Thinking about giving your interiors a refresh this year but find your efforts at show-home chic end up looking anything but Instagrammable? With everything costing the earth these days and our homes doing double duty as offices and places to live, it’s much more important to get it right first time round when you’re transforming a room. So, before you even think about slapping some new paint on the walls, you’ll want to brush up on some pro interiors tips and tricks to ensure your home ends up looking glossy mag-worthy rather than a clashing mishmash of ideas.

We’ve done the hard work for you and picked the brains of interiors expert Francesca from Sterling House Designs, an interior design and building company based on the Cambs/ Norfolk border, to find out what trends we should be embracing in 2023, where to start when changing up a room and the fail-safe design tricks she uses in her dreamy designs.

Over to you, Francesca…

What are the biggest interior trends for 2023? 

Nature-inspired spaces are very much here to stay – the use of botanical prints, natural wood, rattan and greenery are still going to be very big for 2023. It’s no surprise, because bringing nature and outdoors elements into our homes is great for our well-being. After the last few difficult years, there’s a focus on interiors that bring happiness, vibrancy and colour back into our lives. The rise of loud patterns such as those of Emma J. Shipley or Graham & Brown, for instance, in textiles, wall coverings and accessories continues to grow. We are seeing people move away from the minimalist look and wanting more colour and energy in their homes. 2023 will be big for dark and moody décor, think forest greens, plums, rich garnet shades. It’s about dramatic spaces and adding your personality into your home. Of course, neutrals will always play a part – not everyone loves bold colour, particularly in certain rooms where you like to relax. We are seeing a rise in mixing neutrals though, and lifting the palette with lots of texture, brass accents or even black fittings to contrast.

How can you make a big impact on a tight budget?

It doesn’t need to cost a fortune to re-vamp a room. You can simply change up the colour of the cushions on the sofa, add a couple of coloured or metallic accessories and it changes the entire feel of the space. We are finding lots of our clients like to alter their décor to suit the season, just by tweaking a few accessories to give a different feel to the space. This time of year, adding a chunky fur throw, a few fur cushions and plenty of candles gives that lovely warm, comforting feel we seek when coming through the door on a cold night. The addition of an accent wall is a great way to define a space and update it. A pop of colour, a statement wallpaper or MDF wall panelling is an inexpensive way to transform a room. 

What colours are in at the moment? 

Warm colours such as moody terracottas, rusty reds and spicy oranges are big for 2023. Nature-inspired, organic colours are also really popular such as muted greens, forest greens and earthy latte colours.

What are the biggest mistakes you see people making with their interiors?

I often get asked to help a client when they have bought something on impulse because they liked it in a store, then later wondered how to make it work or realised it doesn’t actually fit in the space required. I would always say take your time with large purchases, they are an investment. It’s so important to be prepared – take measurements with you when you look around the furniture shop and collect paint samples in advance. I never submit a scheme without testing paint samples first as they can appear so different in a space than on the test card.

Another mistake that can really make or break a space is lighting. A lot of people don’t use lighting correctly and it makes such a difference. Task lighting is key to the function of a space, whether that’s spotlights in a kitchen or a pendant in a bedroom. But it’s easy to assume that’s all you need when in actual fact you need various lighting in a room. Installing pendant lights over a dining table illuminates the space for entertaining and using a floor lamp over the armchair in the lounge enables you to read in an evening with the ceiling lights off. Decorative lighting is great for creating a feature, such as on media walls, inbuilt shelving or even around the bath. Lighting changes the mood of a space, so think about how you want the room to feel, whether that’s warm and cosy or bright and vibrant.

Any top tips for parents of young children looking for space saving ideas and ways to style the clutter?!

There are many ways you can conceal clutter. Bespoke cabinetry is a stylish way to conceal unsightly toys, using hidden LED lighting to emphasise the display element and detailed doors to hide and organise the toys. If space is an issue you can be clever with your furniture – a sofa with hidden chaise storage, a dining bench that cleverly opens up or a wooden chest that doubles up as a coffee table. There are some great hacks online using cube units and constructing stylish multi-units to hide away the clutter. It’s just about thinking outside the box a little and making the most of every inch of space available. 

What are your go-to design tricks that you include in most projects?

Most designers will have a favourite base paint colour. One of my go-to paint colours is Dulux Egyptian Cotton – it’s a super warm, greige colour that works with so many other colours and schemes. Over the years I have used it time and time again as a lovely base on several different projects. I always try to include prints and artwork where I can too, they bring personality to a space affordably and there’s so much variety out there. Desenio is a favourite site of mine for prints.

What are your favourite shops for buying interiors?

There are so many but my top 3 would be:

Neptune – great for natural, good quality furniture and accessories (plus there are beautiful stores in Harston and Bury St Edmunds).

Home Sense – I love the variety of on-trend homewares.

Barker & Stonehouse – for gorgeous detailed furniture.

When it comes to completely revamping a room where should you start? 

Start by thinking about how you would like to use the space on a day-to-day basis. The layout of a room is going to guide how you decorate and style it. For example, in a lounge think about where you want to place furniture in relation to the fireplace, the windows, the TV etc? In a kitchen, make sure that you have enough storage and think where the dining table could go.

Once you have determined the most practical layout for your room, the next step should be to pick your colour scheme. This will help you narrow down your choices and everything will begin to flow. There are some fab free resources out there for inspiration, such as Pinterest and Instagram. Once you start saving images of your favourite ideas or designs you will see a pattern and you’ll know which route to go down.

Top tip! Don’t forget our homes are an extension of our personalities and should reflect the people that live in them. 

Need help creating a room you love? Get more of Francesca’s design expertise at Sterling House Designs, a family run business operating across Cambs, Suffolk and Norfolk offering interior design solutions for every budget as well as larger building projects.