Autumn is the perfect time to refresh your home and give it a new lease of life. In the first of two blog posts, here are the first of my ten trends to revamp your home this season to make it feel fresh and cosy for the winter.

Perfect panelling

Panelling or moulding is a decorative feature that has been around for centuries but it’s enjoying a huge resurgence at the moment. In fact, wood panelling your walls is one of the biggest trends for autumn 2022.  Affordable, versatile and eye-catching, the beauty of wall panelling is that it works with most styles, whether adding character to a modern home or enhancing the features in a period property.

Wood panelling is an easy way to add texture, depth and interest and can be applied to any of your interior walls. You can maintain a single style throughout your home or opt for various panel styles – the options are endless. Vertical panelling is a great way of making walls appear taller as it draws the eye upwards. If you don’t want your panelling to be too dominant you can panel to half-height. In big rooms full height panelling can make the room look smaller and more intimate. Panelling is great for protecting busy areas like hallways and can also hide less-than-perfect walls, or conceal ugly pipework.

Paint your walls yellow

Painting a room in a new shade will make a big difference to the look and feel of the space. Make a statement with a bold on trend colour, like yellow which will bring a burst of positivity to your home. Yellow is the colour of 2022 because it’s a colour that aids clear thinking and decision making – something we all need in uncertain times! Great for brightening up north facing rooms or creating a calming space to think in, yellow will inject energy and happiness wherever you use it. If you aren’t confident about choosing bright colours like yellow, working with an interior designer will help you visualise the finished look. 

I love Citrona from the California Collection by Farrow & Ball. Part of a palette of eight sun-soaked paint colours created in partnership with interior designer Kelly Wearstler, it’s a gorgeous softened citrus shade. Inspired by the lemon trees that thrive in California’s temperate climate, it is an earthy, contemporary take on a true chartreuse. I also love Little Green’s Re:mix collection, which sees damaged and unwanted stock expertly blended and reformulated to create new colours. Yellow-Pink is part of the collection and is a vibrant yellow shade, based on the ochre pigment that has been used in decoration since ancient times.

Wallpaper your ceiling

Don’t forget your fifth wall! Painting your ceiling a different colour to traditional white has been popular for many years, but now it’s wallpaper’s turn. It’s easy to overlook a ceiling but a beautifully wallpapered one will add drama to any room. But a word of warning; it’s not an easy job, so call in the professionals. There are two rooms where wallpapered ceilings really come into their own – bedrooms and dining rooms. Bedrooms look great with wallpapered ceilings because you can really enjoy the full effect while you’re lying in bed, which also means children’s bedrooms are also brilliant places for a wallpapered ceiling. Dining rooms are where a dramatic colourful pattern or bold print can create a show-stopping effect.  

Get yourself a cork board

Sustainable and stylish, cork is not only eco-friendly but it’s bang on trend too. Cork is durable and has brilliant sound-proofing properties so it’s great in homes where you are trying to find a quiet place to work amongst busy family-life.

Cork makes a perfect memo board for your home office or kitchen. I love the effect of using cork tiles on the whole of a wall to give you lots of space for sticking up memos, postcards and, of course, inspiration for for your interior design moodboard. Cork can also be painted if you are not sure about its natural look. A cork board is also really easy to install; you can buy cork boards as large cladding panels or as tiles and some of them are even self-adhesive, making them so easy to stick to your walls.

Install a coloured tap

A quick way to add a pop of colour in your kitchen is to invest in a colourful kitchen tap. Chrome or brass taps are commonplace so dare to be different. One of this year’s hottest trends is to install a coloured tap, so inject a bit of fun into your kitchen with a statement bright pink or green tap like the Tinkisso Miami tap from Dowsing and Reynolds.

The Neo Mint version is fresh and evokes optimism – just what you need when facing a mountain of dirty dishes! The Pink version adds designer cool to an otherwise monochrome space. Simply switching to colourful taps will spark joy every time you do something as mundane as washing up.

See you next week, for five more quick autumn updates!