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Local Life - May 2025

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The home interior trends you don’t want to miss out on.
TEXT: Lifestyle Editor | IMAGES: Istockphoto.com

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Heart-stopping Hallways
If you’ve got a modest budget but believe strongly in first impressions, the statement hallway is for you.

Reinvent the entrance to your home by plastering it top to bottom with the loveliest, most luxurious and bold wallpaper you can get your paws on.

The result? A home that wows everyone from the postive to your in-laws.

Heavy Metals
If you’re keen on metallics but don’t want to commit, then you will be delighted to know that mixing your metals is a very cool trend. A little rose gold as the base of your bedside lamps perhaps, while your main lighting fixture stuns in silver and your bed posts are boastful in brass. It doesn’t have to match; it just needs to suit you.

Less Luxe Lighting
For a long time now, glimmering glass and metallics have been big when it comes to light fittings, but a more organic style is taking hold.

Think rattan, raw cotton, rope, wood and even clay to create a more earthy and homely atmosphere.

Understated Opulence
This concept revolves around incorporating subtle elements that add a touch of sophistication while maintaining the overall sense of simplicity and neatness within the area.

The trend is evident not only in furniture but also in our approach to surface finishes, with an emphasis on introducing more personality through intricate edge designs, intricate plumbing fixtures, the use of wallpapers in powder rooms, and even integrating vintage rugs and furniture into main or guest bathrooms.

Hi-tech, Low-tech
Technology has transformed our lives and arguably, we cannot consider our home interiors without factoring it in. However, a trend is developing which is geared toward seamlessly integrating
the more modern elements of our lives within the classic. Televisions hidden behind sliding wooden panels for example, discrete plug sockets and colour changing bulbs hidden within more traditional lighting fixtures. It’s the future, but not as we know it…

Terrific Tiles
There is an increasing trend in the use of eye-catching tiles, particularly within shower spaces. Incorporating a statement or accent tile within a shower can effectively introduce variation and visual interest, which becomes particularly important as showers and wet rooms succeed traditional bathrooms in homes.

Secret Spaces
Far from the roomy, country kitchen we have become accustomed to, there is now a shift into more discreet culinary spaces. Back kitchens, wet bars, and butler’s pantries are du jour for those who have the space. For the rest of us, warming drawers, built-in coffee machines, hidden wine storage and discreet dishwashers will have to do.

Exposed Staircases
Thanks to the design of traditional British homes, few of us even consider the prospect of a staircase that isn’t flanked by concrete on one or both sides. However, stairs that are unencumbered by walls and even ones that reveal the structure of the treads themselves are excellent at opening up a space, while also looking super stylish.

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