Step 2

Gather your ideas

My first stop for ideas was the Dulux Website.  They have created rooms sets to inspire you and a complimentary range of paint colours to help you with ideas for walls, skirting and door finishes.

Step 3

The big investment pieces

Choosing the sofa and large furniture pieces – it is always worth taking your time.  This will be your major expense and an item you may have to live with for a long time.  Choosing neutral is the safe and flexible solution, but if you are feeling bolder and it’s a colour/style that you love – then be brave and go for it.  I would suggest shades of muted blues, navy or natural linen would work well.  You can also mix and match different prints and textures to add interest.

Step 4

The Accessories

The choice of smaller elements are important to the feel of the room.  Choosing metals creates either a period or contemporary atmosphere.  Chrome will give a modern edge, copper will make a contemporary statement and brass will give a more traditional feel.  For my lighting I have chosen a slightly period/industrial fitting to give that mix of old and new.  I have also chosen simple styled handcrafted ceramics by Ali Tomlin in off-white with swirls of muted blues. The clock in a grey slate bring another natural element into the room and its simple style adds to the mix of traditional and contemporary design.  I have also added below this fun creation by engineer-artist Dan Morrison. The natural materials he uses would blend into this scheme and the designs he creates will definitely make you smile.

Step 5

Collect your samples

Bespoke – or ready made ?  Decide on fabric type for example:- velvet, brushed cotton, wool mix or linen.

Then select a range of colours that will match or harmonise with your colour scheme.  Most suppliers will have free samples and allow you to choose a selection free of charge.  Rose and Grey supplied the samples for their Mid Century Rocking Chair and Love your Home enclosed the sofa fabrics in a neat little folder.  The Paint samples for the bookcase are from Angel and Boho. They have twenty colour options and the chart has dabs of the actual paint, which I think is a great idea.

Natural wood can work just as well with this colour, something like a mid-tone natural oak.  If you can’t find a painted furniture piece that you like and would prefer something more unique – have a look at some up-cycled pieces.  There are some great contemporary up-cylers around at the moment – creating some unique, desirable furniture.  They have the ability to create bespoke colours and react to the latest trends.

When looking for samples and matching up colours I usually use a plastic wallet or folder and carry my samples around with me.  At anytime I have a chance to pop in to a store, search for fabrics or compare colours – I have them all to hand.

When you have all your samples together you can now be your own Interior Designer and create a moodboard to check out your designs.

Step 6

Create your mood board

As you can probably tell – I love creating mood boards – it’s the way you can really makes your ideas come to life.  The mood boards we present are all carefully edited in photoshop to make a good composition.  However,  our initial ideas all start off as a collection of photos and samples fixed onto a board.

This is all you will need to do.  Gather your photographs of furniture, samples of fabrics, flooring, paint colours and any artwork or sculptures that you want to include.  An A2 piece of card or foam board should be big enough to display everything.  If you don’t have photos of your furniture – don’t forget to grab a screen shot on a web page and print your own.