home: trend [ layered rugs ]

Having rugs in the home is nothing new, but consider how you pick and use your rugs and the potential you have in using them. This year the focus is on layering, mixing pattern and textures to create a cosy curated room.

Layer two or three rugs together, either directly on top of one another if different sizes or overlap them to create a disjointed look. Regardless of how you choose to lay them, be sure to have interest in the patterns and texture.

Throw a sheepskin or high pile woolen kilim rug over the top of a jute rug for extreme texture. For a bohemian feel mix flatwoven patterned rugs or if you have a nuetral room opt for a couple of geometric prints.

Choose colours that compliment each other and prints that contrast, trying to make sure they are not so similar. You want it to be obvious that there is more than one rug being used.

Guide:

1. Flatwoven rug from ikea.com [ £140 ]

2. Woven rug from westelm.co.uk [ from £249 ]

3. Low pile rug from ikea.com [ £60 ]

4. Jute rug from laredoute.co.uk [ from £89 ]

5. Patterned jute rug from laredoute.co.uk [ from £109 ]

6. Wool rug from habitat.co.uk [ £495 ]

home: trend [ flooring ]

Recent trends have seen flooring as an area of the home people are investing in more and more; looking for creative, original solutions for a statement look that is both current but adaptable to sit with various styles of interior designs as we change walls, textiles and furniture more often.

From dark woods to grey natural tones, to flexible resistant cork and wow-factor pattern ceramic tiles, across designer and high street brands there’s a lot to choose from.

Focus is on hard wearing and durable finishes and an advantage is to have something that is partially replaceable if damaged – like a tile or plank to easily swap. Having spare of your chosen flooring is a must for just such reason – so having a little left over is not a bad thing.

We love the recent designs of incorporating the look of texture and fabric within the finish of a tile – linens and silks working well.

For child friendly and uber hardwearing yet still modern and on trend, we think cork and chipboard are great options especially if you’re on a budget. Both materials are easy to get hold of and simple to get a sample to lay a little just to get an idea of the look.

If you love the look of vintage or traditional patterned, tiles but the prices can be rather high it’s great to look into vinyl tile versions that look both incredible and very durable, plus underfoot feels warmer and safer. Zazous, Tiles Direct and Leader Floors have great options. Vinyl is also as the cheaper version easy and less costly to change in the future when tastes change.

Modern vinyl has opened up the flooring market, with more and more finishes and patterns previously available only in other materials, now being replicated in vinyl – same look but cheaper. DIY favourite Homebase has a super new range of slate, porcelain and terrazzo look vinyl tiles that have a rich, textured finish but with the benefits of vinyl in warmth, durability and price.

Hunt out bargains, read reviews and order lots of samples of buying off the internet to ensure you are aware of finish, quality and thickness.

home: favourite thing [ Anthropologie ]

Moroccan, Bohemian and Atzec pattern in design is still big in homeware, bringing a layed back and relaxed feeling to a room. We have found this flat – woven arrow print rug which we love, and will bring interest and appeal to a living room or bedroom floor.

Anthropologie.com [ from £48 ]

home: trend [ copper ]

There are always going to be colours and materials that will continuously work as accents to a room, and one of these is copper. There was a dip in popularity last year where we were being told that copper was out, and to be replaced by other metalics like gold and bronze. But we can assure you copper is going nowhere and in 2017 it’s again going to be big.

As with most metalics copper works best in accessories, complimenting a room and colour scheme. But if you are feeling brave then there is a whole lot more you can do to get your copper fix.

Lighting is a great place to start with some gorgeous pendant lights, desk lamps and floor lamps readily available, as well as bringing subtle tones into bulbs and flex. [ made.com and rockettstgeorge.co.uk have some amazing lighting ]

Using copper lighting with industrial furniture

Introduce copper in furniture through table legs and drawer fronts combined with dark woods on table tops and cabinets. Copper is a great metal to bring an industrial feel to a room working best with strong solid design, and when it’s worn it looks even better.

Pick some key pieces, whether it’s a wall clock, vases or kitchenware and stratigicaly place them around the space mixed with other prints and pattern to suit. Copper is a great metal that works with many different trends; scandinavian, industrial and bohemian to name a few, so whatever your taste copper can be included.

[ Some complimentary colours to consider would be navy, grey, dark green and white ].

For a full on copper experience you may want to consider covering a wall or floor. Pick a patterned paper with touches of copper, or go for an all over solid block on a feature wall. This can look really striking, especially in dark rooms. Tiling is another option to get the wow factor with brushed and worn copper working best, especially if considered for a hallway or kitchen.
Guide:

1. Wallpaper from grahambrown.com [ £23 ]

2. Bulb from ikea.com [ £7 ]

3. Bed frame from made.com [ £399 ]

4. Pendant light from Tom Dixon at trouva.com [ £255 ]

5. Floor tiles from mosafil.co.uk [ £23.80 per sheet ]

6. Telephone from johnlewis.com [ £64.95 ]

7. Lantern from grahamandgreen.co.uk [ from £25 ]

8. Cutlery from zarahome.com [ from £5.50 ]

9. Clock from rockettstgeorge.co.uk [ £65 ]

home: favourite thing [ tiles ]

Such a find when wandering through the Design Junction show room – Charlene Mullen is a print, ceramic and embroidered homeware designer, whose unique designs are stand out and incredible quality.

