Five reasons to use an interior designer

If you’ve never used a designer before it can seem like a daunting prospect. I’ve listed my top five ways we can provide value to you as a customer

1. Buy your precious time back

   Even if you are awesome at designing and decorating your own spaces, do you really have that much time to do it? Hiring a professional designer will take care of everything for you, giving you the ultimate gift of spare time back - to relax or entertain friends in your beautifully designed space.

2. It could save you money

   It may seem a converse notion but spending money on hiring a designer could save you time and money by avoiding costly mistakes, keeping your projects on track and on budget. Working to specific timescales and budgets are the skills professional designers come with for which you will receive the benefit.

3. Knowledge is power

   With years of experience in creating interior spaces for a range of clients, your designer will come armed with the knowledge of what works for your customers and will interpret this in to a design that reflects who you are.

4. Bespoke, unique spaces are created

   Going it alone will often mean buying what’s available on the high street, hiring a designer will give you access to artisan makers of beautiful furniture, wallpapers, objects and art work meaning your space will be unique to you and your style.

5. Know what your space will look like before you start

   It can be scary embarking on a big renovation project but a designer can help you crystallise your ideas in to something that will not only look good but will work…and they can prove it! An interior designer can provide you with plans showing furniture layouts, 3D drawings of the proposed design and samples of finishes such as wallpaper, tiling and flooring; all meaning you have a brilliant concept of what the finished space will look like before you’ve even started.

So there you have it, a quick round up of some of the ways an interior designer can help you, but if you’re unsure if this is the right solution for you, feel free to get in touch and we can discuss your project. All initial consultations are free and there is no obligation to hire us at all. We also have a handy list of Frequently Asked Questions which may help.

The Art of the Moodboard

Mood board/inspiration board/concept board – whatever you call ‘em they’re incredibly useful things and not just for designers.

I was introduced to the humble mood board at the very start of my design training at the tender age of 16 when I began my BTEC in Three-Dimensional Design; I was taught that it is the starting point of any design brief and indeed they have remained an integral part of my design process ever since. The times when I’ve got too big for my boots and thought I could skip this stage I inevitably headed down all kinds of Alice in Wonderland-esque rabbit holes from which I’ve had to crawl out of and start again.

So, what are they and how can you use them? The best way to describe them might be as a visual brain dump to help you organise your thoughts or ideas. They can be as simple as a page filled with images of sofas when trying to decide what to buy or something more wide-ranging such as a wall filled with what your aspirations are for that year. Basically it’s making something visual that resonates with you in a way that helps bring an idea to fruition - pretty cool eh?

The best part about a mood board is that you can create them in so many ways. The way I learnt all those many moons ago was as basic as you can get; get a load of magazines, flick through and cut-out any images that reflects what you’re trying to achieve. This could be a specific look, like a minimalist lounge for example, or it may be images of a holiday destination for a vision board. You then get a big bit of paper or cardboard (or even a cork message board) and stick your images together in a collage. Again, you can choose whatever form that takes; the images may all overlap in a higgledy piggledy fashion or it may be very structured and ordered. In some ways this analogue approach is the most ‘inconvenient’ but I still find this method the most creative and quite soothing in an increasingly digital world.

The digital methods are numerous and possibly endless but one of the easiest to pick up and run with is by using Canva. It’s free and they have a wealth of templates if you’re unsure where to start. The other quick to run with option is to use something like Pinterest. You can search for all the images you want and pin them to a board, the app then collates it all for you in one place which you can review and refine. You can make your boards private or choose to share them with people if you’re working on something with another person (wedding planning anyone?)

Digital options are such a convenient way of getting your ideas down quickly, I’ve often used them on my way home from a client meeting on the train when ideas from the brief are fresh in my head. Take a look below to see some of our concept boards created for clients:

So there you have it, if you’re stuck on what flowers to have on your table at Easter* then start a Pinterest board with all the images of flower arrangements you like and within 5 minutes I bet you will see a theme emerging – be it colour or shape or style and voilà your mood board has helped you solidify an idea to fruition!

