Style gurus

Neutrals are always a safe bet for a timeless interior fit-out. But it’s best to employ specialist designers if you’re looking to achieve the latest in contemporary colours and finishes, reports Allison Heller

While traditional styles continue to be the stock in trade of house exteriors, the interiors market is constantly evolving and a dated look is a sure put-off for potential buyers. In this sector, keeping up with the latest trends is often best left to specialist designers.

Crest Nicholson recently employed the services of Dawn Kitchener, md of Connections in Design, to style the interior fit-out of its bachelor pad-style penthouse in the B Central development in Birmingham. The final result is a dramatic black and grey colour scheme softened with natural fabrics, designer lighting, and furniture and finishes sourced from around the world.

Kitchener says her approach is always development-specific. “Once we have the brief we interrogate it and search their audience, and this makes an enormous difference. We tailor bespoke designs to that property and developer and aim to enhance the architecture. Everything we put into a scheme is scaled in - we’re selling space at the end of the day.”

bespoke approach
Rowland Homes’ in-house interior designer Sara Douglas has worked for the company for ten years and says she also takes a bespoke approach. “It’s essential that before I embark on a project, I look at the type of customer the development is likely to attract and the prices of the properties. For example the Poplars development in Coppull appeals to a broad customer base from families to retired couples to first time buyers, therefore the interior design must be accessible to a broad age group.”

Douglas recommends neutral and cream colours combined with a minimum of decorative frills as a timeless choice for interiors. “Being too fashionable can be very expensive as trends come and go. You can create a modern look using furniture and fabrics which wont date.
“Be brave with colour but always try to mix with neutrals. Use cushions, rugs, throws and prints to add variation, it’s cost effective and can create a whole new feel to a room.”

It’s also important to think about buyers’ price brackets, says Douglas. “To maximise space I keep furniture to a minimum and always make sure that what pieces I buy are affordable. There’s no point designing a home from top to toes in designer furnishings and fabrics if the purchaser can’t afford them.”

adventurous
For housebuilders keen to be a little more adventurous and splash out on the latest trends, Kitchener says 1950s genre finishes are big at the moment, featuring “satin and flowers, oriental and embroidery, and glamour and bright colours.”

The Rohm and Haas Paint Quality Institute, which advises on paint quality, trends and decorational effects, echoes these sentiments. “Boho chic” is very now, according to its spring/summer 03 round-up, and advice on how to achieve this can be found on the company’s comprehensive website (http://www.paintquality.co.uk/).

“First seen on the catwalk, the craze for everything Bollywood has now been combined with beading and bohemia to produce homes full of rich colour and pattern,” says the company’s UK and Ireland manager Rehana Saghir. “Inspiration can be taken from fabric designs enhanced by gold and silver threadwork, and plain painted walls and surfaces can be adorned with detailing using acrylic-based metallic finishes.”
Paint can be a cost effective way of bringing an interior up to date, and Saghir recommends spending a bit more on a paint to ensure a professional finish. “Top quality acrylic paints offer excellent colour retention properties, this means they maintain their original colour and sheen better over time, so your paint job will continue to look good.”

decorative mouldings
Decorative mouldings, including door sets and architraves, are another relatively straightforward means of taking an interior specification up a notch according to Winther Browne marketing manager Vince Turner. He says the market for the north-London based company, which specialises in machined wood products, is stronger than ever.

“We are experiencing a massive demand for radiator cabinets, and many builders are now specifying these as standard.
“There is also an increasing trend in high quality specification kitchens with traditional style carvings and mouldings - this is as strong as the trend for modernist kitchens. People are using mouldings to highlight interiors.”

When it comes to modern style kitchens, a careful choice of finishes is essential says Sheila Elliott, design director for British Ceramic Tile’s Candy range. “In ceramic tile our most successful recent developments include subtle white on white special surface effects and various interpretations of neutral and natural themes. These, together with glass, metallic and natural materials for the basis of the requirements for new house builds.

“The key to designing a new age tile is to find something that is easy on the eye, easy to live with, and which will promote a feeling of peacefulness and well-being to the user.”

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