40 tips for great interior style

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40 Tips For Great

Interior Style

By Penny Gregory

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Over the past 15 years Penny Gregory

Interiors has worked with hundreds of

clients, from all walks of life helping them

to furnish their homes to suit their needs

and lifestyles, creating truly unique and

beautiful interiors.

We specialise in making hand-made soft

f u r n i s h i n g s t o o u r c l i e n ts ’ e x a c t

spec i f icat ions . Our expert ise and

knowledge of interior design is not limited

to window dressing alone, we are often

asked to advise on other aspects of

decorating and furnishing a home.

There is a plethora of books and courses

available on interior design and somehow

the whole subject has become too

confusing, and so in this short and simple

guide we have brought together our top 40

tips for great interior style.

This guide is not intended to cover interior

Copyright © Penny Gregory 2008 www.pennygregoryinteriors.co.uk

Introduction

40 Tips For Great Interior Style

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fashion trends, but rather to be used as a

template for any future home interior

project. These tips are timeless.

We hope that by sharing our knowledge

with you, you too will learn how to develop

your own interior style and enjoy turning a

house into your home.

Should you need our help along the way,

please don’t hesitate to contact us on

01489 788178 or via the website.

Penny GregoryPenny GregoryPenny GregoryPenny Gregory



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1. Ensure that your rooms suit your

lifestyle. All too often we see beautiful

interiors in magazines or show homes

which catch our eye but which in

reality would be nigh on impossible for

some of us to live in. Whilst plush,

cream carpets, glass coffee tables and

elegant figurines might look fabulous

in a photo shoot, if you have children

or pets this look could be hard to live

with.

2. Your room should be functional.

Before you rush out to buy paint, floor

coverings and furniture, consider what

you will be using the room for and

what you will need in there. For

example, if you plan to entertain in

y o u r l i v i n g r o o m , a s w e l l a s


“Plush, cream carpets, glass coffee tables and elegant figurines might look fabulous…”


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comfortable seating, you’ll need a

coffee table for people to put their

dr inks on and perhaps a music

system.

3. Whilst interiors magazines can be

great sources of inspiration, remember

that month in, month out these

magazines are looking for new and

different stories to publish. They are

not always as concerned with good

style and functionality as they are

fashion. This season’s interiors trend

may be no easier to live with or last

any longer than last season’s killer

heels!

4. Always buy the best possible quality

that you can afford. As the saying

goes, if you buy cheap, you will buy

twice. So true with interior furnishings,

where even a cheap option can often

amount to hundreds of pounds.

5. Make a to-scale plan of your room

before you purchase new furniture.

Using squared paper, map out your

room and then on a separate piece of


“always buy the best possible quality to can afford”


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paper map out the dimensions of any

furniture you plan to put in the room.

Look at the spaces between items. Is

there enough room for people to move

with ease through doorways? Is

sea t i ng a r ranged so as to a id

conversation?

6. Aim for a focal point for your room.

This could be a fireplace, a beautiful

window treatment or an eye catching

painting, for example. Remember that

whilst too many details scattered

around the room will detract from your

chosen focal point, opposite walls can

have their own points of interest since

they cannot be seen together.


“Aim for a focal point for your room. This could be a fireplace, a beautiful window treatment or an eye catching painting”


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7. Consider the atmosphere or feel you

would like to create in your room.

Interior designers refer to this as

“mood”. The mood of a room can be

influenced by a number of factors

including light, colour and texture and

is key to good interior style. The most

successful interiors are those where

the mood re f lec ts the owner ’s

personality.

8. To help you to define the mood for

your particular room, begin with a list

of adjectives that describe what you’d

like this room to become, for example,

refreshing, st imulat ing, calming,

s e d a t e , h a rm o n i o u s , t r a n q u i l ,

pass ionate, opu lent , decadent ,

mysterious, oriental, inviting, happy,

inspiring, creative or positive.

9. Different rooms will require different

moods. For example, a hallway might

be warm and inviting, and a dining

room perhaps intimate and relaxed.

The most obvious way to affect the

mood of a room is with colour, but


“The most successful interiors are those where the mood reflects the owner’s personality”


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light, smell, texture and even sound

also play their part. Mood is all about

stimulation our senses.

10. Develop a mood board. Refer back to

your list of adjectives of how you’d like

your room to feel. Now gather cuttings

from magazines etc. of rooms that

inspire you, or examples taken from

nature of colours and textures you like,

as well as samples of fabrics and

paints.

11. Thinking especially about colour and

texture, begin to play around with your

samples as you lay them out on a

large piece of board as a visual aid to

designing your room.


“gather cuttings from magazines etc. of rooms that inspire you”


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12. Combining what’s on your mood board

with your list of what you need in your

room, consider how the elements of

your mood board can be incorporated

in the room. Develop your final board

by placing your chosen floor covering

at the bottom, wall colour in the centre

and curtain fabrics towards the top,

with any trimmings or accessories

placed where they will end up in

re la t i on to the who le scheme.

Try to get the proportion of floor area

to that of the walls and windows on

your final board to match that of the

room so your finished board reflects

how the end result will look.

13. Choose colour carefully. Tonal colour

schemes, where the colours chosen

are all variations of the same hue may

seem easy to put together, but without

a variety of textures and patterns can

quickly become boring.

