inspiration gallery: decor updates

COOL AND QUICK REFRESHES TO BRING COLOUR, PATTERN AND STYLE HOME

- HUGH METCALF

All the trimmings

Sometimes, a small element of a design can set the tone for redecorating an entire space, and it's this trimmed voile that shoulders a lively re-imagining of this garden room by design studio Arent & Pyke. 'Pattern and repetition are balanced by block color in a feast of materiality,' say designers Juliette Arent and Sarah-Jane Pyke. 'The window treatment features a bespoke leading edge trim, giving weight and whimsy to the curtain.'

GET THE LOOK Bishop stool in Red by India Mahdavi

Top to toe

There's a buzz around the idea of 'color drenching' at the moment - that is, painting everything in a room the same, from ceiling to woodwork and walls. Whether you do this in a simple neutral or a bold hue, the effect is the same, making a room feel bigger by reducing visual clutter and adding a contemporary feel by breaking the shackles of the 'painted walls, white ceiling' decorating rut of the last few decades.

GET THE LOOK Walls, ceiling and woodwork in Old Ochre from Pure & Original

PHOTOGRAPHS (ALL THE TRIMMINGS) ANSON SMART STYLING STEVE CORDONY: (TOP TO TOE) MARGARET DE LANGE

A new classic

Where trending paint effects have previously come and gone by means of maximalist spaces (lest we forget the rag-rolling phenomenon of the early 2000s), limewash paints have been more widely adopted by minimalists - a way to add texture to walls and play with negative space more purposefully without a room feeling blank. They offer a richness and depth of colour that's beyond the means of a standard emulsion and, once you've got the hang of it, they're still relatively easy to apply.