United Kingdom
Sophie is a home interiors writer and all-around design aficionado. She trained in interior design at KLC School of Design and is now a practicing interior designer, telling stories through interiors that inspire and serve.
With a degree in History of Art and Spanish, she has a keen interest in the influence of art, history, and culture in design. Having lived in Buenos Aires for five years, Sophie is also an experienced communicator in both English and Spanish with a professional background in public relations and marketing. Sophie currently writes for Livingetc. and Better Homes & Gardens.
Lavender is dominating the color charts as the latest must-have shade of 2023. First, the soft shade of purple took the fashion runway by storm, drenching apparel with the spring color. Then, the floral hue trickled into home decor as pastels came back in style.
Kitchens are more than just a space to prepare and enjoy meals. They're also a place to work, play, and entertain, so it makes sense that kitchen islands are at the top of many homeowners' wishlists. The stylish and functional element can easily harness a kitchen's potential, adding a central gathering space to your home.
The tendency to classify, label, and categorize things is deeply ingrained in our human psyche. While this helps us make sense of the world, labels and categories can also result in limited identities and limitations in how we think about things.
Articles
Pastel colors have long been associated with children, youth, innocence, and whimsy. In contemporary homes, the delicate palette is limited mainly to children's bedrooms. Pastels contain a heavy dose of white, giving them a high brightness value and low saturation that awards them a soft, soothing quality that is easy on the eye.
The kitchen is, without a doubt, one of the rooms that have experienced the most radical transformation in our homes over the past two centuries. The kitchen speaks volumes about its inhabitant's lifestyle and is a fascinating reflection of the broader world context, illustrating evolving cultural and societal values and behaviors and technological developments.
When it comes to kitchen decor, a rug probably isn't the first thing that springs to mind. But while it's somewhat of an unconventional location, adding a rug to your kitchen will add warmth to the space and can tie your decor together.
Kitchen countertops are one of the most important decisions you'll make when designing or refurbing your kitchen. Not only do they influence the aesthetic and overall feel of the space, but they can also be the making of a great chef.
A fusion of the words 'hip' and 'historic,' the newly coined 'hipstoric' home decor trend is set to dominate in 2023, according to interior designers and the experts at Pinterest. Consumers are casting mass-produced pieces aside in favor of reimagined antiques and vintage finds.
The best answers aren't always the most obvious ones. This is undoubtedly the case when it comes to placing a mirror in front of the window in a bathroom. 'Sometimes it's difficult to squeeze everything into a bathroom depending on its layout and how many windows there are,' says interior designer Sophie von Wedekind of Spencer & Wedekind.
The verdict is in: Paint color experts have revealed the color trends we can expect to see less of this year, and what hues will take their place as 2023 progresses. The latest color trends predict that muted, gray, and pastel tones are dropping off in favor of brighter shades.
Let's discuss the power of paint. We've all witnessed the instant transformative effect of a fresh lick of paint on a room. It's a quick, fail-safe, and relatively low-cost way to make a space look as good as new. But that just scratches the surface of its true potential.
Each year we look forward to the colors of the year announcements to give us some decorating inspiration. And while we had several favorite shades in the 2022 roundup, we wanted to know what colors were actually the most popular.
If you're hitting a blank wall when it comes to decorating your living room, don't be afraid to get creative. Think of wall decor like jewelry. You've already got the basic outfit put together-or, in this case, the living room furniture-but you need a finishing touch to complete the look and tie everything together.
A single coat of fresh paint can give your kitchen a totally new look. If you're planning to update your space in the new year, choosing the right color can be a defining factor in transforming your kitchen. Color has a powerful influence on the style, mood, and perception of space, so it's essential to get it right.
Gray is an elegant and versatile shade. It sits between two opposing neutrals-black and white-representing neutrality and balance. Because it's an achromatic color with no hue, decorating with gray creates a calm environment that's fitting for any bathroom design. The subdued shade is timeless and works with both classic and contemporary bathroom designs.
Bedrooms are primarily for sleeping, so the perfect bedroom should provide optimum conditions to do just that. It should be a relaxing environment to unwind and escape the stress, noise, distractions, and often fast pace of modern life - that we can all agree on.
Lighting is one of the most important elements of a living space. Beyond illuminating the area, lighting has the power to influence the room's mood and how we experience it. It's also an excellent tool for highlighting your home's best features and making a room appear larger than it really is.
Matching furniture in 2022 has a very different meaning from the retro sofa suites of yesteryear. These designers explain how to approach it (or not) in your living room scheme
White is a popular kitchen cabinet color because it is timeless and highly versatile. White cabinets bring a clean and fresh feel to kitchens of all design styles and provide a blank canvas for experimenting with different colors throughout the rest of the space.
