of natural light, cooler greys work really well.
Based in Harrogate, Interhouse Design have a team of designers who are responsible for taking your interior designs needs from conception to completion and we have had the pleasure of working with them on our Howards Green marketing suite and are currently planning our show homes which we can’t wait to welcome you to in early 2021!
In the meantime, why not visit our marketing suite where you can meet our Sales Executive Fay, who will be more than happy to talk you through our new homes and your buying options.