Be Inspired by Mother Nature

Look at the different types of textures that Mother Nature has to offer, see how serene a Silver Birch is for example and the shine of its bark could throw up many an interior design ideas to decorate your house. Look at the texture of a pine-cone and think how you could incorporate that look in a rustic way; maybe it reminds you of winter, therefore simply by adding brown rugs you can replicate the thoughts of the warmth a crackling open-fire brings.

Likewise, this season (it's now officially Spring!) conjures up thoughts of nature casting off its winter coat and springing into life with green buds giving up bursts of colour, daffodils, blue-bells and tulips provide us with vibrant colours – use these in your home as accessories and soft furnishings such as cushions and throws, rugs, ready made curtains and ready made blinds and make your home burst into new life!

Having a well balanced and well thought out room that is decorated from the inspiration that nature gives us, is perhaps one of the best themes to have going through your home, especially if you are lucky enough to live in the country, but even if you are not, you can bring the countryside in to your home where ever you live.

Image: Belle Maison

Enjoy Your Decorating!

Creating your personalised home décor does not have to be difficult, but it may take some time to get it all down 'pat'. Do not look at home decorating as a chore but more as a challenge if you will. It might be challenging to try to figure out how to pull your home together, but it is not impossible. Talk to friends and family throughout this process; they will be more than happy to give you feedback on your decorating and interior design ideas!

Need more space?
There are many ways to give the illusion of space in a small room. Light colours, good lighting and carefully chosen and place furniture are just a few tricks you can use to open a small room. You will also want to avoid installing shelves or other protruding pieces on the wall. You can make a huge difference in a small bathroom simply by removing shelves!

Add something new to lift your mood!
Add cheap rugs to brighten up dull or faded flooring – it's an inexpensive way to create a whole new look, especially if you coordinate the colours with your curtains, cushions and throws; and no one need know that they're not designer labels!

Image: Belle Maison

Using Colour – Going Green

We're probably all getting fed up with the cliché 'going green' and yet this timeless classic colour has survived through the decades in various shades and continues to be many people's choice of colour in any room in their home.

Darker shades of green, Regency or racing green for example, are ideal for large living areas. Going dark on an accent wall and bringing the room together with dark green ready made curtains, cushions and throws can creates a refined and sophisticated look. Paler shades are ideal to team with soft pinks for an on-trend look which suits all styles of homes; while acid or lime greens are the perfect colours to use with white, aubergine or hot pink in contemporary living spaces.

You don't have to go over-board, as too much of one colour can be very overpowering, however, buy adding pops of green, such as lime green curtains or a green rug, you can rejuvenate a tired looking room instantly without having to carry out a complete makeover.

Green symbolises growth and new life, making it's the ideal colour to use to give your home a fresh new look this spring. Add floral designs in soft furnishings to create a country cottage look, a majestic and sophisticated look can be achieved using darker hues and for those who want to inject the latest trends should opt for lime, neon or acid greens!

Image: Belle Maison

Using Colour - Natural Palettes of Shades Part 2

Carrying on from our my last post - once a base colour has been selected and applied to the majority of the wall surfaces, accent colours can be use to highlight feature aspects of the room; nature-based shades of brown, blue and grey work really well but equally splashes of bright, contrasting colours can be used to add interest and excitement; maybe some fuchsia pink cushions and matching throw or a stunning display of bright red silk flowers in a tall vase. You may like to swap and change these from season to season to give your room a quick and easy update.

Texture is very important when using natural shades; it helps to add layers and depth to what might otherwise be a rather “flat” scheme. In keeping with the simple and uncluttered theme of the Natural décor, a few well-chosen and stunning pieces work better than lots of random items strewn around the room. Again, borrowing from nature offers an enormous choice of beautiful items for your room; sea shells, rocks, smooth pebbles, drift-wood, leather, metals, both shiny and matt and natural fabrics like Hessian and calico.

Flooring in Natural palette rooms is well suited to wood (scrubbed floor-boards rather than shiny formal parquet), stone or rustic tiles. This can be softened by putting down rugs to create a warmer feel to the room.

Image: Belle Maison

Using Colour - Natural Palettes of Shades Part 1

The possibilities for choosing a colour scheme for your room can seem endless and somewhat daunting. However, by considering various criteria you will almost certainly decide upon a scheme that you love and is just right for your room. Personal choice and favourites are a good place to start – which colours are you naturally drawn to and make you feel good? Think about the size of the room you are decorating and what the room will be used for. How much natural light is there and how much will you be relying on artificial lighting?

