7. FORM: BEAUTIFUL BONES

Add a graceful touch to your home with mouldings, which can instantly jazz up any space. Inspired by heritage homes, these decorative elements are making a comeback. They easily augment the charm of a newly built home, which may feature bare walls and angular proportions.

“Mouldings are used to emphasise certain characteristics in a room,” says Champalimaud.

“You don’t want the mouldings to be too shocking or too strong. For instance, well-designed baseboards can establish geometry in the room and frame the space beautifully.”

Apply rectangular mouldings that run the full length of the wall, or opt for wainscoting— recessed or raised wooden panels that cover just the lower third of the wall. Besides contributing to the visual impact of the interior, these panels can also add to the seamless look of your home.

From top left: Tranquil Dawn, the Dulux Colour of the Year, adds a calming touch to this bedroom; in this project by Champalimaud Design, the floral plasterwork goes beautifully with blue wainscoting in the Presidential suite of Raffles Hotel Singapore; Katharine Pooley uses a soothing mix of pale blue box mouldings with grey fabric panels in this bedroom