As we move into the new season, we’re all about making small, transitional changes to our interiors while introducing seasonal shades, new accents of design and textured fabrics to create interest and charm. We’ve gathered some quick and easy tips from our instructors to help you switch up your interiors this autumn.
Lamps and lampshades
Another simple way in which to transform a space is by swapping in and out various lamps and lampshades depending on the time of year and adapting your lighting to suit the season. The bright corner that once served as a sunny window seat can now become a warm, inviting nook for curling up with a book as the evenings draw in.
As Rita Konig suggests, when designing or choosing lampshades, the priority is to make sure to go with a base that complements it rather than a specific room. This allows you to move pieces between spaces, and even houses, as your needs and the seasons change.
It also means you have something truly unique, rather than something people will recognise from elsewhere. Rita suggests using pieces of vintage fabric for covering lampshades - it’s a really good way to incorporate these beautiful textiles into a scheme.
“Lighting in general can have a huge impact on a room, but I particularly love lamps and lampshades for their ability to introduce additional pattern, colour and warmth.
Learn from Rita’s process of buying antique lamp bases as well as how she goes about pairing them with different lampshades in her second course ‘The Advanced Guide to Interior Design’.
Are your rooms in the right place?
While textiles are one of the simplest ways to breathe new life and change into your home - your rooms don’t need to be in the same places they were when you bought your home. Is it necessary, for example, to include a kitchen in your new extension, or could it serve as an additional sitting room?
Kate Watson-Smyth encourages you to take the labels off your floor plan and see where spaces would best be used. Really think about the rooms and spaces that mean the most to you. Ask yourself, what is the purpose of each room? Is it to be relaxed, to focus, to be revitalised?
You could even consider a room move, swapping the function of spaces to suit the time of year. That bright window seat that soaked up the summer sun might now become a cosy reading corner tucked away from the chill, while lighter fabrics and brighter tones can migrate to where you want to welcome in the light.
Discover how to navigate all aspects of an interior design project with Kate's course 'How To Be Mad About Your House'.
Textiles, cushions and comfort: Styling your sofa
Textiles are a low-maintenance way to overhaul your interior. Try mixing up some prints or even reupholstering a chair in some colourful new fabric to give your most loved and lived in spaces the seasonal refresh they deserve.
A well-styled sofa also instantly adds a layer of cosiness. Discover how to style your sofa and add the finishing touches to your living room with interiors stylist, Gabby's Deeming's help. Cushions are where practical and decorative can really meet. You want a mix of sizes, shapes, and patterns so that you can change up the feel of a room immediately with minimal effort. Cushions can serve both a practical need and balance all the decorating ideas. It's important to work out the size of a cushion you want to use.
Cushions are easy to dismiss as silly, but they make a room warm and inviting. You can really have fun with cushions using small amounts of fabric that you love - or even just pieces of fabric you don't use at all - to bring life into your room.
As your mood changes though the seasons, from wanting to be feel fresh and light, to wanting to feel cosy, make these seasonal changes with expert advice from Gabby Deeming and her course ‘How to Style with Pattern & Colour’.
Curtains
Few updates make as much impact as a new set of curtains. Whether you’re looking to bring in warmth and texture for the cosier months or lighten your space with softer, airy fabrics for spring and summer, designing and making your own curtains offers a simple yet transformative switch up to any space.
Using Gemma Moulton’s course ‘How to Make Beautiful Curtains’, you’ll learn how to navigate the entire process of curtain making from start to finish, from selecting the perfect fabric and style to suit your room, to mastering the techniques behind measuring, cutting, and sewing. Through step-by-step demonstrations, you’ll gain the confidence to create bespoke curtains that reflect your home’s character and the season’s mood to give you that seasonal switch up your room is craving!
“By making things yourself, by stitching it at home, using your own hands, it might take you a little bit more time - but seeing that thing every day brings you a sense of pride.
