INTERIOR INSPIRATION
BY KATE KINGSTON
Kate Kingston, Managing Director of Kingston Shaw, an award winning
interior design company with offices on the Wirral, London and Dubai,
shares with us the latest trends for creating the perfect home.
MAKING AN ENTRANCE
I have never been known to enter a room quietly and I really appreciate
the art of making an ‘entrance’ it takes skill, style and confidence, I was
recently in New York, where I witnessed a woman of considerable age
enter a swanky eatery filled to the brim with younger prettier people,
every pair of eyes turned to look at her in awe as she marched up to the
hostess, requested her table, adjusted her gaze and confidently strutted
to her destination.
I heard ‘wow’ and ‘I wish I could do that’ mixed with ‘She must be someone’.
I thought that she was amazing like a well-lit and stylish entrance designed
to be both alluring and inviting! Whether you have an expansive foyer, a
narrow hallway or just a small area around your front door, the entrance
to your home is vital because it’s the first thing guests see when they step
through your door and maybe more importantly it is the space that you
first see and it should welcome you home!
Beyond the above, the entryway is a high-traffic space that needs to
withstand muddy boots, wet umbrellas and anything else you drag in
— and provide you with a place to stow all that gear. That’s a tall order,
especially if you live in a small space without much of an entry at all. So
how do you make the most of your entrance so that it embodies style and
confidence enticing visitors in and greeting you warmly home?
CLEAR OUT THE CLUTTER
Creating a calm and inviting space is essential, but it is not easy in a place
that attracts clutter like a moth to flame, so introduce simple storage as a
shelf and bowl for keys, a shoe rack for outdoor shoes and an umbrella
stand. If you do not have the space for a cupboard to put coats, scarves
and hats in, then consider using hooks on the wall but don’t over fill them!
Storage Rack From Made.com
BE BOLD
If you’re more of a maximalist, your entrance is a space where you can
create the drama your soul demands, and it only takes a few carefully
curated elements. Colour and texture can achieve this, think about using
a grasscloth in a dark colour like this from Andrew Martin, which will
provide an elegant backdrop to your entrance. If wallpaper is not in your
budget, a striking paint colour can create a similar effect. We recently
used a very dark purple like Farrow and Balls Brinjal (see images), hung
a mirror and a dark wood shelf, introduced a console table with vase of
greenery and made a somewhat boring white entrance look dark, inviting
and characterful.
Sambaru Flint
Brinjal
LIGHT IT UP
Lighting, as my dear reader already
knows, is imperative in every space but
in an entrance it can be life changing
if you get it right and life draining if
you get it wrong. Do you want your
entrance to say come on in, its warm
and comfortable in here or ‘go away I
want to be alone’. I am hoping it’s the
former and encourage you to embrace
the light. A mixture of wall and ceiling
lights normally do the trick depending
on the space and whether you have
natural light coming in. Consider
placing your wall lights at low level to
wash the walls and the floor and let the pendant do the shouting, using more
than one pendant in a row encourages the eyes to wander down the vista
therefore enticing you into the building and into other areas.
STEP IT UP
If the decoration of the entrance is the
design manifestation of a welcome hug
then your choice of flooring is interior
designs way of establishing authority and
leadership, your floor literally tells you
where to go. Therefore think carefully
about your choice of flooring in the
entrance of your abode, do you want it to
be overbearing and imposing or gently
encouraging to you and your visitors,
nurturing one along the pathway of your
home into its secrets and fancies? Tile is
practical and can infuse colour, pattern
and history, you can literally create a
path from the tile with borders and
pattern. Wood is warm, practical and
elegant, using darker shades of wood
can also help minimise the effects of dirt
and muddy paws! Carpet is warming and can provide a pop of colour in
dark space but if you have pets or muddy small feet carpet might not give
you longevity for your investment.
Personally I would always go for a barrier entrance, mat in coir or sisal
recessed into the floor and a dark rich wood for drama, but there again we
both know that drama is my middle name!
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