Step into a new season
The promise of longer days and balmier evenings is always the perfect prompt when it comes to re-working the home. A change of season provides a natural pause point, ideal for taking a step back and assessing your home with fresh eyes. Now is the time for a declutter, for moving treasured pieces around to give them a new backdrop and for swapping deeper hues for fresh tones, heavy fabrics for lighter. It’s also a great opportunity to change up wall colours or add new hardware to joinery for an instant lift. As ever, welcoming seating, as comfortable as it is easy on the eye, is the lynchpin to a decorative scheme, a natural anchor around which everything else can orbit. Spring and summer are the perfect seasons for entertaining friends and family too, which means reassessing furniture layouts. Here are a few easy ways to add verve to decorative schemes, ready for the warmer months.
Blue sky thinking
Interiors that feel deeply individual are always the most welcoming, so when it comes to décor, now more than ever, the sky’s the limit. Channel colours and shapes that feel meaningful to you, rather than following trends, bearing in mind however that simple, contemporary lines are always timeless. To welcome the longer days, try repainting alcove joinery or a generous freestanding bookcase, curating collections of favourite pieces atop, whether books, ceramics or meaningful mementoes. Tones that are bright and uplifting work well – but choose ‘knocked back’ versions rather than their primary counterparts, such as easy corals instead of hot pinks, ochres or mustards rather than sunshine yellow.
The Ziggy sofa with its oh-so-softly curvaceous arm design (which looks especially great as a generous four-seater) matches the relaxed mood of the moment. It looks especially contemporary upholstered in a short pile textured chenille in Coral. Pair it against joinery in powder blue to evoke clear summer skies and golden hour sunsets. Play with shaping too – a sofa with simple, contemporary lines like this looks good contrasted with elegant arched shapes, such as wall-to-wall shelving with decorative finishing or a rug patterned with modern-retro graphics. To allow bold shapes to really sing in a space, remember to pare back, removing superfluous items and instead layering in fewer pieces with more generous silhouettes that the eye can rest on. Add a bar cart, or turn an alcove into a drinks station, complete with elegant crystal and cocktail spoons, and you’re summer-ready.
Channel seaside vibes
Nothing heralds the arrival of summer more than seaside-inspired blue and white. But make it modern by playing with scale and proportion in terms of fabrics and furniture size. Think extra wide cabana stripes (perfect for an occasional chair or an overscaled coffee table) juxtaposed with some fresh, unfussy florals, whether via wallpaper or cushions. Vary scale by opting for a pinstripe rug, whose thinner lines create more of a graphic and grounding focal point. This is a good time of year to play with furniture configuration too. Try repositioning sofas to take advantage of garden views, opening out your scheme to the natural world. Another playful option is to upholster a folding screen in a favourite botanical or wave fabric. As well as acting as a fresh new canvas to a scheme (and hiding anything unsightly), it also introduces movement and depth. Try placing a sofa in front of it, creating an instant focal point. For a serene look, the Georgio in Oyster chenille provides a softening counterpoint to plenty of pattern, while a Steel Blue colourway plays into the soft blues and off-whites trend. This is a sofa that is available as a corner or U-shape, ideal for maximum flexibility.
Welcome the sunshine
It’s the time of year when many of us travel, but if an escape looks unlikely, or if you’re wishing you could channel those holiday vibes just a little bit longer, try recreating that relaxed holiday feel at home. Cube shapes, sherbet tones and some confident all-over colour will evoke a covetable American East Coast look – fresh, modern and just a little bit mid-century cool. Try a dusky pink or a deep sage-painted wall, going just a tone lighter for ceilings and architraves, using an opposing block colour for soft furnishings. Introduce boxy, streamlined furniture shapes, such as The Horizon sofa, upholstered in a pastel-like textured chenille in Seafoam, or add the Horizon footstool in a Miami-inspired Blush. Balance boxy shapes with overscaled curves such as round pedestal side tables, large format artwork and plenty of lush, tropical-style foliage.
Add a little glamour by changing up hardware – for example, swap door pulls or handles on consoles with a hint of gold or antiqued gold (warmer metals work better with pastels) and complete the look with a selection of coffee table tomes – preferably those that explore heady, far-flung destinations, in eye-catching, saturated colours.
Inspired by what you see? Browse the full range of spring arrivals here.