AUTUMN DRAMA Alexandra Goss

Create drama

INJECT STRONG COLOUR, VIBRANT PATTERNS AND A SENSE OF THEATRE INTO YOUR INTERIORS THIS AUTUMN. ALEXANDRA GOSS DISCOVERS HOW

MORE IS MORE Opening page: Antiques are used to great effect in this Paolo Moschino-designed townhouse Previous page: ND Studios ramped up the glamour of this Belgravia dining room with midnight-blue lacquered surfaces This page, clockwise from below: Oak Tree chandelier, POA Cox London; Paolo Moschino has created an elegant hall that reflects this Georgian home's opulent proportions; Angel O'Donnell gave one of The OWO Residence's guest WCs a mesmerising design

This autumn is the perfect time for injecting drama into your home. Outdoors, the changing colours are vivid, the lengthening nights create suspense and we’re looking ahead to the first time in years when we can celebrate the festive period with no pandemic restrictions.

To maintain our interest, our living spaces need a sense of theatricality, which, according to the designer Paolo Moschino (paolomoschino.com), can be engineered by mixing old and new, plain and textured fabrics. “I’ve never seen a leopard pattern I don’t like,” explains Moschino, who has a showroom at Design Centre Chelsea Harbour (dcch.co.uk). “Humour is a strong part of creating a room with drama and, of course, you need personal things and massive amounts of books. Rooms should look lived in, not be display windows.”

Here, we share more tips for curating dramatic interiors to delight both you and your seasonal guests.

GIVE A GRAND WELCOME

Entrance halls are the obvious places to engineer a dramatic “wow” moment with impactful colours and unique pieces of furniture, according to Olga Fox, associate at the architecture and interior design firm Studio Indigo (studioindigo.co.uk). Don’t ignore transition spaces, such as landings and hallways, either. “We use oversize mirrors that emphasize ceiling heights, bring light in and widen these spaces,” Fox explains.

In the luxurious penthouse at Buxmead, The Bishops Avenue, SHH Architects and Interior Design (shh.co.uk) designed an intricate leaf sculpture for the hallway which interacts with light from the oval skylight. Bethany Prince, senior interior designer, says: “The leaves cast shadows across the floor as the sun moves through the sky during the day, creating a sense of unexpected opulence.”

Interior designer Joanna Wood (joannawood. com) says the key to creating a sense of grandeur

SHEER OPULENCE Clockwise from top right:

Little Greene's Forest range of wallpapers has an array of eye-catching, nature-inspired prints, such as Vine, as seen in this bathroom; Tino Zervudachi juxtaposes priceless art and fun furnishings to create eclectic interiors, as seen here; satinwood Sheraton Revival breakfront marquetry c.1900 commode, £28,500, Wick Antiques; York décor indigo tile, £14.95 each, Craven Dunnill Jackfi eld; triangular countertop bowl in matt Moss Green, £489.95, VitrA

is to have one statement piece. Sarah Ellison, founder of interior design studio, Frank & Faber (frankandfaber. co.uk), would seem to agree: in the living room of a project in Hackney, she painted the walls, ceilings and skirting boards in Kigali, a blackened denim from Paint & Paper Library (paintandpaperlibrary.com), to allow oversized chandeliers do the talking.

GET CREATIVE WITH COLOUR

Walls are the largest expanse in the home, so transforming them can have the greatest e ect. Emma Deterding, founder and creative director of Kelling Designs and KDLoves (kellingdesigns.com), says: “Choose a shade that complements your existing furniture and accessories for a cohesive look, or use clashing colours to release your inner maximalist.” Two-tone can also have striking results; try it on furniture fi rst if you’re shy.

Painted ceilings or tiles on walls and fl oors can create bursts of colour, and you can even have bright accents in the bathroom sanitaryware. VitrA (vitra.com) has a colourful range including earthy green and orange washbasins and glossy black and copper brassware.

Wallpaper allows you to go wild with pattern and colour, especially in small spaces such as the downstairs cloakroom. “Small spaces contain the element of surprise – a key component of any drama,” says Ed O’Donnell, creative director and co-founder of the interior design studio Angel O’Donnell (angelodonnell.com). He designed a guest WC in one of the OWO Residences (theowo. london) using a mesmerising marbleised design.