14. A harmonious scheme is one where

the colours used lie close to each

o ther on the co lour whee l , fo r

“Tonal colour schemes, may seem easy to put together, but without a variety of textures and patterns can quickly become boring”



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“It’s best to have just a small amount of your complement-ary colour otherwise the colours will compete with each other.”

example, blue and aqua or red and

terracotta.

15. Complementary colours are those

which lie opposite one another on the

colour wheel. These colours naturally

enhance each other and so make

excellent partners. Think of red and

green or rich, golden yellow and blue.

These schemes are often lively and

dramatic. It’s best to have just a small

amount of your complementary colour

otherwise the colours will compete

with each other.

tonal scheme

complementary

scheme

harmoniou

s

scheme



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16. Choose red for a feeling of energy,

passion or adventure. Red is an

excellent choice for the Dining room,

as it stimulates the appetite and

encourages people to socialise.

17. Soft or light pinks are excellent for

bedrooms as they are perceived as

restful colours, but for a little passion

in the bedroom, go for full on fuchsia!

The obvious feminine association with

pink may be a little too much for some,

in which case, try teaming it with

charcoal or black.

18. Orange, including peaches and

ter racot tas are very welcoming

colours, which imply warmth and

hospitality, so are excellent choices for

dining rooms and living rooms. Take

care with the brighter shades in dark

r o o m s . B e c a u s e o r a ng e i s a

stimulating colour, it’s not the best

choice for a bedroom.

19. Choose yellows to create a warm,

welcoming mood. Yellows from warm

creams to rich golds are the obvious


“Choose red for a feeling of energy, passion or adventure...Choose yellows to create a warm, welcoming mood”


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choice in hallways.

20. G r e e n d e n o t e s we l l b e i n g a n d

tranquillity, so is a great choice in

bedrooms and living rooms. If the

mood becomes too laid back though,

try adding accents of red or orange.

21. Blue is a colour which denotes trust,

intelligence and calm. A great colour

for studies, bedrooms and bathrooms.

22. Lilac evokes calm and sincerity. Use

in bedrooms and bathrooms to create

peaceful havens, but take care not to

over do it. A great partner to lilac is

silver.

23. Purple is for opulence and passion.

Best used to make a bold statement


“Green denotes wellbeing and tranquillity...Purple is for opulence and passion”


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as purple is never understated.

24. Brown is associated with all things

practical, secure and stable. Use in

varying tones as neutrals throughout

your home, but take care not to restrict

your pallet to brown alone add greens,

reds or blues for interest.

25. Black. The ultimate colour for impact.

Black is great when teamed with

white, red, pink or purple for a truly

dramatic look. Too much though and

you could end up feeling like an angst

ridden teenager!

26. Use light and colour tricks to develop

your mood. Opt for lighter colours for

a brighter, lighter look, and to add a

lighter feel to rooms that do not get

lots of sun.

27. Use richer, deeper shades where

natural daylight is at a premium or

where you are looking for a more cosy,

intimate atmosphere.

28. Depth of colour can also enhance the

scale or proportions of your room.

Dark colours will make an area seem


“Use richer, deeper shades ... where you are looking for a more cosy, intimate atmosphere”


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smaller whereas light colours will

make it appear larger. If your room is

long and narrow, for example, painting

the two narrow end walls a lighter

shade than the main walls will help to

balance out the shape of the room.

29. Consider the impact of artificial light in

your room. As the day goes on and

natural daylight ebbs away, colours in

your home will take on a new look

under the artificial evening light. Bear

this in mind when selecting fabrics,

floor covering and wall colours.

30. Warm up cooler, often north facing

rooms with warm colours. The

warmest colours are those which lie


“.As the day goes on and natural daylight ebbs away, colours in your home will take on a new look under the artificial evening light”


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between pure red and yellow on the

colour wheel, but any colour can be

warmed slightly with a hint of yellow.

31. Cool down warmer rooms with cool

colours, which have an undertone of

blue in them, blue and green being

obvious choices.

32. Horizontal lines will create an illusion

of width, whereas vert ical l ines

emphasise height. These basic

principles can help to redress the

proportions of your room.

33. Choose fu rn i tu re tha t i s o f an

appropriate scale to your room. A


“Horizontal lines will create an illusion of width, whereas vertical lines emphasise height”


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huge Victorian dresser will look out of

place in a small dining room even if it

seems to fit on your room plan.

34. Create an illusion of width at a narrow

window with curtains that hang so that

they reveal as much of the window as

possible. Do this by fitting a longer

pole or track.

35. An illusion of height and elegance can

be added to a window by opting for

floor length rather than sill length

drapes.

36. Hang curtains as high up above the

window as possible to balance a wide

window.

37. Choose large patterns in fabrics and

papers for larger windows and rooms

whereas smaller windows will look

better dressed with small patterns.

Avoid patterned wall coverings in

small rooms all together.

38. Avoid clutter. Don’t hold onto things

you don’t use. Sell, donate or recycle

a l l t hose p i c tu res , vases , and

accessories that no longer fit with your


“An illusion of height and elegance can be added to a window by opting for floor length rather than sill length drapes”


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scheme.

39. Ensure that you have good storage

solutions for everything you use.

Remember the old adage “a place for

everything, and everything in its place”

40. Group smaller pictures together on

one wall rather than dotting them

around the room. Likewise, interesting

collections, of glass or pottery will

have far more impact if they are given

a space of their own somewhere.


“Remember the old adage “a place for everything, and everything in its place””


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