Choose An Interior Design Theme!

Having a theme is a great way to get the interior design look you want, whether it's whimsical, sexy or just different here's a few tips to the latest interior design ideas which are making it 'big' this year.

A Touch Of The Orient - Give dining rooms a sophisticated update with lacquered accessories and oriental inspired furniture. Dark polished woods give way to glossy red tableware and gold accents. To stop everything looking to heavy you should go for white walls, flooring and light voile curtain fabric at the window for maximum light.

Alice In Wonderland - Thanks to the Tim Burton remake of this classic family movie, a very playful and fantasy filled dining room has been making a huge scene on the design front. Yes - think of the Mad Hatter's tea party and you're on to the right path! Surreal shapes or oversized furniture are at the forefront of this theme - you could always go for a subtler approach with a marvellous cake-stand on the dining table, ornate teapots, candle-holders and mixed up cushions on dining chairs.

Flaunt Those Curves - The latest kitchen designs have proved that kitchens are becoming smoother and less 'square'! Great news for the clumsy amongst us who consistently bump into sharp edges when tackling a Sunday roast! Rounded edges could be brought in with a new round sink, curved faucets or a curved island unit for the ultimate in contemporary styling, use hot pink curtains to compliment the look.

Animal Motifs: From the catwalk into interiors, the animal motif inclusive of all furry, feathered and scaled friends is all over the place! I love it though, as it has a fun element to perk up our interiors. Retro style prints are our favourite and they tie in well with our love of folk-themed interiors this year. There is another side to the animal motif too with bright coloured prints adorning everything from upholstered chairs to funky tableware.

Image: Belle Maison

Beautiful Black Dining Rooms Designs

If you keep your dining space for special occasions - a colour scheme of black, red and white is very festive and special. Use a panel of black and white wallpaper on a feature wall. Wallpaper is right on trend and there are some great floral and patterned wallpapers that use black as a main colour. A sheer finish adds further glamour and sparkle to the party room. Red can come with accents such as neat ready made roller blinds or table décor.


It is risky to paint all four walls black in a smaller dining room, so the way around this is to just paint one wall in a gloss black - the gloss cleverly bouncing more light around the space. This can also be achieved with patterned wallpaper - dress the wall of the fireplace, behind your dining table or the outer wall if you have a beautiful window. If you want to incorporate the latest interior design trends then a blackboard wall will fit into a black dining room superbly!


Another idea for lessening black on walls is to use wainscoting with black below and cream or taupe above. Despite wainscoting being a period feature, you can get away with it if the rest of the room uses modern furniture and clean lines.

Image: Small Place Style

Children's Bedroom Interior Design Ideas

We always arrive at a problem when decorating a child's bedroom in the first place. This being that we want to inspire their creativity with lots of colour and things to play with - but at the same time we want to help them get a good night's rest with soothing colours and less clutter.

When bedrooms have multi purposes it is good to try and divide areas up. A simple divide placed between the sleeping and playing areas should do the trick - then you can tone down colours and eliminate clutter in the sleeping quarters!

Sleep time should be calm and quiet, no TVs, computers or games consoles otherwise they'll be up half the night! Try and get into a regular routine from an early age – (easier said than done sometimes!) Use colour to help create a calm environment, paler shades of blues and greens are child friendly, leave the lime green curtains or hot pink curtains until they're a bit older otherwise the intensive colours could have a detrimental affect – rather like sugary drinks they're too much when the time should be peaceful and relaxing!

Image: A Life's Design