Interior Insights: Volume 1.
Dear friends,
After a wonderful year in which we rebranded Atelier NM as Homes One Interiors, I’ll be sharing my interior design insights with you on a more regular basis!
Here are my three insights from the design world
Stop being so boring
Personality is the key to good design, and on a personal basis at least – i.e. inside people’s homes rather than hotels and restaurants - I do not think people want safe anymore… we have, if you liked, reached ‘peak vanilla’, and people are starting to take risks again. There is so much to embrace on both a cultural and personal level, so take the opportunity of decorating your home to announce who you really are. Open up to the outside world! Too many people (and too many designers) are about trying to be all things to all people. With that intention, the opportunity of great design and self-expression is lost. Be willing to risk some people not liking what you design! In my experience that is the key to other people (your people), falling in love with it.
2. Live in your own movie
A lot of design is driven by fashion and movies and I think the androgyny and neutrality of the nineties and noughties is now totally in the past. When starting a job I like to imagine I am walking into a license to create the next Greatest Showman or Moulin Rouge. I think people are looking for an antidote to the amount of time we all spend on screens and with technology, in which design is functional, minimal and full of clean lines. They see their home as an opportunity to write their own script, and at the same time as maximizing space, to be lavish with things they love. I am also seeing more soulful elements to what people want, with mindfulness and yoga becoming more and more important to people. They want to be surrounded by things that have a positive impact on mind, body and spirit, and by small reminders that help them to relax.
3. Be yourself
I draw a lot of inspiration from my life, travels, food and adventures. And when I allow these influences to flow through me and into my designs, two significant things happened. Firstly, I became instantly happy with all the work I was doing, and infinitely more at ease with the design process. It was like I immediately accessed self-confidence and an inexhaustible supply of creative ideas. Secondly, I began to meet precisely the right types of clients at precisely the right times. My clients are able to see what I am about, and make a call on whether they like that too. It’s a match made in heaven every time.
Our latest projects:
Hammersmith
Belgravia
Do come and see us soon!
And don’t forget to email me if you’re interested in wholesale rates for the best design, joinery and fittings in London.
Or come for coffee at Pavilion anytime.
Warmly,
Najwa