We’ve all gone bonkers for outdoor living (I think that might have been something to do with last Summer). Anyhow, it’s here to stay, and it’s great to see that it’s opened people’s eyes to the endless possibilities of what can be achieved outdoors and how wonderful and charming your outdoor space can become.

Anyone can create an outdoor area, perfect for summer soirees or cosy winter nights, no matter what your budget. There are some fantastic brands around that offer stylish and sophisticated outdoor items, from budget to luxury. But I’ve loved seeing the creativity of the population and some of the DIY efforts of the nation.

If you are feeling creative and want to put a little effort in, here are my top four hacks to creating a great area on a budget:

Lighting without having to wire
Light and ambience on an evening is key to creating a dreamy, cosy area. Using basic materials like a plank of wood, a tree branch, food storage jars, chains or rope and a handful of pillar candles can go a long way, and hey presto you have an outdoor chandelier. Take a look these fabulous inspos:

Keep toasty
We know we can’t rely on the British weather, our summer days may bring the summer sun, but the evening temperatures can most certainly plummet. So to keep the party going into the cooler summer evenings, think outside the box, visit a second-hand market and be sure to keep your eye out for any large iron pots, or planters and with a bit of TLC, a sturdy and safe surface you have an instant fire. Another great find on eBay is the ‘washing drum’ fire pit. Trust me, these are great.

Go vintage.
There’s something so effortlessly cool about ‘vintage’. Not only does it look great but it’s also a fantastic way to upcycle and be sustainable. Go for a rough, weathered, or natural look or spruce an item up with a bit of shabby chic pain. Either way, make sure you treat your furniture. It may be vintage, but you don’t want it rotting in the outdoor elements.

Go Green on your patio.
Planters are great for adding texture, colour, and warmth to an area, and best of all, you can pretty much make a planter out of anything waterproof, bearing in mind the size of your plants, positioning, and the style you want to achieve. Hanging plants, table plants, floor plants your options are endless, here’s few we like:

If you’ve created something magical in your garden or balcony, we’d love you to inspire and share with others and dont’ forget to tag us @tutti_interiors #tuttiinteriors

Sustainable interior design is a growing trend. It considers the environmental impact of our homes, including the architectural design of our houses, materials, products, and the way we live have on the environment.  More of us incorporate sustainability into our lifestyles, delivering sustainable interior design can be incorporated into a project through various techniques and considerations.

Give your old furniture a new lease of life. Think about how you can refashion it by upcycling or repurposing it. There are lots of inspirational ideas out there, and if you can’t upcycle, recycle. You can donate, sell, or even do a furniture swap.

1. Use furniture made from natural materials, certain woods, bamboo, cork and other sustainable materials. Better still, buy antiques or other used furniture. 
2. Evaluate the life cycle of the products you select. Think about how that product is extracted, produced, transported and processed.
3. Opt for recycled/renewed products that have been reconfigured into new items. When you want a change, recycle them again.
4. Choose natural textiles and finishings. Cutback on synthetic materials and opt for recycled fabric or natural or materials, such as hemp, flax, and organic wool. There is a tonne of brands that now offer organic and recycled soft furnishings.
5. If you can, shop local, cutting back on transportation costs and emissions.  There are a lot of small independents and artisan stores that create and sell homewares and upcycled items.
6. Pick products and use products that have a low environmental impact (LOC)
7. Avoid products with VOC (volatile organic compounds) these are organic chemicals that evaporate into the air and can be found in various products, including paints, cleaning products, and even furniture and carpets
8. Consider the paint you use. There are plenty of non-toxic paints, including water-based, plant-based, mineral natural, and natural lime paints.  Many brands offer environmentally friendly paints, sustainably produced paint, zero VOC paint, vegan paint, and non-toxic paint.
9. We’ve said it before and it’s still a huge trend, but fill your home with plants. They not only look great but also serve a purpose by providing oxygen and filter the air.
10. Carefully consider your plans and the design of your space. Think about the longevity and life of your design. A well-considered space that lasts a considerable time reduces waste. Also, take into account the flexibility of your space. Times change and so do tastes and trends, so design a room that can grow with you and give flexibility for as long as possible.
11. Energy is a significant contributor to climate change. So give consideration to the efficiency of your home.  There are many ways you can improve your energy consumption in your home. Here are a few quick fixes. (insert link) https://www.ovoenergy.com/guides/energy-guides/120-ways-to-save-energy.html

