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Interior design has always been impacted by fashion trends – both historically and in the modern day. In this article series, “Designing in Style,” I explore the meaning of style for interior designers.

I draw on my experience working alongside many of London’s best-known interior design teams. This fourth article in my series moves on from historic traditional/period styles to the country style – a timeless interior design classic.

The country styles are also sometimes known as the pastoral or rustic styles. The most prominent example is the cottage/farmhouse. Ask most interior designers to imagine being far away from London and they will envision an earthy farmhouse kitchen with rustic tones, wooden enclaves, solid and wholesome meals, and a welcoming brick fireplace. Pastoral styles in interior design contexts are as much practical as they are stylish. The restful comfort and lack of ostentation is appreciated not only by country folk but also by city dwellers. London Interior Design Consultancies often work with clients who have large residences with expansive grounds in need of a rustic feel that harks back to quieter times.

The country interior design style relies on sturdy natural materials such as wood, brick, stone and textured or weathered fabrics. Floorboards are often left exposed to wear down over time, before being stained or varnished and softened with mats or rugged coverings. In general, furniture should be plump and inviting, with natural unvarnished wood frames or homely patterned upholstery. The fireplace is often a centrepiece of this interior design style, and hearths of stone or brick are often used together with copper or brass fireplace accessories. In London mansions that incorporate the country style, walls are often left rough and natural in appearance.

The English country house is a variant of the pastoral interior design style that is very English yet still well-known abroad. Interior designers in London will often be called upon to create designs in this style for the very wealthiest clients. The English country house style relies heavily on patterns. Interior design teams will focus on floral, large-scale motifs, perhaps based on historic designs from the eighteenth century. These patterns will be used not only for window treatments, but also on upholstery, loose covers, bedspreads, table frills, etc. Typical English country house interior design schemes use colours such as pink, white, cream, and highlights in green. Other options include yellow and blue, or muted shades of gold and brown.

In the latter half of the twentieth century, British rustic interior design became increasingly influenced by the so-called “American country” style. Although not often a focus of London interior designers, this style can include Shaker furniture and Amish quilts, together with stripped-pine cupboards, dressers and chests. Folk stencils are important to achieve the correct look.

In my next article for this “Designing in Style” series, I will look at something that is a major feature of London’s interior design landscape today, namely the modern/contemporary style.

By : AstinSoftech

Insights into Interior Design: Designing in Style. Part V: Modern/Contemporary

Interior design has always been impacted by fashion trends – both historically and in the modern day. In this article series, “Designing in Style,” I explore the meaning of style for interior designers. I draw on my experience working alongside many of London’s best-known interior design teams. This fifth and final article in my series moves on from countryside styles to modern/contemporary – a major focus of the London Interior Design community today.

Modern or contemporary design is all about simplicity. Interior designers tend to focus on fresh, clean lines, together with simple colours and basic shapes like perfect circles and rectangles. But the question I hear again and again from my interior design students in London is, “How to make a contemporary/modern design interesting and unique?” This can be a real challenge – interior designers always want to give their clients something special, but within the constraints of very simple, almost minimalist, design briefs, this can require some serious creativity!

My recommendation to interior design students is always to use extra imagination in the details. In London, wealthy homeowners tend to be very focused on subtle extras. To add interest to a standard modern/contemporary scheme, the interior designer can consider highlights, trims or accents in the colour scheme. Even if one only has a monochrome palette to work with, perhaps a white piece of furniture would look stunning with a beautiful bespoke black throw. Or maybe a hint of pink can be introduced into a grey tone to create a really “interior designer” look for a room? There are all sorts of possibilities, and in London’s most prestigious districts today the most important thing for interior designers to keep in mind is that the label of “modern/contemporary” is just a guideline. If the client has a favourite piece of furniture or artwork that doesn’t quite fit the “modern/contemporary” label, use your interior design creativity to figure out ways to incorporate it into a scheme. You really can’t go wrong if your “modern/contemporary” design is unified and classy – and in London many clients are very sophisticated, with an eye for beauty and detail. If their needs are met, the interior designer has done their job!