The colour wheel is a useful tool when deciding on a colour scheme as it guides you through the harmonising and complementary colours and can help you to decide which combinations of colours and shades work for you and your room.

The Naturals palette of shades is ever popular and timeless. It offers simplicity and a clean and calm ambience. Although maybe not considered as colours in themselves the enormous choice and variety of white and cream shades can be used cleverly to create interesting and beautiful interiors. This is particularly so when they are combined with the creative use of textures and in accessories such as rugs, ornaments, cushions and throws.

Image: Belle Maison

Using Colour – Hide & Highlight!

The clever use of colour can help to create lots of different effects in your room. Colour can be used to highlight feature points of the room or to help conceal area that you want to down-play. Cool colours give the effect of increasing space and make the walls appear to recede while warm colours create a cosy environment and tend to bring walls “closer together”. A light colour will help to make a low ceiling appear higher, whereas painting a darker colour on the ceiling will give the impression of bringing it down and reducing the cold feel of the room.

Yellow is an ever-popular colour choice for lots of rooms in the house and can be used in different ways to create a variety of looks. Yellow is naturally cheerful and welcoming, so is a great choice for halls and stairs. However, it can also work to brilliant effect in kitchens and bedrooms.
Pastel yellow shades are a good choice if you are looking to create a sense of airiness and calm.

However, care is needed when using clear yellow shades in north-facing rooms as the poor natural light can lead to a rather drab effect. Denser, more opaque shades tend to work better here. Try accessorising with cushions and throws in a strong, toning colour such as blue or green to create interest and focus in your room. Coloured-glassware and lush green-foliaged house plants will sit well in this setting and complement your colour-scheme.

Image: Belle Maison

Interior Trends of 2011 – Emotional Austerity

Due to the financial recession the world of interior design believes that people are asking themselves questions to what they believe they need to live well. This is or has led to the emergence of simple living styles, formal or severe designs which mixes the fundamental basics and old with the newest modern and high-tech ideas. To put simply – Vintage, Modern is an interior design trend which will be seen throughout this year.
To get the latest looks you'll need to do some forward thinking by looking back in history as these time periods will be at the forefront of new trends and colours.
Tudor: This era was rich in voluminous velvets, tear-drop pears and tapestry accents.
Mayan, Inca and Hopi: Tribal influences will be seen in the use of geometric floral fabrics, trapezoids and early images of the sun.

1940s: This decade will once again influence interiors by featuring light maple, pecan and walnut, with fabrics such as seersucker, jersey and cable knits for home-made cushions and throws, curtains, blinds and soft furnishings.

Vintage, modern is an eclectic mix of old and new which enables us to revert back to old ways of hand or home-made to save money and be bang on-trend.

Image: atticmag

Create A Wind-down Zone!

Sometimes the whole festive season hustle and bustle can leave you exhausted and yet with a house full of relatives finding some 'me' time can be very difficult! If you only have one bathroom - let's be honest many homes do – you can't lock yourself away and soak in the bath as someone will want the loo! So you need to find another place to gather your thoughts and take time-out. There is an easy solution...creating your own little wind-down zone. It doesn't have to be anything lavish or encroach on much space, just a little ingenuity or your part!

In a larger living space have the area around it as an inviting reading nook or a retreat for a spot of 'winding-down'. It is an exclusive place with its solo chair – you don't have to share your favourite cushions and throws, but can still tease and excite guests with your acute style! Make it worthwhile by choosing luxury silk covered cushions in jewel tones, an end table with stylish table lamp for atmospheric lighting and an easy-to-reach shelf with your favourite reading material – choose a book that was a present or a recipe book and no one can accuse you of being selfish!

Image: Decorology

Living Room Interior Design Ideas: Creating Zones

I thought I'd do a little more on creating zones in an open plan living room - or a large living room by giving you a few hints on how to start new interior design ideas.

It could be that you have all your main furniture and are just thinking of ways to arrange it all and make the most of each item. It isn't a bad idea to start with some graph paper and a pencil, downsizing your floor space to fit on your notepad and playing around with the possibilities of floor plans - just focusing on larger pieces to begin with.

