Done by Design

Lots of people fancy themselves as home designers. They will spend every weekend pouring over the colour charts in the Do It Yourself supermarkets, and feeling their way through fabrics, wall coverings and floor covering sections. Some are good, and some end making the house look like a mish mash of contrasting colours and styles. That could be the reason there are professional interior designers about who have studied the subject on an arts course in university. It’s a profession and a skill, and not one to be ignored when planning the new house decoration. The interior designer takes in the whole house, and will co ordinate colours and fabrics to suit the various rooms but in a way which will compliment each other, not fight against each other. You don’t want the living room to be shouting ; “I’m smarter than you” to the dining room.

But it’s not just about textiles and fabrics, although these two make all the difference if correctly used. There’s the furniture to consider, and the style. In an older house the choice – which always remains with the owner – may be traditional cottage style, with floral fabrics, mahogany style furniture and Welsh Dressers lined with commemorative plates. On the other side of the decorative ladder is the swish city apartment, with the trendy young couple about to move in. Will they want floral fabrics and rocking chairs? Not likely. They are after hip, cool and bright furniture, a central entertainment system where they can dock the ipod, and lighting which creates bright spaces, not shadows.

The interior designer will also be aware of those slightly ‘off the wall’ projects where the owners want to recreate days gone by, but not in the traditional sense. They are looking to furnish and decorate their home with real antiques, real wood and real bits and pieces left over from other places. What we are talking about is the things that can be found in the architectural scrap yard. These are brilliant sources for huge pieces of wood, often from dismantled buildings such as churches. There are tiles from old houses, fountains, wooden chests, tables, dressers and bric a brac. For anyone looking to furnish their house with some real old gems, then a trip with the interior designer to the scrap yard will reveal a wonderland of furniture and items from old houses. Sadly these are often houses where the owner has died and left all their treasured items to be sent off to the auction or the second hand furniture shop. The good interior designer will be able to make a property look its best, regardless of the age, style or current interior. It may need some creative thinking because not everyone has the privilege of a great pot of money or a property which lends itself to a smart interior. But given a good brief and some sound ideas the interior designer should come up with a plan which will enhance your home, and make it a place to relax in.