When renovating and decorating your home, the smallest details and characterful touches can have a big impact on the overall look and feel of a space. Decorative elements can transform a room from dull and lifeless to eye-catching and extraordinary, adding character, style and personality. These features help tie together your design choices and create a unique aesthetic that expresses your own personal taste.
It’s also worth bearing in mind when trying to create a space that feels true to your personal style, this can be challenging, especially with the constant influx of new design trends and the flood of interior images on social media. Many designers agree that following trends doesn’t always result in lasting and meaningful interiors, particularly in a private home.
Instead, focusing on your own tastes and decorative preferences is often the best way to create a design that stands the test of time and feels right for you, year after year.
Decorative Lighting to Enhance the Mood
Lighting plays a crucial role in the design of any space. Different types of lighting can really set the mood and highlight specific areas of interest. Like so many things involved in clever design, layering your lighting is a bit of a mixture of art and science. Layering light not only brings a room to life and infuses it with your personal touch but also adds versatility and flexibility. Lighting can be functional, practical, or decorative. By layering different types of light, you can highlight various aspects of the room to suit different purposes and moods. The key is to understand the three main types of lighting.
Ambient lighting - serves as the primary source, creating a comfortable atmosphere and providing overall brightness. It’s like the canvas on which you paint your overall light 'picture'. It doesn't have to come from a single, central ceiling source like a pendant light. Recessed lights, wall mounts, chandeliers and floor lamps can all contribute to creating a warm and inviting ambient light in your space.
Accent lighting - draws attention to particular areas or objects, creating focal points within the room. It adds drama and visual interest. It can be used to highlight architectural features and draw attention to special pieces of artwork, sculptural plants or interesting textured walls. Common types include track lighting, spotlights and wall-mounted picture lights.
Task lighting - this is your practical light which offers extra illumination for specific activities like reading or cooking. Layering your lighting design, means you can use task lights in conjunction with ambient and accent light to create an overall effect.
By combining each of these types of lighting, you can create a well-lit space that enhances your interior design whilst also being practical.
Decorative Mirrors
No matter how large or small your rooms may be, mirrors can be incredibly beneficial. They help open up a space by reflecting natural light from windows and other light sources, creating the illusion of a larger space while also brightening up the room.
Mirrors can serve as elegant accent pieces, creating focal points and adding a unique depth to the decor. By strategically placing mirrors around the room, you can make the space feel more expansive and also draw attention to a particular wall or area.
In a north-facing room, a well-placed mirror can maximize any sunlight the room receives, and in a small space, they will visually expand it beyond its actual proportions. There are so many different styles to consider, from antique giltwood beauties to modern, sculptural pieces. For example, the sculptural quality of the strikingly modern ‘Shark’s Tooth Mirror’ frame shown above from Soane sits beautifully within this artistic room furnished with antiques.
In some rooms, decorating with mirrors will feel straightforward, with design and placement coming naturally. For instance, a large, decorative mirror always looks great above a fireplace. But there's more to it than just aesthetics. According to Feng Shui principles, hanging a mirror over your fireplace can fill the space with positive energy, especially if it reflects your garden, thereby completing the 'Creative Cycle.'
Add Style and Character with Decorative Rugs
Whenever you’re renovating your home, the flooring can greatly impact the look and feel of your interior. It not only provides a foundation for the space but can also make a design statement by adding further style and character. From an interior design perspective, we often cite rugs as the lead item in a decorating scheme, using them as inspiration for the colour palette and patterns throughout the rest of the room. Popular flooring materials like hardwood and laminate are practical choices and are often paired with rugs to make rooms feel more welcoming.
Rugs in living rooms and bedrooms add warmth, comfort and help create a distinct atmosphere. They are also an excellent way to introduce texture to a space. With a huge variety of materials, colours, and patterns to choose from, the right rug can enhance the ambience of any room. Whether you’re aiming for a traditional, modern, or eclectic look, your choice of flooring and rugs can bring a room to life as well as anchoring the space.
There are a few golden rules that generally apply when deciding where to place and what style of rug for a specific room in your home.
A common mistake is choosing a rug that's too small for a room, which can make it look like a postage stamp in the middle. For the main seating area, always try to have the two front legs of chairs and sofas on the rug. It's okay to leave the back legs off.
Obviously, you are free to use whatever colours and style you like in your décor scheme, but it’s generally wise to try and avoid using a bold rug in a bedroom. Instead, try to choose something that sets a tone of calm and is easy on the eye.
Finally, if you’re choosing a bespoke rug for a luxe look, be sure to leave plenty of time for it to be created. This is a design process and all part of the bespoke journey. You’ll find lots of gorgeous bespoke rugs designs and ideas by browsing the likes of OKA, Pierre Frey, Tim Page and Nordic Knots.
Finishing Touches and Accessories
Once you’ve planned your space and furnished it with the things you love and long to surround yourself with, it’s time to start to think about the all-important finishing touches. It is the detail in a space that can bring an elusive harmony, a perfect colour commentary or a quirky decorative touch that may lift a room from the mundane to the magical.
They are the elements that bring the whole look together and make a space feel complete.
Whether it’s a variety of patterned scatter cushions, wool throws, misshapen vases lovingly gathered over the years or a collection of delicate ornaments, the details all count.
Using a dynamic mix of colours, textures, object heights and shapes when you accessorise will add visual interest to your interior scheme. Decorative finishing touches are also a great way to bring your own personality into a space and ensure it feels authentic. Even the simplest touches can make the biggest difference.
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