Modernising a Classic: How to Refresh a 2014 Design with Today's Trends

This photo is from an interior design project I worked on in 2014. It was back when I was a design assistant on BBC’s DIY SOS, and new to working in the interior design world. The interiors were designed by Laurence Llewelyn Bowen and this was one of my favourite rooms in the house.

This photo is now 10 years old and you can’t buy any of the items in the photo any more. It got me thinking about how to revamp this design to fit with today’s trends whilst also keeping the original style. So let me walk you through my process:

1.     What are the main features in the room that need to stay?

The most striking things in the design are the deco-style wallpaper, the bird shelving, the painted ceiling, and the metal frame bed. If I wanted to recreate anything close to this room, these items needed to stay as close to the same as possible.

2. How to find new items that are a good replacement to these main features?

For this, I analysed each of the main items in the room, looking at their colour, shape and style. I tried to match at least two out of these three things when finding a more modern replacement, for example the wallpaper I found has the same style and colour, however, the shape of the pattern is different.

The Wallpaper:

Original wallpaper

new wallpaper

The Bed:

The metal bedframe in the original interior scheme was in bronze. I’ve found an alternative in a similar shape and style, but struggled to find a bronze finish. This makes me think that really this bronze colour is no longer on trend and I went with a black finish which is much more widely available.

The Colour:

The main colour in the room was mint green and it was on the ceiling and the bedside tables. The base of the tables had a curved edge, which is quite late 90s/ 00s in style. Needless to say, I can’t find a very good match. When looking for mint green side tables I came across these beauties from Dunelm with a scallop edge at the base. This feels like style upgrade for both the shape and the colour or the tables. This sage green colour has been popular in the last few years with Benjamin Moore choosing sage green as their colour of the year in 2022.

The Bird Shelves:

I’m pretty sure that the bird shelf in the photo was from Homesense. If you haven’t discovered Homesense yet, you are in for a treat. It is the home décor branch of TK Maxx, think discount prices on branded items and one of a kind items. I think the shelves were unfortunately a one of a kind item. Anyway, I also think that the original shelves in the photo are probably a bit outdated with the industrial sides etc and a revamp is a good idea. The ones I have selected have much cleaner lines and are more like a piece of line art. It’s contemporary and still has the bird shape, so ties in with the previous scheme.

The other items, like the accent colour, the artwork and the cushions don’t really affect the style of the room, so long as the main items are well selected. I chose to change up these items to make the room feel a bit fresher. 

This is the final updated design:

Shopping List:

Bed - Selkirk Solo in Black - Original Bed Company - Link

Carpet - Oatflake Fair Isle Wool Carpet - Knotistry - Link

Chest of Drawers - Remi 5 Drawer Chest in Lilypad - Dunelm - Link

Bedside Table - Remi 1 Drawers Bedside Table in Lilypad - Dunelm - Link

Wallpaper - Deco Arches - Wallpaper Direct - Link

Bird Shelves - Rustic Chic: Pair of Bird Outline Wall Shelves - Stone the Crows - Link

Art - Sage Green Wall Art - Etsy - Link

Neutral Cushions - Large Plain Velvet Cushion Cover in Porridge - Oka - Link

Green Cushions - Ladwell Sage Green Cushion Cover - Dunelm - Link

Throw - Malini Serena Blanket Jade - Olivia’s - Link

Lamp - Copita Metal Table Lamp - La Redoute - Link

Boxes - Faux Ivory Shagreen Leather Boxes - Etsy - Link

Candle - Ritual of Jing Scented Candle - Rituals - Link

Stephanie Williams Designs provides online interior design services creating mood boards and shopping lists for any of your interior design projects. If you have a photo from Instagram or Pinterest of an interior design style that you love but you don’t know how to recreate it in your own house contact Stephanie here.

Designing for DIY SOS in Carbis Bay

DIY SOS: The Big Build is BBC1’s BAFTA award winning home makeover programme. The programme is presented by Nick Knowles who, with his team of builders, a designer and hundreds of local volunteers, transform the homes of families across the country who have gone through difficult life-changing situations. I have worked on DIY SOS on and off for 7 years, including tonight’s episode in Carbis Bay, Cornwall.

Stephen and Lynn Smedley spent 15 years fostering a total of 103 children and were ready for a well deserved retirement in their two bedroom bungalow by the sea. Unfortunately, tragedy struck in April 2017 when their daughter, Carrie, died suddenly leaving behind her 3 sons. With no dad on the scene, Stephen and Lynn brought their three grandsons home to live with them. When I visited the Smedleys’ home, the three boys were sleeping in a triple bunkbed in the same room, there was only one bathroom for the 5 of them and Lynn was doing all of her washing and ironing in the garden shed. It was obvious that they needed more space for everyone to be able to grieve and grow together. 

The most crucial part of the design was the new layout of the bungalow. We had to create two new bedrooms and a new bathroom. Also, we wanted to have two communal spaces in the form of a living room and a kitchen diner. Having this was important to the family as it would allow the boys to play their video games in one room whilst Stephen and Lynn could sit elsewhere. Many hours were spent drawing and redrawing the plans for the house - it really was a tight squeeze!

Working with Gabrielle Blackman is always a joy and this house was no different. We felt that the house needed to feel bright and spacious so we used an off white colour as the main colour throughout the house to reflect the light into the rooms, making them feel bigger. Also, with Carbis Bay being right on the Cornish coast, we wanted to use this image and incorporate the blue and green palette that you associate with the ocean into the scheme, so the majority of the rooms have those colours in them.

The living area needed to have enough space to fit all 5 members of the family, plus room for any friends they may have over if they were entertaining. We had New Concept Interiors make a bespoke armchair and sofa, so that we could get the seating to fit the room perfectly. We also incorporated a bench within the built-in TV unit to create that extra bit of seating. 

There was a lot of built-in furniture installed so that we could make the most of every nook and cranny that was available. The two younger boys also had built-in beds installed to maximise the floor space of their bedrooms. They were both also keen to be able to have their friends stay over so we designed their beds to have a pull-out bed under them too. Another design team tactic was to install sliding doors, creating more useable floor space.

The kitchen diner was located in the new extension and was definitely my favourite room. As a design team we had begged the build team to allow us to do an internal pitched ceiling and we had finally been granted permission. It was worth the wait! Again, with our maximising of space at the forefront of the design, we incorporated a banquette to allow more people to sit around the table. Although the room was painted white, it still felt cosy because of the warm timber floor and the beautiful copper accents in the lighting and kitchen handles. 

Working on DIY SOS is such a treat and this project was definitely one of my favourites. We had a wonderful, talented production team and amazing trades and suppliers working on the Smedley’s home. To catch up click here. For a list of the products used on DIY SOS: Carbis Bay click here

All photography by Elliott White Photography