Interior Design Tips

1. Space

• Draw a floor plan – it will help you plan the space and contents easily
• Consider the ceiling height, which will determine your overall volume of space.
• Think about traffic through the space and accommodate for it.
• When planning your furniture layout think about how the pieces will be placed relative to each other.
• If you want to create an uncluttered look, take into account the heights and position of furniture and objects. Plan to arrange them progressively or grouped together, this is more visually pleasing.
• If storage is a consideration ensure it’s incorporated into your floor plan.
• Ensure your layout can comfortably accommodate the functional requirements of the space.

2. Lighting

Natural Light

• Assess the amount and direction of natural light in the space at various times throughout the day.
• In the northern hemisphere, northern facing windows will give a more cool blue natural light, and southern facing windows will give a warmer natural light. The opposite is true of the southern hemisphere.
• In both hemispheres you will have lots of natural bright light from an eastern facing window in the morning and a red/orange natural light from a western facing window in the early evening.
• Consider the type and direction of natural light at the time of day the space is most likely to be in use. Will a warm or cool atmosphere be created, will shadow casting and fading of fabrics need to be taken in account?
• Your choice of window dressing can also affect the amount of natural light, blinds, shutters, and sheer fabrics will all give a filtered light effect.

Artificial Light

• Artificial lighting is a fantastic tool for creating atmosphere, it can be subtle or dramatic; don’t be afraid to be adventurous and experiment with lighting.
• Think about what type of lighting is required in the room. Artificial lighting can be functional to create enough light to perform a task such as reading, ornamental to highlight a piece of art for example, or ambient to help create atmosphere.
• Remember that light walls will reflect light making the room brighter while darker walls will absorb the light.
• If you plan to have dark walls consider up lighters, which will reflect off a light coloured ceiling. Table lamps around the room can also help in giving the impression that the space is larger than it really is.
• In a room with dark walls consider the use of mirrors, metallic & polished surfaces and fabrics can all help to reflect light.
• Halogen down lighters are great as they have a clear warm white light, but it’s important to avoid having them directly shining in anyone eyes.
• The use of dimmers and a low pendant hanging light over a dining table can create an intimacy.

3. Colour

• You can create or reduce the feeling of space with the use of colour, decide if making this space feel larger is a priority. Dark or bright colours will bring walls forward to create a more intimate space.
• Consider your assessment of natural light; is it a northern facing room with blue cool light? If so you may want to choose a warm colour theme of reds, oranges or yellows to balance this. Blues and greens will make a shady room seem even more so. For warm natural light from a southern facing room, cool colours of blues, violets, and greens may be best.
• When you decide on a colour theme, try to think of the shades and tones of your fabrics and accessories, which will ensure the scheme is balanced and harmonious. Consider how you will combine the colours baring in mind the perception of a colour can change when it is adjacent to another colour. A more harmonious and subtle mood is created when a colour scheme is closely matched, a livelier energetic feel is created when the colour scheme is more contrasted.
• When choosing paint colours buy some testers and paint a large piece of paper, stick it to the wall you plan to use it on, and leave it for a couple of days. This will give you time to review the colour at different times throughout the day when the natural light differs.
• White or light neutral walls usually are best for making the space feel larger. Painting the mouldings and skirting boards a lighter colour than the walls can also help. Ceilings are best white to create a higher more airy feel to the room, and vertical stripes on the walls will also make the ceiling appear higher.
• Add lots of textures if you are using neutral tones to avoid the room appearing bland and boring. A faux fur throw and cushions in malt or leopard on satin or silk based bed linen will add luxurious texture and pattern to a neutral bedroom.
• Remember to trust your eyes, if the colour looks right, it usually is.

4. Furnishings and Accessories

• Introduce patterns and textures, don’t be afraid to mix florals and stripes, there are so many fantastic fabrics to choose from.
• Positioning a large mirror near to a window will reflect the outdoors will make the space appear larger and brighter.
• A floating shelf with down lighters built in above a bed is great for storage and forfeits the need for bedside lamps.
• If you fancy wooden window shutters, which can be quite pricey, a good alternative is wide slat wooden blinds in white or lime wood, which will give the same light filtering effect.

• Look at the scale of the object, large pieces may look more striking placed on their own.
• Think about the shape of the piece and consider the backdrop and lighting of where you plan to place it.
• The colours in the object should compliment or make a striking contrast to the colour scheme in the room.
• You may wish to group a few objects together creating contrast in the heights and colours.
• You can use a simple design of similar objects grouped or displayed in a row to bring in some repetition and pattern.