HOME STYLING
MAKE ROOM FOR RELAXATION
While you may already know how you want your kitchen and bathroom to look, the crucial space that is the living room can be more tricky to conceptualise. Interior designer Claire Rendall of Berkeley Place provides some styling tips
L
iving rooms are where we spend a large proportion of our leisure hours, so they’re important. They are the
centre of the home, and getting the basics right is one of the joys of building and specifying a property yourself. While in the planning stage, think about doors into spaces. Being mindful of load bearing walls, double doors – even if they take up most of a wall – can make a fabulous statement, and a grand entrance. They enhance the scale of any room. You might want to keep one side permanently locked, but the architectural intent is still there. They’re a brilliant way of joining one space to another without the ‘cold’ feel that open plan living
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can sometimes bring. An alternative is internal Crittall or glass doors. They’re very popular at the moment and can add a dash of industrial design into your home. This theme can be emphasised with the style of lighting and bare floorboards. As the sitting room is most often used for relaxing or entertaining, be mindful of the lighting. Have a look at large pendants – there are some stunning designs available and they add a splash of style to any space. Try to avoid too many serried rows of downlights in a sitting room – the light they cast can be flat and unflattering. If you do have them, have a look at
products with black ribbed interior baffles. The light they emit is more directional, and there’s also less glare from the side. Make them work for their money – have them illuminating pictures or sculptures. With a directional beam they can look amazing pinpointing a coffee or side table. Where possible though, bring lighting
off the ceiling with pools of light from floor standing and table lamps. A pair of table lamps in front of a mirror on a console table can throw a lot of light into a room. Lamps on console tables can also look fabulous behind a sofa, so make sure you’ve made provision for floor mounted sockets if necessary.
may/june 2022
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