Design hacks to lift your look
Wishing your home was worthy of featuring in an interior magazine but don’t know how to pull it off? Jessica Salter explains.
We all want our home to look like the glossy versions we see on the pages of interior magazines, or on Instagram, but often don’t quite know how to elevate our own domestic spaces to a level where they look thoughtfully styled.
But while a luxe look can, of course, be easily achieved with the help of an interior designer, or by buying designer furniture and fabrics, there are also some clever ways to elevate the style of your home without blowing the budget.
No one knows better than an interior stylist how to make a space look luxe on a shoestring. “It’s absolutely all in the styling,” says Charlotte Page, aka @stylingyourhome. “Often, you can move around things that you’ve already got or display them in different ways to give your home that elevated, styled look in a way that costs nothing.”
Samantha Palmer, an interiors trend forecaster and the owner of the popular interiors Instagram account @the_flint_ house, where she documents images of her own chic home, urges for timelessness.
“Timelessness never goes out of style, and there’s nothing better for the budget than that,” she points out.
In general, she advises “sticking to a palette of natural materials, such as cotton, canvas and twill for upholstery, sea-grass matting and jute for rugs (which can be sourced very inexpensively), wood for furniture and accessories (look for darkertoned woods that will age beautifully) and metal hardware that will patinate”.
Here are some styling tricks be spotted in the most stylish houses on Instagram, and that won’t cost a fortune to emulate.
Choose chequerboard tiling
Checked tiling adds a pop of interest and colour. It’s a decorative style used all over the much-Instagrammed Cotswold hotel Cowley Manor Experimental.
“We used chequerboard tiling around the fireplaces, firstly to recreate the pattern in an interesting way, but also to design a core feature within the room and accentuate the original fireplaces,” says the hotel’s interior designer, Dorothée Meilichzon.
If you love the look but want to do it on a budget, Grazzie Wilson, of the tile company Ca’ Pietra, says that’s where porcelain versions of luxe materials, such as marble or limestone, come in. “Porcelain gives you the impact of chequerboard, but at a much more affordable price.”
Fit bamboo blinds
A very inexpensive hack to cover windows and add a layer of texture is to install bamboo blinds.
“What they cleverly do is evoke a more relaxing and informal look to a room,” says interior designer Melissa Hutley. “They bring natural colour to a room in the same way a natural timber floor would, and the soft honey hues add warmth.”
Pernille Lind, a designer, agrees: “Adding touches of bamboo or rattan is a costeffective
Left: Add touches like this rattan light from Corso Merivale and bring calming, natural elements to a room. way of infusing the calming and warming benefits of natural materials.”
Update your hardware
It’s tempting to try to save money on the seemingly more utilitarian parts of a project, but it’s something you can live to regret. The light switches and door handles are items you touch every day.
To borrow a fashionista’s way of justifying a bigger spend, you have to think about the cost per use; upgrading light switches and sockets instantly makes a wall look more expensive, and make using them a daily joy. New handles can instantly elevate a cabinet.
“Save money on cushions and throws, which you can tire of, and spend it on hardware, which lasts longer and elevates a scheme,” advises Palmer.
Install pretty panelling
Palmer transformed a boring box room into a glamorous, seductive bathroom, in part thanks to panelling the walls. “I chose a wooden trim from WRP mouldings online, and my builder and I just used basic maths to figure out how big and where the panelling should go to sit behind the bath in a balanced layout,” she says.
“The tricky part came when one of the panels became a secret cabinet – the end panel closest to the window is on a push-release magnetic closure and hides all of our bathroom secrets. If there is an alcove that is redundant (most Victorian houses will have one), it’s a great spacesaving device to conceal cabinets into panelling in this way.”
Use a tray to display
One clever styling trick is to group items together on a tray. “Grouping items on trays will define and elevate little moments around your home,” says Anna McGregor, the co-founder of homewares brand Lamp London Home.
“A tray on the kitchen counter for your kettle and coffee pot, on the breakfast table for jam and the butter dish, in the bathroom for beauty products, on an ottoman with books and candles, or on a side table with a lamp and a coaster for your tea, they all make a space feel considered and add another layer of texture and colour too.”