Mixing different types of wood in furniture can be a hit and miss situation. Make your choices foolproof with these expert tips from interior designers
The accent wall had a heyday in our homes, but is it still something we should consider today? These designers advocate for how to use them in a modern way
Textured walls are a great way to add depth and interest to your home without breaking the bank. As well as injecting a unique sense of style into a space, the extra layer of texture works as a clever disguise for imperfections in a drywall finish.
Matching dining room sets may have fallen out of favor in the past, but are they poised for a comeback, or are eclectic dining spaces still in vogue?
Vintage Halloween decor has become increasingly popular over the last few years. From glass pumpkins to ceramic figurines, more and more people are turning to thrifted and vintage Halloween decor rather than buying new items. To get the scoop on the trend, we chatted with interior design expert and vintage enthusiast Lisa Dawson.
If you enjoy discovering secondhand treasures, estate sales should be at the top of your shopping list. An estate sale is a public sale, often held on-site, where items inside a house are available for purchase. Many people associate them with a homeowner passing, but that's not always the case.
When it comes to kitchen decor, a rug probably isn't the first thing that springs to mind. But while it's somewhat of an unconventional location, adding a rug to your kitchen will add warmth to the space and can tie your decor together.
Tiles are a popular choice for kitchen flooring because they're hard-wearing, durable, and generally pretty low maintenance. They're also fairly easy to clean, which is important for a high-traffic area that's prone to cooking spills. But with so many types of tile available, it can be hard to know where to start as you plan your next kitchen renovation.
Guarantee the magic of a white Christmas with a flocked Christmas tree. Typically dusted in faux snow or white glitter, a flocked Christmas tree looks as if it has just been carried inside out of freshly fallen snow. The white-tipped needles leave a frosty canvas ready to be dressed up with your favorite Christmas ornaments.
Expect the unexpected this Christmas. For decades, red and green have been synonymous with the festive season, but this year's holiday palettes are more creative than ever. 'Tis the season to be jolly with a range of vibrant, whimsical, and nostalgic shades guaranteed to brighten your home.
During the cooler months, the fireplace becomes the heart of the home. Friends and family gather around, absorbing the generous warmth and enjoying the comforting flicker of flames. From a design perspective, the fireplace-functional or not-is a natural focal point and dictates the feel and focus of the room.
With the arrival of crisp fall temperatures, it's time to move the fun inside for the season. During autumn, the dining table is the hub of the home and the center point of all social activity, especially with all the Halloween parties and Thanksgiving celebrations.
Taupe is a neutral shade that falls somewhere between brown and gray. The elegant color is comforting in its simplicity, maturity, and reliability. Taupes with a red, pink, or yellow undertone have a warm, welcoming effect, while taupes with a green or blue undertone convey a cooler, more contemporary aesthetic.
The front porch is an extension of your home and your design style. Since it's typically the first area guests see, it's natural to want to create a gorgeous, welcoming space to display to the neighborhood. But if you think you have to sacrifice comfort for style, think again.
It's the American dream. A luxurious apartment in the beating heart of Manhattan, a thriving career, strutting around the metropolis in Manolo's, and sipping on cosmos. Ten years on, And Just Like That… Sex & the City is back on our screens and we're reunited with our favorite columnist and fashionista, Carrie Bradshaw, and her longtime sweetheart, John James Preston, aka Mr Big. As we step back into their apartment located on 1010 Fifth Avenue, we feel a distinct sense of familiarity, yet...
Kitchen islands are the heart of the contemporary home. They're a casual gathering point for families to cook, dine, relax, entertain guests, and enjoy spending quality time together. Big or small, free-standing islands make a functional addition to any kitchen, providing an extra work surface and additional storage.
Like a breath of fresh air, this muted shade of blue has a celestial quality that is immediately uplifting, refreshing, and relaxing. Pale blue is a light and delicate tint of blue made by mixing a significant amount of white into a pure blue pigment. Also referred to as baby blue, light blue, haint blue, pastel blue, or powder blue, the color has a low saturation, making it easy on the eye and conducive to rest and relaxation. Its soft and mellow nature makes it a popular choice for...
Elevate your bathroom with the sleek, functional aesthetic of midcentury modern design. Clean lines, bold accent colors, and organic, nature-inspired prints are all characteristics of this iconic design style that lend themselves well to bathrooms. If you're looking for inspiration for your upcoming remodel or just need a few bathroom decorating ideas, consider incorporating a mix of natural and manufactured materials, as well as a keen focus on function and simplicity.
