A note for July from Hiltingbury Interiors
Hello,
This month, we're celebrating a special milestone: it's been a whole year since we moved into our Studio space on Hiltingbury Road! We’ve raised a glass to mark the occasion and have loved every moment of filling the Studio with samples, finishes, and hosting client meetings. We're also pondering on expanding our offerings from the Studio, so stay tuned for exciting updates!
In this newsletter, we're focusing on bedroom design, with a special emphasis on children's rooms.
Chloe’s Room
As my daughter is now 14, we recently updated her room to reflect her growing maturity and evolving taste… Pink blush is now a thing of the past and has been replaced with a stunning shade of black! Together we have made some inexpensive alterations to her bedroom while keeping the more expensive items like the bed and furniture. By refreshing the bedding, wall colour and accessories, we’ve given the room an entirely new lease of life!
Ellie’s Room
Rachel has been collaborating with her daughter to create a bedroom perfect for a 10-year-old, with a considered eye towards her future growth. Together, they painted a whimsical wobbly stripe around the entire room, revamped drawers found on Facebook Marketplace adding new knobs and a sink, as well as a mirror with a light. The large desk features a plywood surface supported by IKEA storage units, complemented with cubes on either side for open storage. They also included the "Love" wallpaper from Ohpopsi. Ellie played a key role in selecting the colour scheme, including the colour order for the stripe, and choosing the wallpaper from a big stack of samples.
Designing Children's Bedrooms: Essential Tips
During the design process, it's crucial to balance the creative ideas of our young clients with more mature and practical considerations. Here are a few tips on how to create designs that are flexible, adaptable, and timeless:
Consider flexibility of spaces as they grow.
Avoid strong themes that might date quickly.
Incorporate favourite themes through easily changeable items like framed artwork, bedding or cushions.
Ensure ample, easy-to-use storage to help keep the room tidy longer term.
Involve the child in the process, to a certain extent!
Designing for a Smaller Bedroom: “good things come in small packages!”
In many homes, there's typically a smaller room often designated to the younger child, therefore, optimising space is crucial. Here are our top tips:
Consider multi-functional furniture like cabin or ottoman beds for added storage
Utilise walls & vertical space for storage; consider shelving, crates & hanging organisers - even if the child cannot reach you can store blankets or teddies
Choose calm & cohesive patterns to avoid overwhelming the room
Position furniture away from windows to maximise natural light
These strategies help create a functional and inviting space despite limited square footage.
Amy Edwards Furniture
This month, we've had the pleasure of connecting with Amy from Amy Edwards Home, a talented local furniture restorer and painter. She's currently working on a special commission for our client, transforming the piece of furniture by cleaning the ironmongery, refreshing the finish, adding a touch of colour, and updating it to complement the new scheme we’ve designed for our client’s renovated home. Incorporating vintage pieces into modern designs, especially family heirlooms, adds a unique and sentimental touch to any space. It creates a lovely talking point, bringing it back to life to reconnect amongst the family!
Now that BBC’s ‘Interior Design Masters’ is over, we’re currently engrossed in ‘The Sewing Bee’. While it might not appeal to everyone, most of our team are eagerly following the contestants as they tackle each challenge, particularly the transformation challenges.
Additionally, there's the eagerly anticipated return of Bridgerton. The girls in our family are obsessed with this feel-good period drama and its wonderful creativity; from the sets and costumes to the soundtrack, its a feast for the senses! It's sure to be influencing interior design trends once again, with its beautiful summer florals and opulent grandeur... not to mention emphasising the importance of the chaise longue in one's life (if you know, you know!).
Keep your eye's peeled for the most fabulous of renovations we carried out on a chaise for our clients - it's a rather magnificent transformation.
So as the loooong school summer holiday’s are fast approaching, we are certainly hopeful for some sunshine for most parts! Amongst that, we’ll still be here throughout hard at work installing some exciting projects, amidst the team's well-deserved holiday breaks.
I'll be back with the next newsletter in September, as I'll be away taking a break in August - see you on the other side!
Have a wonderful weekend,
With love
Becci x