How do I add soul to a long room with high ceilings which is both an entrance hall and a dining room?
You could consider painted panelling to almost the top of the walls, and painting this in a warm, rich colour and then put the ceiling in a strong off white. Perhaps sneak some gentle led tape lighting on top of the panelling to cast a glow up into that wonderful high ceiling? If panelling is out of the budget, then consider flooding the walls and ceiling in one colour to bring that high ceiling down a bit. I would also look at the lighting – lamps or wall lights will help to add a more intimate feel and if you have spotlights, I would change them for a pendant or a flemish chandelier on a dimmer hung over the table (not to high) to bring the eye down and add glow where you want it. Lastly, consider a rug to add warmth and help with the acoustics.
I am considering using my spare time in January to paint the gorgeous stained wood trim in my classic Arts & Crafts house - is this sacrilege?
I am normally pretty gung-ho about painting things but in an Arts and Crafts house, I think it is a mistake. I would consider using your time in January to paint a richer colour on the walls so that there is less contrast between the wood and the plaster and so that the warmth of the wood will work with the walls, rather than stand out from them.
How do I add character to my new build house?
There are lots of ways to do this, although some of them do involve a joiner. Inevitably, skirtings, architraves and doors are all rather mean and ‘new-feeling’, so as and when you can afford it consider changing these for deeper ones with better mouldings and look at more solid doors since the chances are the builder put in either new ‘oak’ laminate ones or hollow doors. In the meantime, do look at things like the door furniture and light switches. These are quite easy to change and it can add a lot to the feel. Developers love satin chrome as an ironmongery finish but replacing it with bronze or antique brass can straight away anchor the detail of a space. I would also always look at whether a cornice is possible. Ideally not the DIY fibreglass ones, but a plaster one in a simple swan neck design can add to the space. If none of those are an option then definitely consider wallpaper for some spaces, but not a feature wall! Be brave and paper all the walls in the room. Look at full length, interlined curtains instead of roman blinds and layer up the soft furnishings with different colours and textures to add warmth to space.
I desperately need to declutter - how do you decide what is worth keeping and what can go?
I take the approach ‘would I buy it if I saw it today?’. If the answer is no, then it goes into a box immediately. With everything still left, it can help to take it all out of the room you are decluttering and then take pieces back in a few at a time, treating everything you took out as if it were in a shop – so ‘buy’ something and take it in and try it. Often when clutter is taken out of it’s environment we can see it more clearly and it makes the decision easier.
I’ve grown tired of my flat but moving out isn’t an option. Do you have any tips to help me fall back in love with it?
I will assume that your issue is not that the flat is no longer working for you but that you are literally bored with it. So my first piece of advice is to look at what you have in there. All too often curtains, or headboards or sofas and side tables and lamps are just what you could afford when you initially moved, and then they became, well, part of the furniture. The curtain pole that the previous tenant left is still there, even though you hate it. Doorhandles are the ones that came with the flat but add nothing not the space and I bet that there are pieces of furniture there that you never meant to hang onto for so long. Why not look at finally getting rid of those and replacing them with the right thing? Perhaps change your lamps and lamp shades, and rehang the pictures. I would definitely look at painting the walls to give the whole flat a new lease of life. Adding or changing colour can be as good as moving. Look at things like light switches and door handles with a view to elevating those. Can you repaint your kitchen units and perhaps change the worktops? Moving is an expensive process but getting all those small changes done can bring the spaces back to life and might make the flat worth more when you do come to sell it.
My kitchen is lacking in character, it has tall vaulted ceilings and white walls. How do I warm it up?
Kitchens are full of joinery so look at whether you can get your units repainted and put them in warmer, richer earthy tones. I would then definitely flood the walls and ceiling with one colour going with a light shade that has warmth in it, like Peddars Way from Fenwick and Tilbrook. Lastly, look at your lighting – a wonderful pendant, hung low, can utilise that high vaulted ceiling and if you want more lighting, then consider using Corston Architectural Detail’s small brass spotlights on your ceiling instead of downlights and don’t do too many of them! You could also consider adding some rugs to the floor- there are great washable runners available from companies like Weaver Green.