Well, that closes out my series on “Insights into Interior Design: Designing in Style. ” Thank you so much for reading – I hope I have been able to give you some perspective on the many different styles that are and have been popular with London’s interior design community over the decades.

By : AstinSoftech

Interior design and in-style vogue have been intertwined for decades. In this article series, “Secrets of Polish and Flair,” I examine the meaning of flair for interior design professionals today. I reflect on my professional know-how from collaborating with many of London’s top interior design mavens. This first article focuses on foundations.

I often point out to clients that people tend to modify their residences much less often than we buy new outfits! Consequently, it is critical that the interior design professional not push for too “in vogue” a design concept. We don’t want to create something that will be utterly passe when next season comes around. Definitely it is a great idea to stay current on furniture trends – just check out London’s regular interior design exhibitions – but the interior design maven will often do better to dive into fabric-based styles that can be modified regularly and at will. Think of throws, drapes, tablecloths and towels, to name just a few.

London interior design trends can shift like the winds. In recent years London has seen a shift back to embrace the historic. The Georgian Adam mantlepiece has attracted the excitement of many an interior design studio. Mouldings are a real hit today, and interior design pros will often recommend them in oak or in stucco.

I am excited to report that the historic dado rail has seen a comeback even in some of the less spacious London flats. With it we see a resurgence in dual-hue wall colour themes. To echo historical trends, interior design experts will select a weightier, more inky colour for below the rail and a sunnier hue for above.

Colour and pattern matching on fabrics is absolutely in style today. There are so many great custom fabric shops in and around London that interior design professionals are really spoilt for choice! At our interior design studios, we often select textiles that reflect the designs on wallpaper, accents, rugs, or even dishware!

Last but by no means least, it is critical to conceptualise flair in the “setting” of the design zone. Two separate rooms can never be exactly the same. Every interior offers both highlights and less attractive features. London’s top interior design pros will evoke polish and flair in such a way as to highlight an interior’s best elements while also muting out any undesirables. As examples, less attractive room features may include ill-advised wall-removal by a builder, or maybe a quicky architect’s error that is tough to fix due to structural concerns.

In my next article in “Pulse of the Interior Design Profession: Secrets of Polish and Flair”, I will expose London’s most ageless design modalities – Jacobean and Victorian.

By : Christina

Professional interior designers are expertly trained in the use of lighting features to create breathtaking results. In this four-part series which I call “Colour Me Brightly: Understanding Light in Interior Design,” I draw on my experience in London’s interior design community to explain this fascinating subject. This first article is about patterns.

Ask a London schoolgirl to imagine natural patterns, and she may talk at length of curvaceous seashells, the undulating edge of waves on the shore, the grooves in a gnarled tree trunk. Interior designers know that patterns are all around us. Patterns profoundly influence all interior design schemes, transforming our appreciation of color and texture, adding fluctuations and drifts or promoting harmony and stillness. London Interior Designers will focus on soft, fluid outlines in order to create relaxing patterns. By contrast, bold graphic statements in a wallpaper stencil can be invigorating for a London discotheque or salon. Pattern is a foundational ingredient of interior design, fragmenting overwhelming shapes and plain surfaces while simultaneously lending personality and profundity to a room.

London’s professional interior designers know one big secret: pattern is created not only by fabric and wallpaper. Light also forms any number of patterns through a virtual tussle or rough-and-tumble interaction between light and shadow. Light patterns are foundational to interior design schemes – from snippeted, kinetic and frosted patterns to curvy arcs, spearhead-style lines and theatrical projections of abstract forms.

Patterns of light fall into two main interior design categories. The first is all about objects in the path of light, casting shadows. We draw our inspiration from the natural world where, when sunlight strikes rippling water on London’s famous River Thames, flickering patterns are reflected up into the trees along the water’s edge. Similarly, if an artificial light source is directed onto water – perhaps a pool, fountain or babbling artificial brook – active reflections will dapple the surrounding walls and become an interior design feature. Sunlight may shine through the branches of a tree to create moving patterns of light and shade below, and similarly a low-voltage uplight, positioned behind indoor plants, can create beautiful interior design features on the walls and ceilings. This technique can be stunning both inside and outside the building.

In my next article, I turn to patterns that use perforations and glass.