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