Split the main part of your living room into a relaxing area and an entertaining one. The relaxing side may have some extra comfy lounging seats/sofas, a bookshelf, fireplace and small coffee table. Your entertainment half will have more seating, a unit for placing the television,gaming consoles and a clever storage unit with ample lighting provided by an assortment of table lamps UK.

There are some fabulous ideas to take inspiration from; along with colour schemes and how to make the most of what you have by using re-vamping existing soft furnishings by purchasing curtain material online to make cheap cushion covers or Roman blinds. The possibilities are endless if you let your imagination run wild!

Image: belle maison

Pep Up Your Home With NY Fashion Week!

New York fashion week has seen a plethora of silver and hues of grey fabrics which will undoubtedly influence the interior design scene this autumn and winter. Metallics have already been a large part of this year's interiors along with soft floaty fabrics and sheer voile fabrics for on-trend window dressings, bed canopies and informal room dividers.


Within interior design we are focusing on the use of different textures and how they can be used to bring depth and purposeful meaning to a room. Cushions and throws made with a variety of fabrics, mixed with knits and sequinned detailing are bang on-trend, inexpensive and easy to achieve.


Try taking fashion weeks colour schemes and embedding them into your home with pops of hot pink teamed with cool steel grey or gun metal grey coordinated with yellow accents.


As I mentioned in my last post you don't actually have to wear clothes made from the same fabric as your curtains, however, you and your home will be 'hot to trot' this autumn and winter without having to resort to black and dismal colours which make a room feel uninviting and cold. Embrace the NY fashion trends to pep up a tired and uninspiring living space!

Image: decorology

Adding Injections Of Colour In Your Lounge

Want to try something new in your lounge and not sure where to start? There are some wonderful interior design ideas which you can use to inject some playful colour into your lounge and it doesn't have to cost a fortune!

For a lounge that receives a lot of natural light, hot pink can be used as the prevailing colour. Paint your walls with the dazzling colour and define it by using fresh white paint for doors, windows and mouldings. Add hot pink curtains to tie in with the colour scheme. Modern white furniture will give the lounge a more edgier and contemporary feel - try a chunky white coffee table to take centre stage and assemble white furniture around it. To ground a very bright room, dark wood flooring and the use of black in accessories will help.

If hot pink isn't your colour choice lime green teamed with aubergine is still a popular colour scheme for modern and contemporary homes. You can simply replace window dressings with lime green curtains and add a mixture of different textures and complimentary colours by using cushions and throws. Ideas like these are easy to achieve and equally as easy to replace if you decide that hot pink or lime green really isn't for you!

Image: belle maison

The Art Of Layering

Want to add a luxury look to your living room without breaking the bank? I've a few easy tips and interior design ideas which could turn your dreams into reality using the simple technique of layering and collecting!

You can layer with fabrics or have a collection of vases - it is just about having more than one piece. Just remember there is a fine line between layering, building up a collection and looking over-cluttered. Remember to choose similarities in you layering or collections.

Adding layers to the traditional living room will also presume a self-indulgent and stately home. It's right on-trend and can be used effectively in all styles of home.

You can layer different curtain types, a silk curtain fabric could be used with a rich velvet to create an opulent look or use both ready made curtains and ready made blinds in contrasting colours or textures to give beautiful diffused lighting effects.

A collection of fine vases on the mantelpiece should be in the same colour or colour range. A sofa with ample cushions and throws should be tied together with pattern or colour to stop it looking to chaotic.

Image: Belle Maison

Fantasy Interior Design Ideas - Alice In Wonderland!

This is urban fantasy where everything gets thrown out of proportion! Mix and match furnitures and the odd colour clash pave the way for this summer trend.
Hot Pink Curtains provide a cheap and quick update for homes looking for the playful side of decorating. Fuchsia pink curtains can be seen next to other brights such as red or yellow for a really spontaneous interior which is bright, fun and funky!

Oversized floor lamps - or anything oversized for that matter - it is one of the key elements of this themed look. Although this is best achieved through decorative pieces such as sculptural floor lamps, artworks or larger than life vases for pretty blooms.

Include the Mad Hatter's tea party as a theme for your dining area using pretty china tea cups and saucers, add a trendy tea pot along with an on-trend table runner made from cotton curtain fabrics online and add oversized cushions and throws to give a quirky, yet very comfortable place to eat!

You don't have to be a child to adore this theme just young at heart with a good sense of fun and the need to do something completely different to your home!

Image: Freshome