If you have a small patio, you might be tempted to skip decorative elements and stick to the essentials. But outdoor decor can make a big impact, even in the tiniest spaces. With the right know-how and a dose of creative thinking, you can transform your petite patio into a dreamy getaway.
Ready to bring picture ledges into your home? Read on for smart ideas for using picture ledges-and arranging art on them-in any space.
A muted, earthy shade of green, sage has a calming, grounding, and reassuring nature. Sage green is a subdued gray-green shade that takes its name from the popular culinary herb. Soothing and endlessly versatile, it's not hard to see why the near-neutral shade is dominating paint color trends this year. In fact, Benjamin Moore chose 'October Mist', a mellow sage hue, as the Color of the Year 2022. The abundant use of the gentle color emphasizes our inherent need to connect with our...
Elegant and sophisticated, yet never glamorous, charcoal gray is a conservative shade situated at the dark end of the grayscale. Less solemn than black, charcoal gray is moody and mysterious. It is powerfully quiet, asserting its presence without creating visual noise. The dark neutral is undeniably dependable and practical and has a steadying effect on other colors, toning down bright hues and elevating subdued shades. Like all grays, charcoal is well-suited to modern design styles, like...
Pick the best floor covering for your home with our guide to types of carpet, pile, materials, and more. Few home features create a welcoming sense of warmth and homey comfort like a good-quality carpet. Walking barefoot across cold stone tiles or hard wooden planks just can't compare to the feel of the soft, cushiony fibers of various types of carpet underfoot.
A rich jewel tone, emerald green is inherently luxurious and sophisticated. In interior design, the verdant shade evokes a cozy, comforting, and deeply restorative space. Emerald green is a brilliant blue-green hue named after the precious gemstone. The striking color has been popular since the early nineteenth century and continues to flourish today, gaining the title of Etsy's Color of the Year in 2022.
The modern Victorian decor look blends eras for an elegant and playful look. See inspiration, photos, and modern Victorian decor ideas to try at home.
Learn the differences between a solarium and a sunroom. Sun lovers, listen up: You don't have to relocate to warmer climes to make the most of the sun, even indoors. Solariums and sunrooms are effective sun traps that allow you to bask in the rays of the sun year-round, summer through winter, absorbing the sun's warmth even on the crispest of days.
A delicate and friendly color with a quiet tone, lavender conjures a sense of serenity and positivity for a deeply restorative space. Lavender is reclaiming its title as an on-trend, sought-after color in interior design. The captivating tint, named after the aromatic flower, can be described as a pale purple with a prominent blue undertone.
Rugs have the power to bring a space to life by introducing an additional layer of color, pattern, texture, and form. Yet, their capacity to lift up and unify a space is equalled in their ability to pull it down and make a room feel disjointed and awkward, so it's important to get it right! One of the most common mistakes is the size of the rug; an important detail that is too often overlooked. A rug that is too big will make a room feel overwhelmed.
More than a simple piece of furniture, the dining table is the heart of the home. It is a gathering point for friends and family and sets the scene for many moments that turn into cherished memories. The shape of the dining table plays an important part in how those moments play out, influencing everything from the feel of the room to the experience of those sitting around it.
Rather than finding a space to fit your dining table, find a dining table to fit your space.
Hold up! Before you scroll on, dismissing universal design as irrelevant to you as a healthy and youthful human being, let us tell you why it isn't! Contrary to popular belief, the elderly, disabled and injured are not the only people who benefit from universal design. By building a new home based upon these principles, or incorporating them into your current interior architecture, you create an adaptable environment designed to accommodate all life stages and unforeseen circumstances. Not to...
It's no wonder recliners are so popular. They're comfortable, convenient, practical, and beneficial for your mental and physical health.
As design trends take a U-turn from muted to maximalist, we're looking for ways to enliven our homes with a sense of optimism and whimsy. The 2022 wallpaper revival encourages us to be fearless with our creativity and have some fun, with exotic scenic murals and wild prints being favored over plain walls and dull pattern repeats.
The secret to finding your dream sofa is in distinguishing key characteristics and matching them to your unique personal needs and preferences.
The key to finding the perfect mattress is familiarizing yourself with its principal features and benefits and identifying your personal needs.
You're finally moving into your dream home, and now you want a sexy interior to match. But, where to start? Modern, traditional, mid-century… the buzzwords of the design world ring familiar, but what do they really mean? And, how do you know which is the best match for you? Knowing the history and nuances of each furniture style is a good place to start, to help you decide which values and qualities most align with your own. To get you started, we've picked out a selection of the most iconic...
