Favourite rooms in January

I come across so many rooms that I absolutely love, so I thought that each month I would share some of these with you and let you know why I think they work so well.

 

What I love about this bedroom

• The different wall treatments make this bedroom interesting, without being overwhelming.  I really like the plaid wallpaper with the soft olive green and the off white panelling.
• The simple metal bedhead is great as a contrast without detracting from the space.
• The eye doesn't need to adjust to see green and it is therefore a lovely calming colour for a bedroom.  Often overlooked in favour of blue, this would be my first choice for a bedroom colour.
• The pillows are nice and simple with lots of texture without being too formal.  This room would make a fabulous guest bedroom.

Related: 5 tips to create a calm bedroom environment

What I love about this hallway nook

• Hallways can be a little bland.  Often narrow and with long unadorned walls, they can be difficult to style and make welcoming.
• This hallway nook is a great idea to introduce some difference to the space.  If you can add panelling to all the walls, then this is a great solution, but often this can get expensive or is just not the right solution for the space.  If the design of your space permits, then consider creating a seating nook like this.
• The panelling offers some colour and texture and a great place to add some casual styling.
• A simple seat is perfect for a hallway, particularly if you like your guests to remove their shoes.

Related:  7 tips for the perfect welcoming hallway

What I love about this powder room

• I am really drawn to this space because of the simple natural wallpaper.  The soft, grey blue tones are very calming and create a lovely tonal contrast to the fresh white.  This would still be a lovely room with white walls, but I think the introduction of colour and texture takes it to a new level.
• The simple Roman blind on the windows with a textural weave, works well too.
• With a lovely vanity and simple V groove panelling, this is a really nice powder room.

Related: Tonal contrasts in interiors

What I love about this living room

• I find dark colours very calming and enveloping.  This isn't the right look for all homes, but if you do have a large classic style home, then it might be worth considering setting aside a room to decorate in this style.
• The dark panelled walls are not overwhelming as they are teamed with natural timber.  Note the backing and shelving in the bookcase is timber too.  The remaining walls and bulkhead are in a lovely stone neutral, with a lighter colour again for the ceiling, so the look is not oppressive.
• The stunning feature window also helps with the flooding of natural light into the room.
• The colour scheme is picked up with the sofas and soft furnishings.  The sofas look inviting and comfortable too.
• I love the oversized coffee table.  There's nothing worse than a lonely coffee table with lots of space around it so that guests have to really stretch to get their drink.  Be careful with your space planning though, as you must leave enough room for legs!
• I have to say, there is nothing that I dislike about this room – it is all stunning.

Related: 7 tips to style a living room

What I love about this laundry

• The retractable ironing board is great.  How useful would this be?  Who else hates getting the ironing board out of the cupboard when everything else stored there falls onto you?  I think this is a very nice design element.
• The natural finishes here are great.  Large format natural stone floors with timber cabinetry brings warmth to the space.  So many laundries are very clinical, which of course makes sense for a room where you want to get everything clean, but I do love the warmth here and it is still a lovely, bright room.
• Every good laundry should have a hanging rail and I love the large double sink.  This is very practical.
• Good airflow is absolutely paramount for a laundry room so the large louvre window is perfect.
• Overall, I just think that this is an extremely practical and welcoming laundry (if there can be such a thing!)

Related: 10 things to include in a laundry

What I love about this kitchen

• The combination of marble and timber is what has drawn me to this kitchen.  The marble is stunning while the natural timber brings warmth to the scheme.  Natural styling and warm metals add to this gorgeous natural palette.
• The simple range hood with shelving looks fabulous.
• One of the design elements that I like the best is the rounded edges on the island bench.  This is more like the finishing you would have on a table and is reminiscent of a farmhouse look with a central dining table in the space.
• I know that natural marble can be difficult to maintain, but it does look oh so good.
• One element that worries me about the design though is the gas cooktop.  I don't recommend gas with a stone splashback as the heat can crack the stone and also you must have a minimum of 700mm between the gas cooktop and the rangehood.  This looks a little short to me, although it is probably just an illusion.   Don't forget to double check those safety elements when you design your kitchen.

Related: Kitchen rangehood designs

I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of my favourite rooms in January.  I'll be collating some more through this month.  I would love to hear what you think of the rooms too.

If you are putting together a decorating scheme, then you must create a mood board first.  This ensures that you can collate all of your ideas in one space.  The internet is full of lovely rooms and you can get lost down the rabbit hole of Instagram and Pinterest, so it is great to keep going back to your mood board to keep yourself on track.  I have a free e-book in my resource library which shows you how to create a mood board.  You can download for free here.

I also have a Shop the Styles section where I have curated furniture and accessories for some of the most popular styles.