The Advanced Guide to Interior Design

Rita talks you through her home in London before any work is done, explaining the benefits of knowing somewhere really well before renovating, and unpacking her three fundamental priorities for any home.

Join Rita in her studio as she takes you through some initial plans, and encourages you to ask yourself the key question when beginning any renovation process - how do you want to live?

Getting the floorplan right is essential in any project. In this lesson Rita explains what additional considerations she factors into the planning process.

Perhaps one of the most important lessons if you are facing a renovation, Rita shares with you the exact step-by-step process that she follows for every project.

There is no escaping the fact that the budget is an enormous part of any project. It’s essential to gain as much understanding as you can of where the budget is being allocated, and stay on top of it throughout. Rita shows how she does just that.

Once you have gone through the budgeting stage, and have established exactly what work is being done for what cost, you will now be looking at your final plan. Rita advises on what to do next to ensure you are getting what you set out to achieve.

This was one of Rita’s main focuses of the entire project and a key reason for the renovation. She explains every detail that went into her design.

With so many spinning plates, it can be difficult to keep a project on track. In this lesson, Rita will show you the methods and tools she uses to run her projects as smoothly as possible. Download the actual documents for Oxford Gardens, containing all fabrics, paint colours and most of the other items, from links in the workbook.

Architects and interior designers have very different roles, but there can also sometimes be crossover. Find out how to develop a fruitful working relationship.

From choosing flooring, to communicating these choices to contractors and builders, Rita explains how to approach this aspect of a project.

Join Rita as she shows you exactly how she began to select fabrics for her new living room and hall.

A key skill when building a decorating scheme is the ability to combine different patterns, which can definitely be challenging. Rita discloses the rules she tends to follow and shares some suggestions for incorporating more fabric into your scheme.

Next up, Rita is tackling the kitchen decorating scheme. She uses existing curtains she already has as the starting point.

After years of planning and months of work, you are joining Rita on a site visit to Oxford Gardens as the construction phase is nearing completion.

Arguably the most exciting stage of a renovation, Rita invites you to join her on installation week and offers her invaluable tips for how to approach your own install.

Rita gives words of reassurance, as not everything always turns out as you had intended.

Rita welcomes you back to Oxford Gardens, where the work is now finally complete. Discover exactly how the plans came to life, and find out how to avoid the pitfalls that come with any renovation. First up, you are joining her in the new kitchen dining room; the creation of which was a huge driving force behind the entire project.

Rita continues to take you through the kitchen, unpacking exactly how she achieved what a room that functions perfectly.

Discover how a room that undergoes minimal structural changes can still be completely transformed with a fresh decorating scheme.

This is a completely new space that was created when Rita bought the neighbouring flats, and has been utilised by installing the staircase here.

The renovation enabled Rita to gain a downstairs bathroom - something she was extremely excited by! As it’s a small room, it can be a really fun place to go a bit wild with decorating.

By extending into the side return of the property, Rita found room for a study. It was a completely new room, so in this lesson, she discusses how she approached the decorating scheme when starting from scratch.

Next is Rita’s new primary bedroom, which took shape after the building work connected the newly acquired upstairs flat to her existing floor plan.

The challenge with this room was its small size, but Rita used a few tricks to maximise the limited footprint.

Rita muses on the challenges of finessing a new layout, and sticking to your guns when it comes to enacting carefully thought through plans.

Children’s rooms can be really fun spaces to design, and Rita reflects on how wonderful it was to tie in some of her own plans with her daughter’s ideas.

An inevitable part of any renovation project is understanding what could have been done differently. Rita reflects on some of the lessons learnt from Oxford Gardens, and explains how those lessons can help you.

For this part of the course, Rita covers a couple of essential topics from her London studio. In this lesson, she shows you all the different directions you can go in with the same fabric as a jumping off point.

A key part of all the rooms Rita designs, she discusses her process for buying antique lamp bases as well as how she goes about pairing them with different lampshades.

Rita welcomes you to the second case study of the course, a project that has been close to her heart for a number of years. She explains how she works with clients and architects, and how to ensure that everyone involved in a project is aiming in the same direction.

Using one of the house’s sitting rooms as an example, Rita begins by talking you through how to approach the very first stage of any room design - establishing the layout.

Determining how you want to feel in a space is important, and Rita discusses how this room needed to feel like a cosy retreat. Find out how she uses colour and pattern to achieve the right mood within this room.

After establishing the layout and creating your decorating scheme, it’s crucial to consider the practical side of how a room might be used - learn what you can do to make it feel complete and ready to be lived in.

Typically kitchen’s tend to be rooms filled with hard surfaces and cold materials; Rita’s job in this project was to soften the room and make it feel more comfortable.

As a highly practical space, there is a lot to consider when designing and decorating a kitchen. In this lesson, Rita will take you through some of the key decisions that were made in order for it to work and function really well.

Find out which four elements Rita always incorporates into her kitchen designs to introduce warmth and character.

For this lesson, you will be joining Rita in the summer sitting room - a space where it was more a case of tweaking and refining, than completely redesigning. Discover how Rita approaches a project where you are only making minor adjustments.

With the layout largely unchanged, Rita explains how she transforms the room with more considered and elevated pieces.

There are many different elements that make a room comfortable and evocative to be in. During this lesson, Rita will take you through the various ways she creates comfort within rooms.

Learn about a technique that Rita uses in all of her projects to make a room feel bigger and more substantial.

In every project, there is usually a room that proves to be tricky - be it due to the size, awkward architectural features or difficult proportions. In this lesson Rita shares how she tackled The Garrison House’s small bathroom.

You shouldn’t be put off getting your ideas for a room down onto paper - even if you don’t feel you’re the best at drawing. Rita encourages you to give it a go, and offers her top tips.

It can be easy to neglect the decoration of a hallway or entrance as they are largely transitional spaces, but paying them some attention creates a warm welcome.

At Garrison House, the primary bedroom incorporates some unusual architecture which Rita uses to her advantage.

Leaving Garrison behind, you will now join Rita in Hudson, New York - a well known haunt for interior designers thanks to its plethora of antique shops and galleries.

Taking a short walk down the street, the next destination is the shop and studio of artist Paula Greif, where Rita discusses her approach to buying art for clients.

The finishing touches in a project can be just as important as the bigger decorating decisions - watch as Rita shows you how she shops for the pieces that make a house a home.

One way to give a kitchen personality is to be mindful with how you fill it; Rita takes great pleasure in finding useful objects that are also beautiful and decorative.

This course has been 2 years in the making, and Rita thanks you for joining her on two projects that have been very close to her heart.