We know all-white rooms can be great, but it’s time to embrace your dark side. Deep, dark color schemes can give a room weight and depth. It is embracing, it’s relaxing and surprisingly it’s not gloomy at all but instead creates a calming atmosphere perfect for bedrooms.

Think of deep plums, forest green’s, dark navy’s and charcoal grey’s on the walls and strong dark floor boards or thick dark carpets to create a sophisticated bedroom retreat. Everything depends on the décor you create. Even dark spaces can pop up and   look very inviting when done right.

How to decorate moody bedrooms

Choose any style you like as moody and dark colours are classics and will go with any style: glam, modern, art deco, minimalist, contemporary, vintage and many others. Moody spaces aren’t just about black; deep green, purple, graphite, burgundy and so on can all be moody, just pick a ecopayz deep, rich tone.

Your moody room can be refreshed with some softer colours to create that gorgeous balance of masculine and feminine. Metals such as brass, bronze, chrome and gold beautifully accent dark colours. Pair these with really strong finishes like loop pile carpet, a dark plush carpet with a cut pile or dark toned timber floors and you’ll end up with a gorgeous sleep sanctuary that you’ll just never want to leave!

Flooring picks

As mentioned above, in a moody  room you want to continue this feeling on the floor. Dark timber floors or thick pile carpets provide the perfect grounding for this look and add that layering effect of warmth, peace and restfulness. The darker colours absorb and cocoon you from the outside world.

Here are our favourite flooring picks for moody spaces:

Find more moody flooring here and moody bedroom inspiration on our Pinterest Board here.

Incorporating old world with current style you reuse your collected, and often priceless antique pieces, in a setting that gives them new life.

Do you have one (or many) vintage possessions, (maybe sentimental, maybe not) that you have guiltily hidden away in a cupboard or attic wishing that you could display in your home but have no idea how? It can be hard to display these beautiful items in a stylish way and to give them a purpose in a room. Nostalgic Charm style is about showcasing these items and giving them a new life in your home.

Nostalgic Charm is about celebrating important mementos and pieces
It creates a ‘whimsical’ history look without being over pretty
It has strong elements of colour which are often mixed with texture and patterns.

Flooring: SmartStrand Calhoun, Wolf Creek

Why would you pick Nostalgic Charm?

• You have collected a lot of things over time that you’re ready to put on display.
• You’re a sentimental person who likes the feeling of being surrounded by important memories
• You take pleasure in having important things around you and living with them

What does Nostalgic Charm look like?

• Patterns Patterns Patterns! Think- Checks/florals/colour/stripes/thecasinoapps.com
• Old world charm
• Antiques mixed in with moderns- connect all your collection pieces together
• Celebrates looking back- it creates the “OMG I remember that” moments!
• A deep pile carpet would work well with this, you can use wooden flooring as well.

Flooring: Karndean, Knight Tile

Would this style suit you?
It suits older couples/families and those more provincial.

#antiques #flooring #flooring style #nostalgic charm #smartstrand #vintage

When picking a palette of colours for your space, stick to 3 and change the the way you use them as you move through the space. I prefer to treat my walls and floors as the canvas and then lay the colour palette from there. Warm colours tend to advance, they are energetic and enlivening, cool colours give the feeling of calmness and relaxation while white, black and grey are considered neutral.

Nature provides harmonious palettes no matter how garish they appear there is always an inherent balance. In our visual experiences harmony is something that is pleasing to the eye; that balance comes from warm and cool, light and dark. There is balance in the experience; it is neither dull nor irritating. This is what you want to achieve with your colour palette for your environment. If you have a warm grey or stoney taupe as your base colour, then look at bringing in some crisp blues and steely greys to balance the warmth. Alternatively, if you have a cool white or neutral with a greener base feel, then balance that with red based taupes and tans.

Colour evokes an emotional response as it is subjective. It can also be broken down into 3 groups – active, passive and neutral. When colouring a space think about the usage and what you personally enjoy. It’s always good to add some theory to emotion.

Red and orange represent power. They raise energy levels and come from the colours of heat, they advance and absorb, they never float. They are the colours of warmth and are invigorating and strong.

Blue symbolizes serenity, calmness and relaxation; sky blues immediately evoke wide open spaces. Soft duck egg blues offer tranquillity and peacefulness. This is a great colour for bedrooms and bathrooms. Just don’t be complacent with blue, it’s a colour that can really change a space from warm to cool. The trick is to stay away from pastel blues or clear blue, if you have that feeling that you can see through it you shouldn’t use it. Darker blues can often evoke the feeling of sadness – best not to use it as a main colour but it makes a wonderful accent and is rich and inviting when used in this form.

Yellow is a colour that floats – like sunshine, it is a compelling colour but one to watch as if used incorrectly it can appear sickening. It has been known to make babies cry and can feel fractious if the colour is too strong. It can evoke feelings of anger and frustration, but can also be cheery energizing and uplifting. Just remember to think of nature, the colours are all there they are just muted and softened, muddied and dirty as nature has not had the luxury of knowing synthetic man-made colour.

Green is the natural neutral it incorporates both the cooling agents of blue and the heat of yellow and offers a freshness that the other colours can’t give. It is the most restful colour for the eye. It is suited for any room of the home, as its calming, warm and relaxing properties relieve stress and help us relax.

