Stepping Into Spring

Spring hasn't exactly graced us yet, so this month's style tip will help lift your space and prepare for when the sun finally shines. Imagine ocean blues, daffodil and ochre yellows along with warm greys.

Clarke & Clarke - Foxglove

Sanderson - Ranee

To freshen up your space, try a feature wall of Clarke & Clarke's Foxglove wallpaper, highlight the aqua tone with painted walls in the same hue. Keep the flooring and curtains in shades of grey to create a serene and sophisticated look. For a more traditional alternative, try a floor length set of curtains in Sanderson's Ranee fabric, the flowing pattern with cute flowers and birds will create the illusion of spring indoors. Pick out the uplifting daffodil yellow in scatter cushions and lamps, these accent pieces can be easily changed to move with the seasons. Keep your furniture and the rest of the accessories simple, choosing natural materials such as wood and wicker. Vases and mirrors with woven details will create that back to nature look. 

or...

Personalise it!

Give some metal garden chairs a makeover with white paint to create an alfresco dining feel. Scatter vases of flowers and greenery around to literally bring the outdoors in!

Experiment with:

• Contrasting walls - creating colour block walls will give this style a modern twist whilst highlighting those all important key colours.
• Texture - knitted pouffes, fresh linens and wirework will all add to the sense of spring.

Here's hoping...

Craft

This month's style tip focusses upon craft, hand painted qualities and an all round 'folky' look. Think imperfections and naive qualities, enhanced by indigo and cyan blues, mixed with soft greys.

Scion - Shibori wallpaper

Scion - Isamu fabric

The new Wabi Sabi collection from Scion is perfect for achieving a craft look in your home. For a hand dyed yet structured feel, try papering one or more of your walls in Scion's Shibori wallpaper, with its imperfections and fading lines, it will create a relaxed yet fun look in your room. If the Shibori wallpaper is too strong for your space, try full length eyelet curtains in Scion's Isamu fabric, the quirky irregular spots will add a sense of mischief and won't date easily. For a more eclectic look, layer the Wabi Sabi papers and fabrics, contrasting spots with stripes and block prints with fades, ensuring you keep to a small colour palette to avoid overcomplicating the look. Wooden flooring will keep things simple, and will add to the hand crafted feel. Try whitewashing floorboards for a Scandinavian touch. 

The Scion Wabi Sabi collection is now available from Sasha Interiors, Hereford.

or...

Personalise it!

Try mixing in vases and bowls collected from your travels to add to the folky atmosphere. Play with repurposing objects to give an informal, relaxed look - use an architect's drawers as a coffee table, or some old school lockers for shelves.

Experiment with:

• Dyeing your own fabric - you may not achieve metres of perfectly shiboried fabric, but pulling a small piece over a canvas will transform your efforts into a masterpiece - and remember, the imperfections add to the look!
• Groups of objects - try lining up three vases, or three chairs to add a sense of order to your room.

Nature Trail

This month's style tip focusses on adding a fresh touch to your home, to rid you of the winter months. Layering deep forest greens, mineraly sage and acid greens is key to this look, taking inspiration from woodland walks and nature.

Clarke & Clarke - 'Astrid'

Clarke & Clarke - 'Wild Fern'

Sasha Interiors now supply Clarke & Clarke fabrics and wallpapers, offering you a greater choice of styles to inspire. So why not try adding a welcoming touch to your hallway with Clarke & Clarke's Wild Fern wallpaper? The uplifting citrus green is sure to put a smile on your face as you return home. Or for a more subtle and calming effect, try a simple blind and coordinating cushions in your living room, with Clarke & Clarke's 'Astrid' fabric. The soothing mineral green would be offset perfectly by a dark forest green feature wall, keeping you on trend with this year's big colour! Keep the other items in the room in stripped back wood to really get the nature trail effect. (All of the above products are now available from Sasha Interiors, Hereford.)

or...

Personalise it!

Create your own masterpiece by painting leaves collected from the garden and pressing them onto paper, leaving an impression of the beautiful veins, resulting in a sophisticated print for you to frame.

Experiment with:

• Textures - coarse weaves, peeling paint and wood grains will all add to the organic look.
• Oriental accessories - vases, paintings or ornaments with a hint towards the orient will add a great twist to this look, complimenting the key colours perfectly.

Midnight Decadence

Indigo blues, shades of onyx, aubergine and plum are offset by mink and truffle tinted neutrals in this month's style tip. Keep things simple with minimal geometric patterns, emphasising texture and colour.

