Interior Inspiration - Being brave with your interiors
Interior inspiration is everywhere these days. There’s a plethora of images to explore online using Pinterest and Instagram, plus hotels, shops and other commercial spaces seem to be putting more thought into their interiors more recently. And if you’re looking to renovate or refresh your own home that’s great, right? Or is it so great?
We’ve seen a few examples recently where people have been swayed to go for a certain look because it’s popular on Instagram and all the big accounts are doing it, but once it’s in place in their own home they aren’t happy with it. And we can see how that can easily happen.
Pinterest and Instagram tend to only show you the best shots of a room, sometimes only from one angle or a particular vignette within the space.
These shots have often been taken by professional photographers and therefore been lit to make the most of the shot. Or they’ve been digitally altered after taking to maximise the light and create a certain look/mood.
Some of these trends look great because they’ve been styled to the hilt and if you don’t have all the decorative elements or budget to buy them you can sometimes end up with a space that looks too stark or harsh
One of the biggest trends that has now become much more mainstream is dark décor. Embracing this trend in your home can create a real statement space and often it’s associated with being brave enough to be bold with your choices. But it doesn’t work for everybody, and certainly not in every space. It depends on the type of feel you’re going for. Dark works well for cosy snugs, moody dining areas and bedrooms to retreat to and chill. But dark doesn’t work as well if you’re looking to create a light, airy family space or a bedroom that helps you wake in the mornings. You need to think about what mood you want the space to invoke, how you want to feel in that space and then decide on whether to go dark or light.
Another trend that has appeared a lot on Instagram over the last few months is in a similar vein: painting window and door frames dark instead of the traditional white. Again, it can look incredibly striking and make your home stand out from the crowd. But if, like us, you live in a period home with timber sash windows, stone surrounds and other features then sticking to a traditional white seems more in keeping.
Similarly, painting your ceilings, skirtings and architrave a bright white seems to be frowned upon these days. We've seen dark ceilings running through to the woodwork, chevron wallpapered ceilings, gold ceilings, basically anything but white! However, if you want a more traditional look in a period property, or if actually you just like white, then don't be discouraged. If you follow lots of interiors accounts on Instagram then you can be fooled into thinking this is now the norm, but the majority of homes in this country will still have bright white ceilings and woodwork.
So, what’s the point of all this you say? Well, really all we’re trying to say is that to be brave in interior design is to stick to what you feel is right, the things that make you happy. And if that means sticking to more traditional interior design conventions or being ‘dull/muted’ in your colour choices then to us that means you’re still being brave. Brave enough to buck the trends and be your own person with a home that reflects your tastes and choices, rather than those of others!