New Year Design Resolutions

With the anticipation that this year is going to be an exceptionally splendid year, here are my top tips for New Year design resolutions, to help you achieve a super chic & stylish, relaxing home with oodles of character for 2017.

Set your design goal

• If this is the year you are thinking of re-decorating your home write down your goals and budget and create a concept board of the look and feel you want to achieve.  Keep referring back to these as they will keep you on track when you are overwhelmed by design options and decisions.

Be more decisive and don’t over think it

• When it comes to making a decision about a wall colour, piece of furniture, fabric or lighting try not to over think it, step back and look at the whole picture within the scheme.  It can be a daunting prospect making decisions where significant costings are involved but I usually find my initial instinct is the correct one, then I always sleep on it and if I still love it in the morning and worry about not having it, then it’s full steam ahead.  Just make sure the size and proportion will work in the space, that it fits through the door and any other tight spaces on it’s journey and it is within your budget and won’t give you sleepless nights. I have never regretted anything I bought for my home but when I moved into my first apartment before I became an interior designer I might add, I had to arrange for a tractor to put my sofa through the window, I lived on the 1st floor and it refused to go up the winding staircase. Luckily it was a large window and if it wasn’t for the helpful farmers next door my much loved new sofa bed in raspberry jean fabric could still be sitting in the barn outside to this day.

​​Indulge in a bit of bad taste

• ‘Don’t be afraid of a bit of ‘bad taste’.  Many rooms are strangled by trying to be too tasteful for their own good.  Be bold and buy what you think and do not worry about what the neighbours will think.  Idiosyncrasies and juxtapositions bring rooms alive’.  I love this quote from designer Douglas Mackie for House & Garden and I totally agree; although this doesn't mean go find the most ugliest vase possible to put in your home but rather be bold, experiment a bit and bring personality with interesting pieces and colours you like and care less what others may think.

De-Clutter

• Keep surfaces clutter free by allocating a specific drawer to put paperwork in that you know you need to refer to shortly or don’t have time to deal with in that moment, keeping them all in one place and easy to find will enable your space to remain clutter free and calm.
• Clear out those books that you don’t love or will never read and send them to charity.  Then smarten up your bookshelves by placing books both vertically and horizontally; positioning similar styles or colours together with a vase or objet on top of a horizontal layer for an instant designer look.

​Face lifts & feel goods

• Give rooms an instant facelift by removing all existing objects from surfaces and place them in different positions throughout the house.  Try packing a few things away and rotate them at different times of the year making room for some of those Christmas gifts you have received or items you want to buy in the New Year sales.
• Investing in a rug can add an instant impact of warmth, style and colour to an interior.  There are so many styles, textures and qualities out there for all budgets whether you are looking for something practical or an investment piece.  A rug is also a great place to start a room design with.  Christopher Farr rugs were used in both the dining room and main reception in the images above.
• Buy flowers to liven up different spaces in the house.  Every time you see them particularly at this time of year, it will put a smile on your face and give you a lift.  

Remain open minded

• If you received what you may consider an undesirable objet or painting you are not entirely sure about for Christmas, before dismissing it, place it in different areas of your home and give it a go, it may pleasantly surprise you.  Even dig out some of those pieces you may have dismissed in the past pushed to the back of shelves or up in the loft and bring them out for a bit of an airing.
• If you have a space you are looking to fill or are searching for a certain piece of furniture, you can get antiques for an absolute steal these days from markets and auctions so don’t dismiss them as just brown furniture, there is such an array of styles and finishes and it adds character to mix things up.   Check out Andrew Smith Auctions near Alresford, Hampshire, they have a monthly antiques and interiors auction and try the furniture charity shop Emmaus Hampshire.  I love the thought that what was once loved by someone is being loved again.  

​Wishing you a very happy new year with brave and bold design decisions for 2017 & less clutter.
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