Inspire me

Keep your interior design soft

It’s time for a seasonal refresh, so ditch the geo prints and brash colours for touch-me textiles, calm hues and curved furniture. The result: a relaxing, chilled-out bolthole you’ll want to come home to every day…

Ahead of the curve

Softer, feel-good interiors are so good for this season. Trade in clean lines and structured furniture for organic, natural shapes that hug your home.

Curved sofas and rounded, love chairs are great investment pieces this season. Or else stick with what you have, and introduce circular mirrors, an upholstered pouffe and globe lamp shades. And relax….

Matt attack

By this, we don’t mean rugs but soft, brushed finishes. Forget high shine and glossy. Think matt kitchen cupboards in beautifully rich hues and brushed taps in warm bronze and brass. Powdery-touch accessories, in a rainbow of colours or simple black and white, look modern and fresh (and will cut down on the fingerprints and smudges!).

Blushing beauty

Millennial pink isn’t going anywhere fast. But for this season, tone it down with a paler blush. An occasional chair in rose petal cotton or velvet works well. Or washed linen sheets in a ballet-slipper pink (the beauty with linen is that it looks better un-ironed). It’s a shade that will add instant pick-me-up as we move into the brighter, lighter weather.

Natural selection

Natural woods and rough-hewn timbers are a fool-proof way to instil calm. And the beauty is, these materials get better with age, developing a homely, worn patina over time. We still love pale, silvery woods like ash, beech and maple and white-washed floorboards will never date. Introduce furniture and lampshades in plywood, wicker and cane to enhance the laid-back vibe.