PERIOD DRAMA Top: MindTheGap's Hippie Paisley wallpaper is one of the clashing prints that add to this vibrant maximalist bedroom Bottom: Studio Indigo restored this Somerset estate to its original Baroque finery, with fresh modern touches, including contemporary art and a strong tonal palette

Period DRAMA

From Georgian to Regency, Victorian to modern, London has homes to suit every taste and requirement. “Openplan living is undoubtedly the most popular interiors solution we see,” says Marc Goldberg, head of sales at Marsh & Parsons. “Yet, wherever you live, it’s all about maximising the space.”

Georgian homes are characterised by their symmetry, large proportions and high ceilings, all of which create period drama in themselves – in the Netflix show Bridgerton, the interiors gain almost as many column inches as the action. If you’re renovating a Georgian property, accentuate original features such as ornate cornicing, ceiling roses and skirting boards. “This will revitalise the original grandeur of the architecture, while floor-to-ceiling curtains will further enhance the drama,” says Georgina Cave, founder of Cave Interiors (caveinteriors.com).

Regency apartments often have large entertaining rooms. “To help retain the feeling of airiness and light, warm and pale neutrals are best, complemented by mirrors and high ceiling lights to help draw the eye upwards,” says Charlotte Hodges-Peck, senior consultant at Savills Interior Services.

While Victorian terraces are more streamlined in style, Hodges-Peck says you can create refined period detail and opulence by putting in panelling, dado rails and stair runners with brushed gold stair rods. “Victorian homes are also synonymous with tiled hallways,” she explains.

And, when it comes to newer buildings, you can let your imagination run wild – as Knight Frank Interiors did at the Chelsea Waterfront scheme (chelseawaterfront.com), which features polished plaster, adding a modern warmth and depth to the space and luxurious églomisé mirror panels.

ART AT HOME Top: This contemporary-luxe bathroom layout benefits from the vivid jewel tones of the shower walls' Clarissa Hulse x Ca'Pietra Jungle Hexagon matt porcelain tiles Bottom: Arte's Sculptura line boasts an array of art aficianadofriendly wallcoverings, including this classically-inspired Rovine landscape design, which brings depth to the living space

COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Striking contrasts create a sense of theatre, says Sue Jones, co-founder of OKA (oka.com). “Contrast dark tones with pops of jewel colours and, for a really daring look, mix up your patterns – an animal print with a traditional floral will surprise and delight.”

Mixing metals in the bathroom guarantees impact, according to Katie Agombar, designer at West One Bathrooms (westonebathrooms.com), while introducing antique furniture among modern pieces adds instant character. “More people are incorporating antiques into modern interiors, perhaps with one or two exceptional pieces,” says Charles Wallrock, founder of Wick Antiques (wickantiques.co.uk), exhibiting at the Chelsea Antiques & Fine Art Fair next month (chelseaantiquesfair.co.uk).

HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS

Art adds drama and a focal point to a room, as well as telling a unique story about the owner. Interior designer Tino Zervudachi often marries priceless works of art with pieces of unequal value, as seen to great e ect in the new book Tino Zervudachi: Interiors Around the World.

“Surprising e ects can be reached when juxtaposing very di erent things,” explains Zervudachi (mhzlondon. com). “Yet, with art, it’s not just a question of proportion or colour – there’s a personal history involved in the creation of the collection which needs to be nurtured.”

The same is true for personal treasures. Sarah Ward, co-founder of interior design studio Ward & Co (wardandco.com), has filled her Su olkfarmhouse, with an array of one-o items amassed from a lifetime of travels, including a striking red Chinese cupboard and lacquered artwork. “These reference mychildhood, much of which was spent in Hong Kong,” Ward says. “Finding a new lease of life for antiques is one of my passions.”

And art creates talking points. A two-bedroom apartment in Chelsea Creek (chelseacreek.co.uk) designed by Untold Interiors (untoldinteriors.com) includes a non-fungible token (NFT) art piece, something that would set guests’ tongues wagging over dinner. L Tino Zervudachi: Interiors Around the Worldby Natasha A. Fraser (Flammarion, 2022)