Harlequin - Arc

Blendworth - Astrakhan

Add texture and depth to a window with Harlequin's Arc sheer fabric. The rich onyx and chalk colourway would be offset perfectly by a raw linen blind. For a less dramatic look, try adding throws or scatter cushions in Blendworth's Astrakhan velvet. Add wicker baskets to ground the look. To make the most of this tip, paint at least one wall in a rich indigo blue or a deep aubergine. Make sure the room is well lit, adding touches of metallic and glass to create a soft contrast.

or...

Personalise it!

Create a wall of your favourite photographs, paintings and tickets, housing them in frames. Create a uniform look out of mismatch second hand frames by painting them all in a pearlescent neutral.

Experiment with:

• Spray paint - create coordinating items out of cheap vases and pots by spray painting in onyx black or a metallic tint.
• Pendant lights to add height to this full impact scheme.

An Orderly Fashion

The chaos of Christmas may leave you longing for a sense of order in your home. This month's style tip introduces Orla Kiely's new range of wallpapers released through Harlequin. Choose warm earthy neutral and brown tones along with cool duck egg blues to create a calm atmosphere enhanced by the clean, simple motifs.

Orla Kiely - 'Classic Stem'

Orla Kiely - 'Scribble'

Try Orla Kiely's 'Classic Stem' print on a feature wall or hang in alcoves to create a structured style. Combine with 'Scribble' to add texture in keeping with the linear feel. Add slimline furniture and simple rugs to avoid adding any chaos into the mix. Highlight your accent colour with a set of three vases or bowls in a row. Keep floorboards in dark wood to echo the retro feel of Orla Kiely's prints. (All of the above wallpapers are available from Sasha Interiors, Hereford.)

or...

Personalise it!

Create an inspiration or to-do wall with rows of retro school clipboards placed in an orderly fashion and clip photos, lists or magazine cuttings to them.

Experiment with:

• Storage - create your own personalised storage by stacking various wine boxes or crates on top of each other.
• Floor lamps - giving the illusion of higher ceilings, floor lamps will open up the space, emphasising the sense of calm.

Back To Basics

This month's style tip is all about creating a simple, stripped back look, creating features of surface textures and imperfections. Focus on a palette of earthy tones, charcoal greys and petrol blues.

Harlequin 'Pop' lampshade in white

Harlequin 'Enigma' rug in charcoal

Accessories are the key to this look, so pick these first and base the rest of the decor around them. Try adding Harlequin's 'Pop' lampshade in white to a rustic table for an element of sleek sophistication. Add an accent and some comfort to the room with Harlequin's 'Enigma' rug in charcoal. To really make the most of this style tip, mis-match well loved furniture and add recycled pieces to create contrasts of texture. Keep pattern to a minimum, but where possible use block printed geometrics. Earthy ceramics can really set off this look - make a feature of stacked sets of bowls and plates. The above products are new to Sasha Interiors, pop into 12 Bridge street to take a look.

or...

Personalise it!

Try the current trend of up-cycling and produce your own rustic furniture by creating a matt finish with sandpaper or a paint stain effect.

Experiment with:

• Metal - smooth metal framed furniture or accessories such as candlesticks will create a striking contrast to the rough surface of handmade ceramics and up-cycled chairs.
• Baskets - their woven structure fits perfectly into the back to basics style, a hand-me-down or second hand set will be easy to find and add a personal touch.

Go With the Flow

This month's style tip focusses on soft ombre stripes, impressionist brushstrokes and painterly effects. Think soft metallics with splashes of lime green and turquoise - fun luxury!

Zoffany, Town and Country, 'Folio Linen'

Harlequin, Impasto, 'Giverny'

To add a dreamy serene feel to your bedroom, go with the current trend of papering all of your walls, in Zoffany's new 'Folio Linen' from the Town and Country wallpapers collection, coming to Sasha Interiors Monday! With its subtle metallic sheen and pop of colour, you'll stay up to date without being over the top. For a bolder interpretation of this month's style tip, have a sofa covered in Harlequin's 'Giverny' from the new Impasto range. The expressive brushstrokes will give a handmade homely feel without going down the vintage route. Try pairing your wallpaper or fabric with washed wood effect furniture to create a contrast in textures. To really make the most of this style tip, mix and match subtle patterns in different tones of the same colour, creating a flow of textures and palettes. (All of the above fabric and furniture is available from Sasha Interiors, Hereford.)

or...

Personalise it!

Create your own shelves or coffee table from wine crates, or add pieces of drift wood for a soft natural touch.

Experiment with:

• Trims! Multi-coloured pom poms or beaded trims will add a fun arts and crafts feel
• Picture frames - create your own paint effects in coordinating colours, stipple, wash, sponge and rag roll your way to a unique feature!