The list to becoming sustainable in our homes is endless. From the new technologies available when designing and building a house to improving our existing homes, take your time to research your options. It pays to be knowledgeable.

Life is definitely a juggle at the moment, with so many different needs and functions to deal with all under one roof.

Like many of you, I have been thrown into having my home turned upside down while the world outside fights against this awful virus. So, I thought why not throw a few ideas into a blog to help others.

I have 2 girls at very different school ages, our kitchen has turned into a zoom centre for my CrossFit classes, our front room is now the creative play area for our youngest, bedrooms are play and downtime areas, and our dining room has been transformed into a schoolroom. So, let’s see if we can simplify things to make our homes fit for purpose, especially that all-important home office.

I know not everyone has a home office but hopefully, you can take away some tips for your temporary office set-ups. Here’s a few simple design hacks that may help self-design your office space:

Firstly, ergonomics. As an interior designer I have to think about the functionality of a space and how it’s going to work, this results in a user-friendly and successful space. So, firstly make sure your ‘desk’ area is working for you.

1. Is your screen at eye level and at arm’s length away, this is important as it avoids neck strain and ensures your eyes aren’t straining and don’t tire as quickly.
2. If you are working from a laptop you will constantly have to look down, so it’s worth considering an external keyboard and monitor.
3. Keep the keyboard at a height so that your forearms are parallel to the floor, your wrists are straight, and hands at elbow level.
4. If you have an office chair, great, adjust it to make sure your knees are about level with hips, and your feet are flat on the floor or on a footrest.

Woods Furniture – www.woods-furniture.co.uk

Splurge!!!! On an office chair … the most important bit of kit you can invest in. Some of the staged magazine shoots of home offices feature dining chairs as office chairs! Major no-no, you need a chair that provides lumbar and pelvic support. Personally, I find using a comfy office chair helps with my posture and breathing and these days it doesn’t have to be ugly. Search for one that has a little bit of individuality, sitting for hours day after day is made all the better if you love what you sit in!

Lighting. Lighting plays a pivotal role in defining every room of the house, in the home office it becomes even more important. A poorly lit home office can affect your mood and put strain on your eyes, which in turn can lead to headaches.

If you can position your desk in an area where you have a lot of natural light (ensuring there isn’t any glare on your screen or in your eyes). If this isn’t possible then try and stick to white lighting as opposed to warm as white light resembles daylight. Also, try not to rely on the main overhead lights, position directional focussed lamps around the working spaces to balance out the room.

Laredoute.co.uk – Ikebana Wall-mounted Flower Pots

Greenery, a proven mental health aid. You don’t need a forest in your home office but a few small green plants will add life and colour to a space, bringing the outside in! But if you’re like me, and can never keep plants alive, make sure they are low maintenance.

Actions. I absolutely have to have visualisation in my office and so I have transformed a whole wall into a chalkboard. It’s great to take a step back and look at ideas, notes, actions, inspiration and my wall calendar. There are some great tools out there to transform walls into useable areas including magnetic walls.

I also have motivational quotes written up that I get from books that I read. I love motivational coaching books and they inspire my positive thinking so as I read them I rotate the quotes for new ones to keep me driven.

Organisation. Keeping organised is key to any office, but in a home office, you don’t want it to overspill into your home life. Bespoke shelving and storage not only looks sophisticated and stylish, but it can also replace ugly filing cabinets. Use baskets or boxes to file things, with plants in between to soften them. Basket can also be used as part of your portable office, moving them around as and when you need them.