*I realise this isn’t an issue in most households outside of mine and Hyacinth Bucket’s, it is a burden I have learnt to live with

Christmas decorations; Ignore the designer

This year I find myself sharing my tree with another and I will admit that the joy of being completely selfish regarding Christmas decorations was one of my favourite things about living alone. So I find myself needing to accommodate someone else’s precious Christmas memories in to my perfectly matching tree and I imagine I’m not alone. So how do you create a successful and tasteful exhibition of festivity at home whilst accommodating all yours (and everyone else’s) sentimental ornaments? In short; you don’t try! It’s your home and it’s your Christmas so it should reflect you and yours – do what makes you sublimely happy and to hell with what House Beautiful tells you (no offence, I dearly love House Beautiful!)

If, however, you are just about to get in the loft and bring the deccies down and want some pointers, here are a few things I try to do to help make it look (sort of) considered:

Tree placement

First thing’s first – where to put the tree. The hallway is a great option for a warm and welcoming entrance to your home if you have the space, it’s so nice on these dark and cold days to come home to that special glow of fairy lights. Put the lights on a timer so they come on just as you get home from work.

If like me your hallway doesn’t accommodate a tree you might want to consider the living room. My favourite thing is to switch the lights on as soon as I come down of a morning and drink my morning cuppa under fairy lights, it’s so indulgent somehow to have all the opulence of a Christmas tree, twinkly lights and sparkly ornaments in your living room that this is the spot for me. This does usually involve a small amount of furniture shifting and I like mine to be near the window so I can see it when I get home (as with the hallway option, put a timer on so they are not left on when not at home). Just remember before you start rearranging your living room to check where your plug sockets are and if you have enough available to not overload them by adding additional wattage.

Tree decorating

Lights:

If you have an artificial tree then make your life easier and get a pre lit one, it was the best investment I have ever made (relative to Christmas decorations, not in life in general) If you have a real tree and need to do the lights then these should be the first thing you put on the tree and don’t forget to keep turning them on as you go to check you are happy with the distribution of lights – there’s nothing worse than the dreaded dark spot when you’ve finished and have to take everything off and start again!

Tinsel:

I’m not a tinsel person (not that there’s anything wrong with tinsel – I just can’t stand the feel of it so I don’t put it on my tree as that would involve touching it) If you do partake in tinsel, put this on after the lights. I’d recommend getting different thicknesses of tinsel and use the thinner type near the top and the thicker type nearer the bottom, wrap it around in a spiral from top to bottom for an even distribution.

Baubles/ornaments:

If you need to accommodate some none matching items (as above) you can either dot them about and let them mingle in and around all the matching stuff or you can group together and make a feature of the story they tell. I’m of the grouping persuasion – I group vertically right down the front and centre of the tree; don’t worry too much about colour or texture…size is the key!

Balancing the look of the ornaments is fairly straightforward, just think of it as stacking blocks: put the largest baubles at the bottom and work your way up using ornaments of a decreasing size up to the top.

Tree toppers:

Angel or star? Well this really should be anything you like in my opinion - I have a big gold crown on the top of my tree and a friend of mine adorns the top of hers with a Dolly Parton angel. It’s your home, your Christmas and your tree, it should look like it!

Other decorations

I like to keep it simple outside of the tree – mainly because cleaning around a load ornaments in one of the busiest months of the year is too much of a task for me, but again if you want decorations in every room of the house then go for it. The quickest and simplest way to add Christmas sparkle is of course with fairy lights. You can even get some battery operated ones to add sparkle to your bathroom should you wish. Tinsel or a garland wrapped around the staircase or fireplace is always festive and if all else fails get the mulled wine going and the smell will instantly fill your home with Christmas cheer!

Merry Christmas everyone