As a professional London Interior Designer, I meet with clients all the time who simply crave more originality and personality in their interior spaces. It is such a delight for the interior designer to be able to transform a house into a home by judicious use of lighting, stencils, photo frames, rugs and frames, to name just a few. Each of the different classes of accessories allows the professional interior designer to lean into a certain style, emotion or personality framework in order to create stunning results. In this article, I will draw on my experience in London’s design community to suggest a few great options if you’re looking to spruce up your home this winter with some interior designer magic.

LIGHTING. If there are nooks and crannies that just don’t get enough light, interior designers may recommend low-voltage illumination to make your interiors look larger and more welcoming. This can also boost your mood – perfect for the gloomy and overcast London skies that are all too common this time of year. Some professional interior designers will recommend theatrical lighting moods, so that you can flip between settings to choose either relaxed, or atmospheric and edgy, or task-orientated, all according to your needs.

COLOUR. The hue of the lighting system can substantially impact the overall look of a room. Incandescent filaments are now being phased out across the European Union, and London interior designers are having to rely instead on compact fluorescents or halogens to create custom effects.

SCONCES. Wall-mounted sconces slide over lightbulbs to give a gentle fuzzy glow to a room. Interior designers sometimes combine glass outer sheaths with paper diffusers to create unique effects and soften the overall feel.

ARTWORK. Art is great, but well-lit artwork is even better – and interior designers are often specially-trained in how to perfectly illuminate choice pieces of art. Recessed lighting can be a great solution for both photographs and paintings. For sculptures, some interior designers love to use spotlights or feature lighting for more of a museum showcase feel.

INTERIOR DESIGNERS DO OUTSIDE, TOO! Exterior lighting is a great way to make a fabulous first impression for evening dinner guests or invitees to a luxury London soiree at your designer home. Exterior lighting solutions can even cast light indoors, as well … some interior designers like to be really creative and hide exterior lights in bushes or under trees to create natural diffusion before the light trickles in through the windows and makes fabulous patterns on the ceiling or wall.

This bring to an end my mini-series on how London interior designers use accessories, styles and history to create astonishing results.

Professional bathroom designers are masterful at merging both function and form to create breathtaking results. In this eight-part series which I call “Understanding Bathroom Design,” I draw on my experience working with some of London’s top bathroom designers to explain this exciting field. This seventh article returns to eco-friendly design.

The use of recycled or recyclable materials is a real trend with some of London’s best-known bathroom designers today. Recycled options such as glass or rubber can be a great alternative to non-renewables. Another important element of eco-friendly bathroom design involves wise positioning of windows. Installing windows in exactly the right places can help control bills by allowing sunshine to wash into the bathroom during the day or encouraging fresh breezes during the night. Bathroom designers know that pleated curtains made from recycled materials can help with seasonal variations – especially in a city like London where summer temperatures can warm up unexpectedly and rapidly.

Did you know that London’s Heathrow Airport has the worst air pollution in the UK? Eco-friendly bathroom designs always use paints that are low in volatile organics. This helps reduce indoor pollution – after all, if London’s outside air is polluted enough, why should you want your indoor air anything less than the cleanest it can be? Along with low-emissions paints, many modern bathroom designers will focus on fluorescent or LED lighting options. These are much more energy-efficient than filament-based alternatives, and have the additional benefit of guaranteeing a much longer operating life.

The last part of eco-friendly bathroom design is mostly about what people do in the finished bathroom itself. I recommend the use of ecologically sensitive cleaning products like vinegar, salt and sodium bicarbonate – all of which are available at any of London’s many small corner shops or convenience stores. These products break down naturally once they are flushed down the toilet, and are therefore environmentally very benign. A green bathroom design can only go so far – ultimately it’s up to the consumer to make sure they fix dripping taps, recycle lavatory paper and other recyclables, and only flush when absolutely necessary.

In the next and final article in my series “Understanding Bathroom Design,” I’ll finish with a summary of the psychology of London Bathroom Design today – “Designing for Happiness.”

“A house without the perfect furniture is akin to a mind without perfect thoughts”

Furniture defines your home and speaks volumes about the taste and style of the owner. Such is the power of this inanimate object that it can either make or break the look of your house. Furniture has always been in the picture of our home and family since the earliest days. The word ‘Antique Furniture’ seems less obvious, considering the long lasting association we have had with furniture since the past.

In the past, furniture was only treated as an object of utility and function. There was no other defined purpose in identifying and buying, or in some cases, making your own furniture, other than ensuring it serves the purpose of use. These days however, in the age of mobiles and style, just serving the purpose of seating/bedding and/or storage is not enough. A piece of furniture has to be able to do more than that. Making a style statement with your furniture while ensuring it serves the purpose it was created for has become the need of the day.

Designer Furniture is the latest trend to have rocked the home improvement scene. Designer furniture offers as much utility and purpose as does normal furniture and it comes with an added attribute – Style, which is imperative to every established household. While respecting each individual’s sense of style and purpose, the designer furniture forms a perfect balance of both. Constructed in a wide range of materials, to satisfy the tastes of a wide variety of enthusiasts, these furniture have all that it takes to jazz up your home. Rattan furniture is a popular choice in home furniture these days. Rattan sofas, chairs and even corner tables, come in a variety of colors and styles, to enhance the interiors of your home.

While designing your home, the garden and the patio also play a quintessential role in improving the look and feel of your home. Furniture designs these days are not just restricted to your home, rather, the Garden and Patio which are an extension of the home, are brought into the purview of enhancing the beauty of your home. Designer Garden Furniture such as Wicker furniture is a popular choice for the conservatory and the patio these days. Wicker Rattan Furniture is one of the most popular choices in the patio and the garden since they require extremely low maintenance, are light weight and exude elegance in style and design. They are also available in a variety of colours such as brown, beige, and black along with cushions and leg rests, offering the owner the ultimate in luxury within the confines of home.

The conservatory is another area in the home, which tends to be neglected often but is an excellent place to relax and sit back and throw up your legs, either read a book or just have some coffee. Conservatory Furniture are the next big designer furniture peeve, especially since designing a home has now become all about designing all the corners of your home. When it comes to making the extensions of your home, such as the Garden and the Patio, as strikingly appealing as the interiors, patio furniture and conservatory furniture are the ruling choice.

Patio Furniture has always been played down when it comes to home furniture, though in essence it is one of the most significant aspects in home design. Designing a patio which extends from your home to the outside and yet retains the homely feel is a huge challenge. While doing so, several aspects of the design must not be overlooked, including the positioning of the furniture such that it allows ample light and air to flow through while ensuring the enclosed area is as comfortable as the house indoors.

Designer Garden Furniture has the potential to push your Garden from being non-existent to being the style quotient of your home. Invest in the best furniture for your home, and watch your guests compliment you every time they step in.