What a feeling

How are you enjoying the autumn so far? It is my favourite season as I love the changing trees, the rich oranges and reds, the fun of kicking through a pile of leaves. The chilly days are the perfect excuse to reach for the cosy blankets, scented candles and fairy lights in the evening.

But what if you could bottle up that feeling, and experience it all year round? The way our home feels should really matter. A house can be beautifully decorated, but if it feels stark or soulless, something essential is missing.

When I design rooms, I start by asking myself, or my clients, how they want the room to feel. Is it somewhere they want to feel cocooned and cosy at the end of the day? Is it somewhere where they will be busy and on the go, so it needs to feel ordered, but uplifting. Or perhaps it should blur the line between indoors and out, bringing the beauty of nature inside.

This has to be the starting point for any room design, before you reach for the paint charts or wallpaper samples. Only when you understand what you are trying to achieve, can you begin to piece together the different elements that will get you there.

Take for example our recently completed bedroom. For almost a year we lived with it as a lifeless, beige box. It had beige walls, a beige carpet, beige blinds, and an outdated gas fire to top it off.

We wanted our bedroom to have the feeling of somewhere calm to rest our heads, but also a room that would completely envelop us in colour and pattern in the most comforting way. Not in a way that was harsh or over the top, but rather in a way that was beautiful, respectful of the property, and would support our personalities.

The result is a room which is primarily a dusky pink colour – a grounding colour that speaks to my autumn personality but still feels light and fresh enough for my “spring” husband. The rest of the colour scheme is rooted firmly in our feature wall paper, with a mix of greens, navy and lilac, and a bonus dollop of sunshine yellow. We used a glorious mix of stripes, florals, woven linen, velvet, antique gold, natural rope, gingham and even a few playful wiggles to give us the look, but more importantly, the feel that we desired.

So if you are thinking of redecorating any time soon, ask yourself how you want the room to feel when it's finished. It really will make a difference.