Break free from your two-dimensional comfort zone and dare to embrace the three-dimensional world of art. Sculpture is a powerful way to inject individuality into your home and show off your cultural flair. It has a different type of impact and presence to paintings and prints, in part due to how we interact with it; for one, we can walk around it, appreciate it from different angles and in different lights, and sometimes even touch it.
Leading paint brands have cast their votes for the color of 2022 and the winner is… [drum roll] … green! In tune with the world's environmentally friendly and wellness-focused tendency, the color green encourages our connection with nature and evokes a refreshing, revitalizing and calming influence. In the new year, we're welcoming soothing, restoring and optimistic shades to accompany us as we start afresh.
With 2022 around the corner, it's time to get ahead on what's hot in interior design. The pandemic has shifted the way we live and think about our homes, as well as our role as a consumer and our relationship to our environment. So, it comes as no surprise to see a parallel in the design world, with a heavy focus on sustainability and wellbeing. Expect a merge of natural elements, reassuring curves, revived heirlooms, comforting textures and an invigorating color palette. Consideration is...
Waste not, want not; it's time to get resourceful. There's an upcycling revolution and we don't want you missing out. As the world pushes towards a greener future, we're constantly on the lookout for innovative ways to reduce waste and live sustainably. While words like repairing, restoring, revamping and repurposing are nothing new, they have been gathering dust over the past decade whilst consumers have been temporarily blindsided by mass consumerism and a throwaway culture. Luckily, those...
A home should be a safe, peaceful and comfortable retreat that caters to your needs rather than a stressful obstacle course. Unfortunately, the latter is too often true for many wheelchair users who battle daily with their own homes. Contrary to popular belief, making a home wheelchair-friendly doesn't always require spending lots of money on extensive renovations. Instead, it can be as simple as removing unnecessary obstacles and taking on a few small DIY projects...
It's the retirement we all dream of. Tucked away on the edge of a turquoise lagoon in an open-air villa, with sweeping views of the waterfront, enjoying the slow pace of tropical island life... This Jamaican paradise may have been short-lived by 007, but not by us. Inspired by the opening scenes of No Time To Die, we revisit the set and recreate a 007-style tropical oasis of our own.
As winter draws in, with the days growing colder and shorter, it's not uncommon to feel a shift in our mood and energy levels. The Northern Hemisphere is starting to slow and prepare to rest in preparation for a new lease of life in spring. So, it seems only natural for us to feel the desire to follow suit, battening down the hatches and retiring inside for a period of rest and contemplation. It's important to create an inviting and nurturing home during this time, in harmony with the cycles...
Buyer's Guides
There’s an art to applying makeup, and just as every great artist needs a space to work their magic, you too need a space to work yours! Modern makeup vanity tables offer a place to store and organize your meticulously curated collection of beauty tools and accessories, and provide you a designated space to get inspired and create in comfort and style. Vanities can also pull a bedroom or dressing room together stylistically and add a romantic feel to the space. Inspire your inner diva with...
Keep that smelly, unsightly litter box out of public view, and hide it in one of these fetching cabinets. A furniture litter box cabinet is the best way to have your cat litter available, but unseen. A little opening in the side of the cabinet gives the kitty access to do their business in privacy, and when it's ready to be changed, just open the cabinet door. See the possibilities in this collection.
Pioneered in Japan, these zen platform beds are the perfect addition to a home with an eye on minimalism. Take out the box spring and the frame, and replace it with a traditional zen platform, and your bed will have an alignment with the earth that may just improve the Feng Shui of your bedroom, which has been found to lead to better sleep, and mental clarity.
Cobalt, navy, aqua or sky, a blue statement piece injects personality and creativity into a room and establishes a solid foundation for a serene, relaxing oasis. So, now that you've settled on your dream blue couch, you're probably looking for something to pull the scheme together. Let us introduce you to the magical world of rugs.
Let's face it, the WFH - work-from-home - setup is here to stay, so we might as well make ourselves comfortable. Yes, that's right, it's time to free-up the kitchen table, get up from the couch and create a real home-office nook for the 'serious' stuff. Let me guess, you're short on space and haven't got the square-footage for a proper desk or designated office space? Wrong!
Born entertainer but short on square footage? Twin sleeper chairs present a resourceful alternative to help you make the most of your space; without sacrificing style. Combining two essential functions, a chair bed does exactly what it says on the tin: offer a comfortable and stylish seat and a cozy twin size bed for one lucky overnight guest.