Add a pop of red
Adding a flash of red to your interior does for your space what a good red lip does for your outfit: It delivers a good dose of dopamine, while remaining classic.
As such, it’s a standard designer trick – but one you might not have consciously noticed.
“A pop of red elevates a room by adding an unexpected and contrasting element, allowing the eye to rest on one area or piece in the room,” Parkinson explains.
In a recent project, she painted a back door red, as well as a beam across the ceiling, but suggests accessorising with a red stool or candlestick for the less brave.
Garden trends are blooming with excitement, and it’s not just because of the flowers. From sustainable gardens to planting what you eat, the latest trends show that gardens are a place to relax and unwind, as well as being a source of food and biodiversity.
Sustainable gardens are leading the pack when it comes to garden trends. As climate change and environmental issues become more prominent, gardeners turn to sustainable practices that minimise their carbon footprint and promote biodiversity.
One of the most popular of these practices is planting a combination of native and nonnative plants. Not only does this promote biodiversity, but it also provides habitats for pollinators and other types of wildlife.
Wildflower meadows gain popularity
Perennial wildflower meadows – something I want to work towards myself – are also gaining popularity as gardeners look for
ways to create beautiful landscapes that are lowmaintenance and eco-friendly.
These meadows are a feast for the eyes and provide habitats for various wildlife, from butterflies to birds.
Native hedging: easy and eco-friendly
Native hedging is another trend that is not going anywhere. Hedges are made up of native plants that are well adapted to the local climate and soil, making them lowmaintenance and eco-friendly.
They provide habitats for wildlife and act as a barrier against noise and pollution.
Also remaining a garden favourite are edible hedges such as feijoa, blueberry, olive, apple or citrus.
Plant what you eat
Food security is a driving force behind garden trends in 2024. With the ongoing cost of living crisis and concerns about food shortages, more and more people are turning to their gardens as a food source.
Planting what you eat is a trend that is here to stay, with gardeners opting for fruits, vegetables and herbs that are easy to grow and provide a bounty of fresh produce.
Staples such as potatoes, leafy greens and pumpkins can get you through cold winter nights. Nectar-rich planting is also on the rise as gardeners look for ways to attract pollinators like bees and butterflies.
From bee balm to lavender, there are plenty of nectar-rich plants to choose from that will add beauty and biodiversity to your garden.
I’ve planted swan plants near my zinnias this season, so the monarch butterflies don’t have to travel far to feed when they emerge.
Regenerative agriculture for good
One of the most exciting trends in sustainable gardening is the rise of regenerative agriculture, a way of farming that focuses on building soil health and biodiversity while sequestering carbon from the atmosphere.
This farming method is good for the environment and produces healthy and delicious food. I’m excited to see how it evolves.
Go vertical
For those who want to get the most out of their space, vertical gardening is another trend that is gaining popularity. With limited land in urban areas, vertical gardening allows you to grow more plants in less space.
From trellises to hanging baskets, vertical gardening offers plenty of ways to get creative. I have considered purchasing a stackable planter with a composting tube in the middle. The tube can be used to discard food scraps, which, in turn, will nourish the plants surrounding it.
Time to save water
And let’s remember the importance of water conservation in the garden world. With droughts becoming more frequent and severe, gardeners are increasingly seeking ways to conserve water.
From using drip irrigation systems with rainwater to planting drought-tolerant plants, olla water pots, and living mulch, there are plenty of ways to reduce water usage in the garden.
In conclusion, we can see a growing movement towards creating sustainable, eco-friendly and beautiful spaces.
By incorporating a mix of native and non-native plants or creating wildflower meadows, we can promote biodiversity and food security. The rise of regenerative agriculture and vertical gardening offers us new and exciting ways to make the most of our gardens.
Always remember that gardening is a personal journey, and finding what makes you happy is the key to success. Trends are temporary, but your garden is a testament to your unyielding dedication and passion for this hobby.
Let’s get our hands dirty and embrace a bright future of gardening.
Contributing writer Candy Rose is a North Canterbury gardener with a 1000m² plot.