Throw out the rule book and mix vibrant colours and geometric patterns to give rooms a bold makeover
Aim To create an inspiring, vibrant bathroom, using bold geometrics and colour.
How Choose your graphic, patterned wallpaper; everything follows its lead. Be daring, but follow your instincts. Vinyl wallpaper is best, but not essential for ventilated bathrooms. Here I’ve used a lattice pattern of yellow and blue; when hung, the overall effect is aqua. Pick the lightest colour within the wallpaper (in this case, yellow) to use on a paintable, free-standing bath. Avoid another block of yellow with a free-standing, paintable glass cabinet; the woodwork frames the wallpaper. Be audacious with skirting boards: white is outdated. Choose a geometric pattern on a bigger scale on flooring to avoid it looking over complicated. Light On Lattice wallpaper (in colour 034), £160 per 8.7m roll. Jester flooring, from £39 per sq m. Versailles bath, £2,195 Bastide bath-mounted bath and shower mixer, £2,300, both. Bath painted in Goldfinch eggshell, £19.75 for 750ml. Whitstable low stool, £125, by Mathers & Hirst. Marble toothbrush holder, £12. Extendable chrome bath rack, £99, . Bath mat in Autumn Yellow, £17, by Hay. Stockholm cabinet, £275. In display unit: Orla Kiely sculpted stem towels in Sulphur, from £3.50 for a face cloth. Honey and narcissus candle, £16.50.
Aim To use an ombré painting effect on the walls and clashing colour blocking to create a luxe boudoir.
How Start with the ombré painting technique for a gradient colour effect. Choose three colours from the same palette (dark, light and mid-range), then paint strips on the wall, starting with the deepest shade from the skirting board up. Go for it with the woodwork: pale colours won’t work. Echo the ombré effect with cushions in painterly fabrics and max out the OTT, fairytale feel with a button-backed headboard and glamorous bolster cushions. Introduce pattern with a rug. Sprinkle with gold – a chandelier, side table and slippers – and watch your dreams come true. Avebury carpet in Lockeridge Flint, £40 per sq m. Paint on door, Theatre Red. On bottom wall, Leather; on mid wall, Carmine; and on top wall, Pink Slip), all £35 for 2.5 litres. Kingsize Foxtail bedstead in Velvet-feel Claret, £695. Bamboo side table with marble top, £250. Clarabelle chandelier, £150. Nigella Cyclamen velvet bolster cushion, £40; Nigella Cranberry velvet bolster cushion, £40. Lazy linen kingsize bundle in Dusty Pink, £245. Pink and red herringbone merino and cashmere throw, £130. Bishop’s Cape red Tibetan wool and silk rug, £1,710 per sq m, by Diane von Furstenberg. Light pink rose dot cushion, £79, by Hay. Ackån atomiser bottle, £8 for a set of three.
Aim To prove you can mix blue and green, and to create a lush living room with creature comforts.
How To get this Kew-meets-anarchic country-hotel look, plump for one shade of green and one of blue, then use several tones from each palette in furniture and furnishings. Think in terms of a broad spectrum of colour; mix, but let go of the urge to match. Paint walls and window frames dark, mix up cushion patterns, enforcing thematic density through layering and texture.. Hicks’ blue paint, £35 for 2.5 litres. Haresfield sofa, £2,396. Tibetan wool rug, £935 per sq m, by Jonathan Saunders. Curtains (from left): Pampas linen white, £75 per mPeoneden velvet in absinthe, £98 per mInferno cotton linen fabric in teal, £75 per m. Content by Terence Conran coffee table, £599 for set including two side tables. Beat floor lamp, £865, by Tom Dixon. Cushions (from left): Palmeral Midnight/Azure, £148Pampas In White/Viridis, £75Peoneden Absinthe, £148. Square (at back) in Aqua, £85 per m, both by Nina Campbell. Bolster cushion in Seawater, £75 per m, square (at front) in Emerald, £85 per m, by Nina Campbell. Palmeral White/Green, £148, . John Lewis velvet in Spruce, £25. Vases (on table, from left): Poole Pottery Maya Purse vase, £75; Maury clay vase, £20, and small Maury clay vase, £15. On floor: Poole Pottery Alexis Manhattan vase, from £70. Foliage, galtonflowers.com.
Aim To showcase encaustic tiles and play with colour to create a timeless, tasteful kitchen.
How Start with what takes up the greatest surface area, in this case the splashback; this is where you want to introduce the most colour and pattern. Next, choose your encaustic tiles: a big trend right now, and rightly so – they have a reclaimed, been-around-for-centuries feel, and their worn, washed-out character works well on floors and walls. Pick one colour to use on the walls and three or four others for cabinet drawers, table and woodwork. If you’ve inherited a naff kitchen with dodgy laminate cupboards, paint them using chalk-effect kitchen paint by B&Q or Annie Sloan. Floor tiles, from £204 per sq m, bertandmay.com. Paint on wall and top drawer, Celestial Blue; middle drawer, Orange Aurora; bottom drawer, Deep Space Blue, all £35 for 2.5 litres. On worktop: Meadow mugs, £5 for set of four, and Meadow teapot, £8. Lance table, £150. On table: Meadow plates, £20 for a 12-piece set, .
On shelf: George Home Ditzy cake tins, £7 for three. Mervyn Gers large jug, £30. Owl biscuit barrel, £25, by Bliss In The Woods. Patterned bowl, colander and pan, all stylist’s own; for similar, try summerhillandbishop.com.
Stylist’s assistants: Becky Wilkinson and Jessica Edwards.
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