Oversize your shelves, this avoids them looking overfull, and this deliberate design detail means you can also use these for displaying ornaments, awards, trophies. Incorporate some of the office lighting within the shelving too, a great way of omitting the light but hiding the source.

Hide the cords. Don’t we all just hate seeing wires. With any modern office there are always going to be wires, not only are they unsightly but can also become a health hazard. Some desks are designed with hidden compartments specifically for wires and cords, but if you can’t do this there are plenty of tricks to hide them. Use clamps and zip ties to keep them together, use hooks under the table to attach the wires, hide routers and extension cables in smart looking boxes. There’s also lot’s of products out there that will help with stray wires.

Monitors. Having 2 monitors helps us juggle, and juggle at speed. Setting your space up with 2 screens is a huge help, especially as a lot of us are using platforms like Zoom, Google Dou, Skype for conference calling and meetings.

With this in mind, be mindful that colleagues and clients at the other end are now seeing you in your home, your private space so remove any personal things you don’t want to share with them. 

If you have a permanent office space make your backdrop a happy, positive motivational visual that inspires others. Introduce texture into your office space through wallpaper, upholstery, curtains, lamps shades, desks, pin boards. If you are temporarily working from home and have a portable set up, select a background that is bright, clean and tidy, just because you are working from home you still need to be professional.

Decoist.com – home office ideas

Timeout. Often an area that’s overlooked when designing an office space is a comfy corner! A stunning comfy chair and ottoman combo, a little side table for your coffee and a statement lamp for your light. Not all your creative thinking happens at your desk and we all need to take time out and breaks away from our computers to think and have quiet time. 

All in all, working from home can be super hard, but it’s important to define your spaces, designing them for purpose, but also as an inspirational space you want to be in. 

It might be a daunting thought, but Interior Designers are no longer exclusively for the rich and famous. With more and more people hiring an Interior Designer to assist them in their homes, from consultations, one-off projects through to a full turnkey service.   

Here are 11 reasons why, we, as an Interior Design studio could help you enhance your most valuable and personal spaces:

1. Ideas into reality. We can translate your ideas into reality, combining beautiful and practical elements together.
2. We connect and form strong relationships with you to ensure that the process is fun and stress-free, making you feel comfortable throughout the project, and enhancing what is already there.
3. We see things differently and can come up with alternative concepts to solve your problems.  Thinking ‘outside the box’ we can transform the ordinary into something special.
4. We are trained professionals and have the knowledge, and skill set to balance a space using colour, materials, texture, light, lines and functionality.
5. Interior design is an art, we can visualise and enhance spaces, and can take you on the same journey be creating visuals in mood boards, alongside tactile samples to help you visualise your space better.
6. You can save money. Costly mistakes can be avoided, as we have the experience to plan and make spaces work, in line with your aspirations and the brief.
7. We can increase the value of your home.  By advising and guiding you to create a WOW factor within your home we can increase the appeal of your home, and also speed up the sales process. 
8. Budgets and planning is key to any project. With our experience and knowledge, we know how to plan every detail of a brief, controlling money and ultimately keeping within any budget, avoiding stress and spiralling costs.
9. We can save you time.  Having existing professional relationships with various suppliers, we already have everything in place to carry out a service, allowing you to spend time on other things. Ultimately moving the project on quicker.
10. We have connections and resources to a range of exclusive and beautiful products, materials, furniture, flooring, lighting, tiles and soft furnishings. 
11. Finally, we pride ourselves on attention to detail, and so we can help you to design custom pieces with our trusted suppliers, making that statement piece to make any space pop.   

And so to conclude, as an Interior Designer I can help design a timeless, luxurious, living and breathing space, giving a home functionality and style, and reflects your vision and lifestyle.

Get in touch.