Find the answers to all of your decorating dilemas and stay up-to-date with the latest Interior trends.

PART 3) SIMPLE UPDATES

If you are selling or renting your home then try and make sure it looks up to date with the latest decor.  You don’t have to go crazy and re-decorate your whole home as little touches here and there will do the trick.  I know you have heard it a million times but it is best to keep the look simple.  Stick to neutral colours for the walls and just add interest with your accessories.

The stylish paint colours and accessories above are from B&Q and are very affordable.

Accessories: You can update the look of your home with fairly inexpensive accessories.  Hide away all of the clutter and then add simple key touches.  A bookshelf or coffee table could be transformed with a simple table runner and a few ornaments.  The pretty accessories below are from Wilkinson and start from just £6.  (more…)

KITSCH

Bright, fun, decorative and comical; these are the words I’d use to describe Kitsch.  Not for the faint hearted, this is a look that will brighten up any room in the home.  If you want to create this style but you’re a little scared to commit to a large room then why not have some fun and go for a Kitsch toilet?  It will be a good talking point when friends come over!

Kitsch Trends 2009/2010, Pippa Jameson Interiors

COLOUR BLOCKING

This is going to be a big trend for Spring/Summer 2009.  Coming straight from the catwalks of Vogue, you can expect to see this filtering through to the Homes and Interiors with bold blocks of colour on cushions, rugs, wallpaper and fabrics.

(more…)

The New Year often means a good old clear out!  A time to go through all of your possessions to see if you are hording a mountain of junk!  The golden rule is; if you haven’t used something for 6 months then get rid of it.  A lot of us (including me) tend to stash things away thinking that we’ll need them one day but trust me, you never do!

Picture credit: Daily Mail / Splash

Remember to recycle There are many large recycling centers, just look on your local boroughs website or try yell.com to find your nearest one.  They take absolutely everything including the kitchen sink!  Have a look on The Recycle Centre to find your nearest one.

Charity shops: Another idea is to do a run to the local charity shop.  It’s very satisfying knowing that your old treasured possessions are going to another home rather than being thrown in the bin.  Have a look on the Association of Charity shops website for your nearest.

Have unwanted furniture collected: If you have large furniture items that you want to get rid of then have a look at some local charities and shelters.  They will often collect and pass the furniture on to homeless shelters.  There is sometimes a small collection fee of between £5-£10 but well worth it if it’s going to help the homeless and people in need.  A few companies that collect are: Emmaus, Urban Waste, Reuze, Big Green Switch & The Furniture Exchange

Jumble sale or car boot sale: If you want to get rid of some items that are worth a bit of money then why not have a jumble sale?  The only down side is that you have to get up early but you’ll walk away with a nice profit!

Ebay: Don’t you just love eBay.  If you have the patience then you can pretty much buy and sell anything!  This is good if you have lots of items to get rid of. If you haven’t got the time to list each item separately then just put them on as a group purchase.  All you need to do is take a group picture of the items as well as listing each piece in the description.   Alternatively get someone to eBay them for you.  Just type in ‘eBay seller’ into Google and you will be able to find someone in your area.  They will ask for a small commission but it’s worth it if you don’t have the time to sell the items yourself.

Retro glassware & wallpaper

The retro look is having another revival.  Cool brown and orange tones combined with sharp splashes of citrus colour.

The trend started its come back on the catwalk and, like so many other looks, has now filtered down into the interiors world.  I do like the look but in moderation.  I think the key is to add ‘touches’ and mix it cleverly with modern simple pieces for an ‘up to date’ take on Retro.

There are some good and some bad retro accessories to be found!  Retropolitan is good source of accessories.  An affordable company that has some very stylish and bespoke pieces.  It also has a good online shop so that you can have items delivered directly to your door.  The glassware in the above picture is all from Retropolitan.

Retro furniture

If you are looking for a retro look in the kitchen then try Cola Red.com for some stylish 50’s American diner furniture.

Q: I have beach units in my kitchen and I’m not sure what colour to paint the walls? Can you suggest a shade that would compliment the wooded units?