Fantasy Interior Design Ideas - Alice In Wonderland!

This is urban fantasy where everything gets thrown out of proportion! Mix and match furnitures and the odd colour clash pave the way for this summer trend.
Hot Pink Curtains provide a cheap and quick update for homes looking for the playful side of decorating. Fuchsia pink curtains can be seen next to other brights such as red or yellow for a really spontaneous interior which is bright, fun and funky!

Oversized floor lamps - or anything oversized for that matter - it is one of the key elements of this themed look. Although this is best achieved through decorative pieces such as sculptural floor lamps, artworks or larger than life vases for pretty blooms.

Include the Mad Hatter's tea party as a theme for your dining area using pretty china tea cups and saucers, add a trendy tea pot along with an on-trend table runner made from cotton curtain fabrics online and add oversized cushions and throws to give a quirky, yet very comfortable place to eat!

You don't have to be a child to adore this theme just young at heart with a good sense of fun and the need to do something completely different to your home!

Image: Freshome

The Art Of Layering

Want to add a luxury look to your living room without breaking the bank? I've a few easy tips and interior design ideas which could turn your dreams into reality using the simple technique of layering and collecting!

You can layer with fabrics or have a collection of vases - it is just about having more than one piece. Just remember there is a fine line between layering, building up a collection and looking over-cluttered. Remember to choose similarities in you layering or collections.

Adding layers to the traditional living room will also presume a self-indulgent and stately home. It's right on-trend and can be used effectively in all styles of home.

You can layer different curtain types, a silk curtain fabric could be used with a rich velvet to create an opulent look or use both ready made curtains and ready made blinds in contrasting colours or textures to give beautiful diffused lighting effects.

A collection of fine vases on the mantelpiece should be in the same colour or colour range. A sofa with ample cushions and throws should be tied together with pattern or colour to stop it looking to chaotic.

Image: Belle Maison

Pep Up Your Home With NY Fashion Week!

New York fashion week has seen a plethora of silver and hues of grey fabrics which will undoubtedly influence the interior design scene this autumn and winter. Metallics have already been a large part of this year's interiors along with soft floaty fabrics and sheer voile fabrics for on-trend window dressings, bed canopies and informal room dividers.


Within interior design we are focusing on the use of different textures and how they can be used to bring depth and purposeful meaning to a room. Cushions and throws made with a variety of fabrics, mixed with knits and sequinned detailing are bang on-trend, inexpensive and easy to achieve.


Try taking fashion weeks colour schemes and embedding them into your home with pops of hot pink teamed with cool steel grey or gun metal grey coordinated with yellow accents.


As I mentioned in my last post you don't actually have to wear clothes made from the same fabric as your curtains, however, you and your home will be 'hot to trot' this autumn and winter without having to resort to black and dismal colours which make a room feel uninviting and cold. Embrace the NY fashion trends to pep up a tired and uninspiring living space!

Image: decorology

Living Room Interior Design Ideas: Creating Zones

I thought I'd do a little more on creating zones in an open plan living room - or a large living room by giving you a few hints on how to start new interior design ideas.

It could be that you have all your main furniture and are just thinking of ways to arrange it all and make the most of each item. It isn't a bad idea to start with some graph paper and a pencil, downsizing your floor space to fit on your notepad and playing around with the possibilities of floor plans - just focusing on larger pieces to begin with.

Split the main part of your living room into a relaxing area and an entertaining one. The relaxing side may have some extra comfy lounging seats/sofas, a bookshelf, fireplace and small coffee table. Your entertainment half will have more seating, a unit for placing the television,gaming consoles and a clever storage unit with ample lighting provided by an assortment of table lamps UK.

There are some fabulous ideas to take inspiration from; along with colour schemes and how to make the most of what you have by using re-vamping existing soft furnishings by purchasing curtain material online to make cheap cushion covers or Roman blinds. The possibilities are endless if you let your imagination run wild!

Image: belle maison

Adding Injections Of Colour In Your Lounge

Want to try something new in your lounge and not sure where to start? There are some wonderful interior design ideas which you can use to inject some playful colour into your lounge and it doesn't have to cost a fortune!

For a lounge that receives a lot of natural light, hot pink can be used as the prevailing colour. Paint your walls with the dazzling colour and define it by using fresh white paint for doors, windows and mouldings. Add hot pink curtains to tie in with the colour scheme. Modern white furniture will give the lounge a more edgier and contemporary feel - try a chunky white coffee table to take centre stage and assemble white furniture around it. To ground a very bright room, dark wood flooring and the use of black in accessories will help.

If hot pink isn't your colour choice lime green teamed with aubergine is still a popular colour scheme for modern and contemporary homes. You can simply replace window dressings with lime green curtains and add a mixture of different textures and complimentary colours by using cushions and throws. Ideas like these are easy to achieve and equally as easy to replace if you decide that hot pink or lime green really isn't for you!

Image: belle maison

Create A Wind-down Zone!

 Sometimes the whole festive season hustle and bustle can leave you exhausted and yet with a house full of relatives finding some 'me' time can be very difficult! If you only have one bathroom - let's be honest many homes do – you can't lock yourself away and soak in the bath as someone will want the loo! So you need to find another place to gather your thoughts and take time-out. There is an easy solution...creating your own little wind-down zone. It doesn't have to be anything lavish or encroach on much space, just a little ingenuity or your part!

In a larger living space have the area around it as an inviting reading nook or a retreat for a spot of 'winding-down'. It is an exclusive place with its solo chair – you don't have to share your favourite cushions and throws, but can still tease and excite guests with your acute style! Make it worthwhile by choosing luxury silk covered cushions in jewel tones, an end table with stylish table lamp for atmospheric lighting and an easy-to-reach shelf with your favourite reading material – choose a book that was a present or a recipe book and no one can accuse you of being selfish!

Image: Decorology

Interior Trends of 2011 – Emotional Austerity

 Due to the financial recession the world of interior design believes that people are asking themselves questions to what they believe they need to live well. This is or has led to the emergence of simple living styles, formal or severe designs which mixes the fundamental basics and old with the newest modern and high-tech ideas. To put simply – Vintage, Modern is an interior design trend which will be seen throughout this year.
To get the latest looks you'll need to do some forward thinking by looking back in history as these time periods will be at the forefront of new trends and colours.
Tudor: This era was rich in voluminous velvets, tear-drop pears and tapestry accents.
Mayan, Inca and Hopi: Tribal influences will be seen in the use of geometric floral fabrics, trapezoids and early images of the sun.

1940s: This decade will once again influence interiors by featuring light maple, pecan and walnut, with fabrics such as seersucker, jersey and cable knits for home-made cushions and throws, curtains, blinds and soft furnishings.

Vintage, modern is an eclectic mix of old and new which enables us to revert back to old ways of hand or home-made to save money and be bang on-trend.

Image: atticmag