Neutrals are the decorators ‘go-to guide’. They can be considered boring and flat but if used correctly they play on light and shadow, line and form, rather than colour change. Just remember to add colour as an accent to liven things up, subtract to calm things down.

Illuminating is “a bright and cheerful yellow sparkling with vivacity, a warming yellow shade imbued with solar power.” Ultimate Gray, like the colors of pebbles on the beach, is emblematic of “solid and dependable elements which are everlasting and provide a firm foundation.” Ultimate Gray quietly assures, encouraging feelings of composure, steadiness and resilience.

Take this same theory up to the furniture. Add contrast to your fabric surfaces by adding in fur or wool cushions or trim the cushions with a textured edging or raw edge thicker fabrics. Mix backs and fronts or fabrics, you don’t need to do the whole cushion in the same fabric. Often it’s a lovely look to have a more refined weave on one side and say a heavier felt or pattern on the other. Bring texture into your accents, a grouping of faux shagreen boxes against glass textured balls will lift a space by providing light as it bounces off the glass and highlights the feel of the shagreen.

Textured lamp shades work wonders in a minimal space. There are many options now that offer a mix of metals and fabrics. Look for something that has a reference to your space, be it a colour or product that is already there.

Why should you pick this look?

• Textures hide a multitude of sins – we know not everyone is perfect!
• It adds warmth to cool spaces and works well in dark spaces as it gives a rugged up feel
• You can use what you already have, there’s no shopping necessary!
• It provides a sense of mood – its peaceful and restful
• The layers create luxury rather than being paired back to a more simple style
• Works well for people with an eclectic sense of style that have a lot of elements they’d like to bring to one room

What does Tasteful Textures look like?

• Knitted wools
• Soft leathers
• Texture, paint and wallpaper
• Movement in the flooring using long pile or loop carpet that’s layered with rugs that are often shags
• Burnished / worn metals
• Organised/ purposeful mess – who thought a messy house could be stylish?! What a dream!
• A lived in unintentional style
• A combination of different fibers and materials – hard and soft, shiny and dull

Does this style suit you?

Tasteful Textures is good for an older house with ‘flaws’, you can use your layers to hide things! It also helps add warmth to a drafty home.

Pastels are still leading summer design trends; calm, soft, relaxing, but definitely not girly.

We’re seeing earthy greens and duckegg greys teamed with warmer peaches and pinks, often mixed with navy or dark green to create a balance between masculine and feminine.

How to make pastels work

It’s about mixing shades and materials. You can pair leather and wood in grey tones and then add highlights of brighter corals, pinks and blues. Add an animal print — an ocelot carpet or skin. It’s super-masculine and comfortable and perfectly balances the softer feminine tones. Our Premium Collection Savanna Scenes range has some great fun carpets to choose from.

Floors that make pastels pop

Greys and steely metals anchor your floor and constrain the lighter colours. You can use wood and then layer with rugs in softer colours or keep the whole palette in pastel and create and airy and whimsical feel, with light wispy fabrics and blurred water colour accessories.

Here are some of our favourite floors to match with pastels – whether you’re after the wood look or the softness of carpet.

Hardfloor

Carpet

Does this style suit you?
If you have a more formal living area or an apartment this look will be great for you!

Do you consider yourself to be fairly simple when it comes to design and living? You tend to stay away from bold colours and textures because you prefer things to look more simple and clean. This is what the Simple Structure look is all about! A clean, clear and structured look.

Often called the ‘white look’, this style has a Scandinavian or Nordic feel and is often monochrome. You’ll see strong lines, black and white, simple accessories and no fuss.

This is a look where you de-clutter and pick strong pieces and materials to provide structure. Less is definitely more. It has a clean look that is elegant and refined, however it is not overly forgiving.

Why should you pick this look?

• It’s neutral – you only need to pick a couple of colours
• It has a masculine element to it
• You want a stylish statement look – yes simple can be stylish!

What does simple interior and flooring look like?

• Fur, even better faux fur!
• Stone – doesn’t actually have to be stone flooring, you could use our vinyl, LVT or rigid products create the stone flooring look.
• Heavy texture
• Rugs
• Throws – they soften the look a little bit and make it more welcoming
• Leather – leather couches or chairs are a great way to introduce this
• This look works really well with a wide flooring board.

Would this look suit you?

This look works well for those who are professional or live a high life that are soft living and able to maintain the simple and clean look.

• Its pleasing to a lot of people as it reflects nature – who doesn’t appreciate what nature has to offer?
• It’s kind on the eye – it creates a calming aura
• It’s available at every level (and in every style)
• It wont date

What does Natural Freedom look like?

• Layers of natural fibre – think different woods, plants, twines
• Natural colours such as dark chocolates, soft greys, burnt ash, creams, beige and whites
• It creates a sense of space and openness
• Organic/fluid – it’s a good way to create indoor/outdoor flow and wood/wood look flooring helps with this
• It moves with the seasons – colours and tones can change to reflect the season
• Natural materials e.g. rattan/ wood/ linen/ cotton

Would this look suit you?

Natural Freedom suits family environments, homes that will be lived in for a long time, the environmentally friendly and sustainability focused.