Festive Style Revival!

Its the time of year when we all want our homes to look fabulous - its cold outside and we want our interiors to be lovely and festive. We've got people coming to visit, we've got Christmas day to think about, and we've got some lovely relaxing days off work just to enjoy being at home.

This is when it would be great to have our homes just as we would like them to be. Most of us are not in a position to start from scratch, and lets face it, if we want to be ready for Christmas we wouldn't have time for that anyway. Have you thought of giving your rooms a mini interior design makeover - making the most of the furnishings you have? Here are some of my house doctor tips:

One of the fastest ways to revive a room is to pick a fabulous colour for the walls. Look closely at the colours present in your dominant items and pick one that links everything together - do not be afraid to be bold with this. If you are feeling that you're maybe not quite brave enough to use the colour on all walls, put it on one feature wall only. And remember always to choose a tone that is duller than you think as it will always look brighter when on the wall!

Then pick up this colour in some new cushions and a few new fabulous accessories to pull the whole look together. High Street stores have great choices at really good prices these days.

Also consider your lighting - refer to October's interior design blog for some general tips. Also try to use some spotlighting in addition to this to highlight your pictures. This can make a huge difference to a room.

Furniture layout is something that is vitally important to interior design, but that often is wrong. A room will only work if the furniture is positioned to work with the overall architecture of the room. Work with the room's main focal point and group furniture around that. The main focal point will typically be the fireplace if a sitting room, and the bed-head if a bedroom.

So, what are you waiting for?? Good luck with your festive room revival, and if you feel that you need a little professional interior design advice to help you, we're always on hand with our Room Therapy advice packages. More information on them can be found on our website www.luma-interiors.co.uk/roomtherapy.htm

And here's an example of one we did earlier!!

Autumnal design updates

Hi All,
Now that its getting a little colder and the days are getting shorter, thoughts of creating a lovely warm winter home come to the fore. Most important is lighting - make sure you have several large table and floor lamps that will give out a lovely welcoming glow and a real warmth to your room. To ring the changes add a few really warm textured cushions and perhaps a throw in tones to complement your existing scheme. Group your furniture a little closer together than in the summer for cosy winter chats, and add some scented candles for the final touch!

We are just putting the finishing touches to a beautiful New Town flat that we have just completed - refurbishing, decorating and fully furnishing. We also designed and installed a new lighting scheme in the hall and living room. Just to organise the 'big reveal' with our client now!! Photographs next time (once our client has seen it first!)

Images of some of our projects can be seen at our web-site http://www.luma-interiors.co.uk/

Joanne

London - design inspiration

Hi All,
just back from four days in London at the wonderful interior design exhibitions. Lots of fabulous innovative designs for furnishings and fabrics showcased at various locations across the city.

Predominant in the fabric and wallpaper designs were very large scale damask patterns - overscaled traditional florals mainly - some very subtle and others much less so using metallics and even some 'bling' with crystals worked into the patterns!

Also memorable was the use of glass - a fabulous hanging room divider with large glass leaves and curtain poles made of hollow glass.

All in all a very inspiring visit!

Please visit my website for information on our interior design services - www.luma-interiors.co.uk