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Yorkshire Post - 5th March 2008 - Life & Style Section: Homes

Interiors

Interior designer, Jamie Hempsall, shows how to bring light and colour to your home without breaking the bank.

Whether you are in a style rut or have inherited some hideous décor from a previous owner you can get a fresh look for any area of your home without spending a fortune by employing a few simple tricks.

First try life laundry and de-clutter the room you are looking at. Be ruthless! This will give you a better blank canvas and more space to work with: it may even provide items to sell on e-bay to help pay for your make over!

The mistake many people make when dealing with a naturally dark room is to paint it a light colour. This NEVER has the desired effect as light must work with the colours you apply, a light colour will just look washed out. You need to make a dark room feel warm, comfortable and cosy rather than light.

Choose your colour palette carefully, avoid primary colours (such as red) if you want a room you can occupy for over five minutes. Spend time with paint charts and swatches of fabric deciding what colours feel comfortable and which compliment pieces you want to keep.

Do not be tempted to introduce too much colour. Stick to your accent colour and look at ways to work with it by choosing shades with the same tonal quality or introducing different textures or finishes.

There are a number of affordable ways to introduce colour into a room. First and foremost paint! It can cover a number sins and always gives a fresh feel, but do not rush the job if you need help to do the difficult bits get a friend in with a steady hand. Purchase the best paint you can afford, you will end up using less as more expensive paints tend to give a better finish with fewer coats.

Painted furniture is also really hot at the moment. Look out for second hand bargains, but ensure that you prepare them well (sanding and filling) before you paint. Multi-coloured stripes and harlequin checks are “of the moment”, so mark out with masking tape to avoid wobbly lines. The finish must be perfect though with high gloss being truly fashionable. Take your time and build up final coats of paint and varnish slowly to ensure a professional look.

Cushions and soft furnishings also brighten up a bedroom or sitting room allowing you to change the look and feel of an existing bed or sofa without replacing an expensive piece of furniture. Most stores have bargain cushions which used in pairs or individually look terrific.

Introduce your accent palette to your floor by purchasing one or two small rugs. Again, there are plenty of High St bargains out there that can give you a designer look at budget money. Match these in to the cushions on your furniture for a co-ordinated ambience.

Introduce extra colour subtly by choosing wall art that includes some of your key colours. You do not have to opt for prints to keep things on a budget. Investigate your End of Year Student show at your local Art College: you can often pick up stylish originals for a reasonable price – you may even end up owning something by the next great British artist.

Finally, use large mirrors to introduce light and the effect of a larger space use your local glass merchant to make up interesting designs. The best place to hang a mirror is on the wall opposite a source of external light to allow it to reflect back into your room. Alternatively, place the mirror on the wall immediately opposite the door where you enter for the optical illusion of extra depth.

Jamie Hempsall, BIDA Associate, is one of the region’s leading Interior Designers. Visit him at www.jamiehempsall.com or call 01777 248463