From the swoonworthy range we discover these perfect Moroccan encaustic tiles which make a gorgeous look for flooring.

‘Designed by Charlene and handmade in Morocco, the encaustic tiles are perfect with underfloor heating for bathrooms or kitchens.’

These tiles are available in grey with either white, blue, red or yellow edges.

£100/m² + delivery

(Free Delivery in London)

home: nice price [ rug ]

A simple and easy way to modernise and update a room is to use rugs. Bring colour and pattern into a room without it being overpowering. A great place to get well priced rugs is Ikea; simple and stylish examples ranging in size and shape, but all at great prices. Our favourite at the moment is the ROSKILDE indoor / outdoor rug in teal green and cream [ 200cm x 250cm ]. The 50s / 60s inspired design will bring interest to any room and at £59 it is a real bargain.

Ikea.com

home: trend [ tiles ]

The use of tiles are storming interior design this year. It’s about thinking outside the box with both designs, patterns but also where to use tiles.

Not just for the bathroom walls or a hallway floor, but bring a cool design feature to a bedroom with a tiled back drop to a bed, to a lounge with a feature wall or even for function use on hallway walls to help with the marks and wear from heavy traffic through this busy room.

Explore high street stores like Topstiles, Habitat, Homebase and B&Q ; and online retailers including Zazous and The London Tile Co for affordable tiles. Mix patterned tiles with plain, square with oblong and play with size and shape with hexagon shaped tiles, large scale tiles and mosaics.

We found great inspirational imagery from House & Garden and some gorgeous ideas from Grand Designs.

You can also explore the vinyl tile market with modern brands including Zazous and Amtico producing up to date designs in vinyl that is hard wearing, easy to lay and with very competitive pricing compared to porcelain or ceramic tiles.

Be bold with pattern or play safe with neutral tones and then over lay with rugs to bring pattern and interest to an interior.

Tiles are hard wearing and functional. Use instead of carpet or wall paper as a great alternative.

home: made [ staircases ]

For a more unconventional idea, a more quirky design idea, we’ve looked into wow-factor ideas for staircases that go further than carpet or plain wood.

A great idea if you have spare tester pots of wood paint or off cuts of wallpaper – there are an abundance of examples across the net, especially Pinterest, for brilliant designs for your staircase using either paint or paper.

Your hallway is important design statement about the rest of the home, being it is the first room visitors see – so why not make a bold look?

We looked around and were inspired by the many ideas for bright colour choices, clashing patterns, blending pantones, using typography, saying something about the rest of the home, all giving a great feel and welcome to introduce ‘your home’. Colours and pattern can be used to liven up a space or brighten a hallway or even each tread could tell a story!

We found some great inspiring features from Brit&Co, Country Living and a how-to from DIYDoctor.
The important thing to start with is a well prepped set of stairs. It’s essential to sand down to a smooth finish, removing any nails, sharp points and excess old paint, and give a good clean to ensure a good surface to work on. Treads should be primed next, to give a good layer for the chosen paint to go on to. Priming can also help even if using wallpaper as it can help to make a smoother surface under the paper. It is key to apply a few thin layers, fully dried in between to create a solid, long lasting finish with paint and with wallpaper the same with clear varnish.

Look online for inspiration, and as it’s a small area – know that it’ll be easy to change in the future if you fancy a different look!

home: made [ stencilled floors ]

To create a unique and affordable stylish floor, try floor stencils or decals. When you’ve fallen for some beautiful, but expensive, moroccon tiles or maybe want to recreate a Victorian floor or simply love the look of patterned floors, stencilling or decals are a great way to reproduce the look yourself at a fraction of the price.

If you’re lucky you already have decent floor boards to use as a base, these would need to be thoroughly cleaned and lightly sanded to ensure the paint takes to the surface. If the floorboards aren’t in decent shape then you could look to lay a plywood covering to provide a smooth layer to paint onto. You will need a good water based paint or floor paint and a good floor varnish to finish and seal.

If going for a decal, again, the floors would need to be prepped – clean and smooth, and a good varnish will ensure its long lasting.

Cutting Edge give a useful how-to guide, as do Royal Design Studio Stencils – and head to Apartment Therapy for ten gorgeous stencil design ideas for inspiration.

Be inspired by current trends of geometric, lace and monochrome for an up to date look or even look into designing your own decals or stencils that you could lay to create your perfect floor from Pixart Printing or have a look at the range of tile style decal stickers from Zazzle.

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