Do make sure the furniture will fit
Not only do you need to make sure it will fit the room properly, but also that you can get it into the room. We have had to hire a cherry picker in the past to get sofas into upper floors of townhouses with narrow staircases.
Don’t ignore the ceiling
Gone are the days where ceilings are painted white as standard without considering other options. Painting the ceiling can massively change the feeling of the space. If you paint the ceiling the same colour as the walls, it tends to make the room feel taller. Because of how the light falls on the ceiling differently to the walls, even if the same colour is used for both it will likely look like a different tone on the ceiling. You can also have a lot of fun with the ceiling, choosing a different colour altogether, adding decorative paint work, or indeed wallpaper.
Do make sure that you think of the colour scheme for the whole house cohesively
For example, make sure that the colour chosen for any communal spaces (hallway, stairs and so on) look good with the rooms leading off them.
Don’t feel you have to make all decisions together
I love building schemes up for a more layered natural look: hard finishes first (flooring, tiling, stone, fitted lighting), then paint schemes, then fabrics for main items (curtains, sofas), finally smaller more decorative items (cushions, lamps and shades).
Do be brave with colour!
I recently said to a colleague that I think of ‘Arsenic’ by Farrow & Ball as a neutral… clearly I wasn’t being completely serious, but often clients are nervous when we first suggest more colourful walls, and then are so glad that they’ve embraced the colour once the project is complete.
Do spend adequate time planning before starting works
We often have potential clients contacting us once the builders are already on site once they’ve realised the sheer number of decisions they need to make. It’s much more time and cost effective to spend adequate time getting everything lined up before the builders start: working out how each room will work and where furniture will sit so as to be able to work out your lighting and electrical plans, deciding on all hard finishes and sanitaryware so you can order it (lead times can be very long and you don’t want to hold up the build by not having the flooring on site when it’s needed).
Do put in a 5amp circuit
I love having the ability to light a space with just low level lamplight, and there’s nothing more annoying than having to turn each lamp on individually. If you are doing a rewire, it’s a no-brainer to put in a 5amp circuit to allow you to switch on all lamps from the wall. Similarly, I love being able to dim lighting, and would recommend dimmer switches in most rooms.
Don’t get too swayed by trends
Choose things you really love that will stand the test of time rather than being drawn to things because they’re what everyone else is wanting.
Do think about the practicalities of your life
If you have pets or small children you need to choose finishes and fabrics that will withstand heavier use.
