CREATE YOUR DREAM HOME
The hard bit is over: you’ve found your perfect house and the removal men have gone. Now the fun can start, as you put your stamp on the place and choose fabrics, wallpapers, furniture and accessories. But where do you start? Interiors expert Charlotte Boyd gives this advice…
Get inspired There are so many places to look for ideas – House Beautiful is obviously a great place to start, but also
Instagram and Pinterest, plus hotels and restaurants you visit, friends’ houses… Put together a vision board, real or online, of what you want your home to look like. This doesn’t have to include specific paint colours and fabrics, just rooms you love. Consider how you want it to feel: warm and cosy, light and uplifting, fun… doing this will help focus your mind. If you have a partner or family, it’s important to include their ideas too.
Look at what furniture you already have Your budget may not allow you to start from scratch in every room, so it’s important to work your new schemes around furniture you’ve brought from your old house. If the colours and styles aren’t working, can they be recovered, painted or renovated to fit? You’ll be amazed at how different your old grey sofa will look covered in a vibrant emerald-green velvet.
Take the time to get to know your new house Don’t rush into anything, especially if it involves buying 10 rolls of expensive wallpaper! Your initial ideas will almost definitely change once you’ve spent time living in each room. Sometimes it’s easier and less overwhelming to start from a blank canvas, so if you’re staring at rooms covered in hideous wallpapers or awful paint colours, strip it all back
and paint it white. This will make everything more liveable and help give you the space to plan. Try using V33 Multi Surface Renovation paint, £30/5L, which is a tough and durable white paint that can be used on anything from wallpaper and plaster to wood and radiators.
Flooring, lighting, sockets and switches are important to get right first time, because changing them involves the most upheaval. You don’t want to have to replaster and repaint a bedroom wall because you’ve decided that wall lights are better than table lamps beside your bed.
Once you’ve decided on the look and feel you want to create, start with one room at a time, as tackling a whole house in one go can leave you feeling overwhelmed. Buying a cushion, fabric or painting that you love is often a good starting point for a scheme. You can then pick out the colours in that design for paints and other furnishings.
Even if you have one scheme for the whole interior – for instance, Scandi or contemporary rustic – each room doesn’t have to be identical. Incorporate a few common themes or colours in each space, but perhaps choose a slightly different shade for the walls. A pale pink might be beautiful in your light-filled living room, but feel a bit wishy-washy in your dark north-facing office – work with the qualities of each space.
Spend money on important furniture such as the sofa, bed, bath and kitchen table and buy quality that will last. Even if you have to save up, it’s better value to get the piece you love and will want to keep than going for something cheap and uncomfortable that will fall apart in a few years.
Avoid the show home look by incorporating pieces with character; a vintage leather armchair will look fab next to a modern sofa and an antique picture will provide contrast in a contemporary living room. It’s also vital that your home reflects the people who live in it, so add personality with art you love and collectables, fill shelves with books you’ve enjoyed, and remember that making a home is a life-long journey and something that grows and evolves over time.