How to decorate right now
Need inspiration – and a helping hand – on how to give your home an instant shot of design gorgeousness? Here’s the expert guide on how to tackle the latest big styling trends...
HOW TO... MAKE A MURAL WALL
Forget the wallpaper feature wall – now we’re going mad for murals, because a large-scale and arresting image really does transform a space. But which is the best wall to showcase your mural? ‘A good approach to take is: when you enter the room, which is the first wall you see? Is this wall the focal point of the room?’ says Alissa Sequeira from Surface View, a company that takes archive images from sources such as the V&A to create wall decor.
Murals can enhance poky corners. ‘ They give overlooked spaces an identity,’ says Alissa. ‘If you’re working with a small space, a mural can give it a whole new persona.’
A mural does dominate a room, though, so it has to take the lead when styling. ‘Don’t add anything that will fight against your mural,’ says Alissa. ‘Paint the surrounding walls in a complementary colour or take colours from the mural and pull these into the rest of the room through accessories.’
Also check out grahamand brown.com and walldeco.com (they do amazing waterproof ones for the bathroom.)
HOW TO... CHOOSE AND HANG ART
Love the idea of art on your walls but don’t know where to start? The answer is to buy what you love. ‘I always think it’s best not to think about buying art to fit a certain interiors scheme, but to buy an artwork because you’re drawn to the piece itself,’ says Georgia Spray, founder of Partnership Editions, a curated platform of accessibly priced original artworks by talented emerging artists. ‘Art that is a little surprising or challenging doesn’t get boring. Great art should have longevity, something you keep coming back to or thinking about, that leaves trends behind.’
Kate Higginson of Print Club, which produces handmade, limited-edition screen prints from £30 to £1,000, suggests choosing a piece that provokes discussion. ‘I have a print by the illustrator Bob Gill that features people on a beach, all with humorous expressions. I often wonder what these people are thinking.’
Once you’ve got the piece, where do you hang it? ‘Large pieces fill big walls easily, but you don’t need to overfill,’ says Kate. ‘People tend to think about hanging a print over a fireplace and making it all symmetrical, but the most fun is when the work has a life and story of its own and you think more creatively about hanging.’
‘I think things always look great in threes,’ says Georgia, ‘or slightly off-centre. It makes people look.’ You don’t have to hang it, either. ‘It can look great propped up on a shelf or a side table,’ continues Georgia. ‘Move your artworks around every few months, to breathe new life into your space.’
Framing is key, says Kate. ‘ White and black is simple but choose other options if the artwork can carry it. A coloured frame here and there is always exciting to the eye.’
HOW TO... CREATE A STYLISH VIGNETTE
The coolly curated still-life or vignette that sits stylishly on a sideboard, table or shelf (aka ‘the shelfie’), has become a staple of the modern interior, but just how do you ensure that your collection of objects looks chic rather than shambolic?
‘ When choosing objects I take a range of factors into account,’ says Martha Roberts, author of Shelfie: ClutterClearing Ideas For Stylish Shelf Art (£12.99, Mitchell Beazley). ‘ These include shape, texture, height, scale and colour. It’s all about how these aspects work together to create the perfect visual. I have to love all the objects I use, rather than just like them.’
One way of starting your vignette is to begin with a hero object, such as an amazing perfume bottle, vase or picture frame, and then build your collection around it. ‘However, as a colour fanatic, I often use colour as the starting point,’ says Martha. ‘I’ll choose a single colourway, such as all white or all green, a colour duo, such as blue and white, or pink and orange, or a multicolour theme – then find objects to fit in with the theme. I like to include a variety of textures and heights – you can always fill in spaces by putting objects on plinths, such as a pile of books or a decorative box – and shapes so that the eye makes visual connections that get you seeing what’s the same and what’s different, and how it all pieces together.’
Martha’s rules include the power of odd numbers. ‘ Three objects are ideal. I also like layering objects of the same colour to create depth of field.’
When working across more than one surface, such as a series of shelves, Martha advises imagining a line going diagonally from the end of one shelf to the far end of the next. ‘Put objects with some kind of relationship with each other in those places, like a stash of books or a pot plant.’
HOW TO... PUT TOGETHER A BAR CART
With cocktails now integral to entertaining at home, the bar cart has become a must-have piece of kit. And it also helps that it’s perfect for adding an instant shot of glam to any space. ‘I’ve styled my drinks trolley next to my cocktail chair in the living room,’ says Lucy St George, co-founder of rockettstgeorge.co.uk. ‘I just love the glamour it adds to my decor.’ Lucy favours a round trolley. ‘It adds interesting and eye-catching geometrics to your interior. It also has the added bonus of being slightly larger than a standard drinks trolley, meaning there is more room for your beverages.’
However, if space is an issue, go for a chic side table. ‘Put a lamp and some decorative pieces on top, then use the lower level as your cocktail station,’ says Lucy. ‘As with any styling, a mix of heights and textures works well, but in this instance a theme, such as a gin bar, works best to avoid your cart looking messy.’
There are certain bar cart musts. ‘ You need a recipe book for creating the perfect cocktails, a good bar set including a cocktail shaker and mixing equipment, favourite glassware and straws. A gold champagne bucket is both useful and beautiful, and is especially useful if you are hosting a party.’
And what about the actual drinks? ‘My cart is full of ones I like that happen to be in the nicest bottles. There are lovely non-alcoholic alternatives too; Seedlip looks great on a cart.’
HOW TO... CREATE A STATEMENT STAIRCASE
No bit of the home has been left untouched by our current passion for maximalism, and that means a staircase now has to offer more than a beige carpet and a gallery of family photos on the wall. ‘It’s often the entryway to your home, so the staircase has a strong and immediate visual impact,’ says Sandra Baker from @the_ idle_hands, whose look-at-me staircase (above, inset) has wowed her 43,000 followers. ‘It draws the eye upwards and makes you want to explore!’
Sandra’s combines floral wallpaper with Anaglypta, the traditional textured panelling that was once out but is now very much in. ‘My starting point was the bold, floral House of Hackney wallpaper that I fell in love with as soon as I clapped eyes on it. There was already some ancient Anaglypta below the dado rail, and the period look really suited our Victorian house. I stripped off the old and put up new Anaglypta in a pattern I really loved and painted it black, which really ramped up the drama. If you’re going for a print as bold as the House of Hackney floral paper, you’ve got to pair it with something that delivers a kick!’
On Sandra’s stairs is a striped runner. ‘A plain runner would have been perfectly nice but the yellow edging picks out the yellow in the wallpaper, which pulled the scheme together.’
But what if full-on maximalism is too much for you? ‘ Then try a bold coloured or patterned runner,’ says Sandra. ‘Or paint the stairs a fabulous colour that’s a contrast to the wall. Even painting just the banister an interesting colour can have a huge impact. Adding tiles or wallpaper to the stair risers also looks great. On the walls, experiment with patterned wallpaper or bold paint.’