What should I do with my empty walls if I can’t afford expensive art?
I have just been discussing this exact thing with a client who has a very tall staircase and can’t afford art for it. We have bought a suzani off Etsy that she has stapled onto board and hung on the wall and it has transformed the space for under £200. Don’t restrict what can go on a wall to pictures – in addition to fabrics, what about ceramics, or even woven baskets. There are wonderful large scale ones here which are like artwork in themselves, such as these from The Woven Hut. If that is not your aesthetic what about old blue and white meat platters you can pick up for under £40 each – a collection of those on the wall could look great. Ultimately I would say that don’t feel you have to hang pictures on every wall. One wall, hung with a big piece or a collection, will actually work harder than one picture on each wall. You can always hang a large mirror opposite your pictures which can double the impact.
I need to bring life into my windowless bathroom - can you suggest a bold, warm colour scheme?
I think, too often, bathrooms end up feeling clinical and a windowless one even more so. I would start with the floor, and perhaps look at something like a glue down wood effect LVT such as this one from Harvey Maria which you can lay over the existing tiles without the floor levels being too altered (you may need a thin latex screed). Straight away this will give the room some character, warmth and take away some of that clinical vibe. Then why not consider the fabulous Bisque paint from Farrow & Ball’s archive range for the walls. Do the ceiling in a warm off white, like Slipper Satin. You can either do your woodwork in the same Bisque, or go for a contrasting colour, like ‘Breakfast Room Green’. I would then considered a wall light over the basin with a colourful shade on it, such as this one from Pooky's collaboration with Matthew Williamson and instead of having a white bath mat, I would have had washable rug like this one from Weaver Green which adds more colour and depth to the scheme. Lastly do hang pictures in there – if you want more colour and warmth then use your art to add that in. If you want to pull the scheme back a little then more monochromatic pictures would also work brilliantly.
The image below shows the scheme I am suggesting with woodwork in ‘Breakfast Room Green’.
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Do the curtains in an open plan living, dining, sitting room all need to match?
No, they don’t have to match but they do need to feel ‘related’. This does depend on the architecture though, so if it is a one huge rectangle, you might be better to do it all in one fabric, but assuming the spaces are varied, you could have a wonderful botanical with lots of colours in it in the living end, then perhaps go with matching the background of that for the dining Room curtains (maybe changing the texture of the cloth as well so the light hits it differently), and adding a braid with some of the colours from the main curtains in it. At the more utilitarian end, stick to the colour theme, but perhaps go with a block print, or a more geometric design. You can use the three fabrics across the entire space for cushions or chairs so that the scheme reads as one thing.
I want to refresh my house in keeping with the seasons but I am so attached to its current design. Do you have any tips?
Seasonal refreshing of a room is something I would normally do with plants – winter is the time for great bowls of narcissi or hyacinths to bring scent and life to the dark and gloomy months – it’s also time to bring the candles out!. Spring for branches of blossom and bowls of primulas etc etc. If you want to ring more of a change then an easy way to alter the space is to perhaps have some warmer tones and textures for your scatter cushions which you can change to as the nights draw in. You could also consider different lampshades for your lamps, if you have the storage space for them in the summer. Perhaps ones that are gathered and in patterns and colour.. They are small details but build up to give your existing room a new character for the season.
I’ve just moved from a large modern house into a smaller 1840s one - how do I incorporate my existing collection of pieces (some antique, some modern) into the space?
Your existing collection represents you, and your interests so don’t be intimidated by the house into feeling that things have to be appropriate. They are yours, so they are appropriate. Having said that, if a piece does not work because it is too big, too small or doesn’t fit then it is time to let it go. Ask yourself if it fits well in the space and works hard to make the space better – the answer will help you to decide whether to keep it or not. If you end up with a choice between a modern or old piece for the same spot, keep the one that you would buy today for that space if you had started with nothing and saw it in a shop.
