Hot for summer
Freshen up your home this weekend
The May Bank Holiday weekend is traditionally the time when many of us get decorating for the summer – whether that’s refreshing your paint job, putting up wallpaper or buying some new furniture. So how can you ensure you’re on the right track, and avoid making a costly decorating mistake? Is grey still the neutral to go for, or has it had its day, and should you be opting for bolder, richer colours?
We asked four leading interiors editors to reveal their hot tips for this summer’s design trends, what they will be decorating next, and the colours and styles that are in (and those on their way out).
Hatta Byng, editor, House & Garden
There’s a real interest in the traditional English interior at the moment. In our June issue, we revealed our top 100 designers for 2018 and what’s striking is how many of them trained at the interior-decoration firm Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. They’ve all gone in different directions, but have taken that element of design with them.
People are using chintz and brown furniture again, but not in an Eighties way, and not in the way our grandparents would have used it; you wouldn’t see a drawing room with swags and tails now. There’s a bravery in using chintz. People are mixing it with ikats, or a nice stripe or ticking.
There’s an irreverence to the look, it isn’t as uptight as it used to be, and that’s what takes the stuffiness out. You don’t have to use fine antiques: you can mix country furniture with pieces from junk shops. Carpet or rush matting goes with this look, but you can’t go wrong with painting your floorboards: keeping it clean, simple and unfussy.
What we are seeing now is a layered, English aesthetic, but it’s a more edited, pared-back look, with fewer trinkets and less clutter. The way things are combined makes it of now, rather than 20 years ago: people are mixing eras and styles with far fewer rules. It’s not about setting out to create a traditional look, but many of the components are fashionable and make lovely rooms.
Suzanne Imre, editor, Living Etc
My favourite trend for this summer has to be “raw” – whether that is raw linens and silks, beach-washed woods or the tactile qualities of concrete. It has a relaxed, barefoot vibe while still feeling luxe. Kept to a palette of white walls, bleached woods and pale rattan it can transport you to an Ibizan villa or, spiced up with blood reds, olive and matt black, “raw” feels much more exotic. Either way, it spells holiday.
There are some fabulous coral pinks around for summer – less sickly than flamingo shades, with orange undertones, which keep the look more sophisticated and works brilliantly with navy blue or white. Blue is giving grey a run for its money; it has the same impact and depth but doesn’t run the risk of looking sludgy or depressing if you get the shade wrong.
This morning, I decided to paint my bathroom dark blue (Farrow & Ball’s Stiffkey Blue) and make a new blind in a green and white palm print (Brisa by Christopher Farr). Such a dark colour is quite a commitment, but with good lighting, white bathware and Carrara marble tiles, I’m hoping it will work.
Kate Watson-smyth, founder, Madaboutthehouse.com
Pink is the new summer neutral and goes with a surprising number of colours, from burnt orange and teal to navy blue and chocolate brown. Gold accents combine well to bring a summer feel, especially when teamed with natural rattan.
I love rattan and I think it’s great indoors, as well as in the garden. You can get great fake rattan for outside that can withstand the vagaries of a British summer, so it’s practical, too.
I’m still a huge fan of grey and it is definitely the classic neutral now, but I think it has peaked as a trend and is moving over to allow other, richer colours their time in the spotlight. Personally, I’m drawn to grey rooms accented with warmer tones, rather than the layers of grey, white and natural wood from the past five years.
My next project is the spare room. It has a black carpet that we won’t be replacing, so we have to work around that. I want to put in a dado rail, use a panelled wall covering by Anaglypta below it, and paint above it. I might use something like Farrow & Ball Smoked Trout, but I might also go dark green… or maybe combine the two – and there’s a strong chance I’ll end up changing the carpet.
Deborah Barker, editor, Homes & Gardens
I think we are in the slow demise of grey interiors. As a colour, grey hasn’t completely gone but it is now all about what can be mixed with it to change the mood, such as soft pastels.
Green has been on the rise over the last year and now it has really arrived, particularly striking leaf greens. You can find plenty of leafy patterns on fabrics and wallpapers that you can mix with plain sofas and textured rugs. For many, an all-green room might be too much, but you can incorporate one piece in a more neutral scheme.
I am about to embark on decorating my narrow hallway. I’ll be using a wallpaper, but as no wall is straight, I’m going to choose one with an all-over pattern so that it’s more forgiving.