ROOM REVEALS

Welcome to the November issue, brimming with inspiration on every level, whether you’re building a new home, furnishing an outdoor space, or simply looking to refresh a room or a garden bed. Change is in the air and you’ve just bought yourself a wealth of expert tips on colour, joinery details, furniture choices, material or plant combinations you may not have thought of.

Since its inception, H&G has unearthed and supported architecture and design talent. This year marks the 19th edition of Top 50 Rooms, our annual round-up of projects from the top of the residential-design tree. The rooms featured this month are far from ordinary – that’s kind of the point. But ideas, dear readers, are free and transferrable.

Identifiable themes include covetable colours – peachy pinks, inky blues, powerful olive, crisp whites – all the better to highlight heritage details and artwork. Materials? It’s all about the raw: timber, concrete, stone, ceramics and brick; black steel, brass fittings. Next, the decorative: paint, moulding, V-groove panelling… anything to impart character. And much of it available from the hardware store.

The Top 50 contains many clues to piling on the comfort and layering in the softer, decorative elements. Think cosy chairs and sofas, smart upholstery, floor-to-ceiling curtains, eye-catching rugs and cushions. Art is prevalent, often creating a view where there was none. Architectural lighting is also in favour, and hugely successful in older homes where high ceilings allow for sculptural fittings.

If there’s one thing that signifies our collective design maturity it’s the dawning awareness that a successful room relies on the interplay of different materials and textures, visual or otherwise. This is borne out in the Top 50 and also in the new homes in this issue, and it’s achievable on any budget.

We can all learn from exemplary design, and once decoded, every room becomes accessible. So, in the spirit of highlighting the ingredients of successful rooms, and acknowledging the talented people behind them, we present the 2017 Top 50 Rooms. Peruse, applaud, critique and most of all, observe: there are room recipes here for the taking. Plus, our Peoples’ Choice Award gives you the chance to have your say – and there’s a fabulous prize package from our long-standing Top 50 Rooms partner, Warwick Fabrics.

May this edition bring you ever closer to creating the room and home of your dreams.