A CHANGE IS AS GOOD AS A REST

Suzy Newton, Newton & Dyl

When it comes to interiors, clever design ideas and a plan are key to not blowing the budget. Instead of spending money on new items for the home why not try unlocking the interior design in your home and reimagining the pieces that you already own?

You can start small by painting on a pattern. Whether it’s adding a stripe or flower design to your lampshades or updating an old chest of drawers, the simplest splashes of colour and pattern can breathe fresh life into your home. Or if you don’t feel brave enough with a paint brush try a décor transfer – these can be applied to a multitude of surfaces and create an instant transformation to your furniture. Use colour and print within shelves. Applying wallpaper to the back of shelves is a great way to add a new look for those that don’t feel confident enough to use it over a whole room. I love the old display cabinets that you can buy from the antiques houses – lining the back of these with extravagant wallpaper and then painting a dark colour on the woodwork will instantly create a unique piece!

Reupholstering furniture is a more sustainable way to update your home from replacing the seat pads on dining chairs to recovering an old wingback in a contemporary printed velvet. Allowing you to hold on to that family piece of furniture with so many memories and allowing it to work for you in your space.

Another quick change and an instant room changer is to make your own lampshade. I have so many fabric remnants left over from making curtains and they don’t need to be particularly wide. Wrapped around a lampshade-making kit they give a lovely flash of colour and another way to introduce a new look. Or if you do have lots of awkwardly shaped fabric remnants you can always design a patchwork soft lampshade and commission a local artisan to make it up for you. Those patchwork remnants also make up wonderfully eclectic bed runners and cushions.

Curtains can be an expensive element of interior design as they can take up a surprisingly large amount of fabric. If you are lucky enough to find a good quality second-hand pair that you love, you could always add a contrasting fabric to the borders to help them fit your windows. Or add some features to plain fabric like a decorative trim down the leading edge. Or swap out the curtains for a roman blind which uses a lot less fabric!

All these details can help your home reflect your personality and turn into your perfect retreat, without blowing the budget!