MATERIAL WORLD FEB

Welcome to Material World, our monthly roundup of some of our favourite blogs in the world of interiors and design.

The year is in full swing, you’ve (mostly!) decluttered and shook off the cobwebs of Christmas, and now the focus switches to finishing off those DIY projects you’ve been putting off for months, alongside re-working your home to ensure it reflects the new and improved 2017 version of you.

Here are five blogs which have caught our eye this month!

Design Hunter: 3 Easy Steps to a Clutter Free Bedroom

Of course, before you get started on making sweeping changes to your home you’ll need to finish off that decluttering, and the bedroom is probably the easiest room to put off. Clutter doesn’t get in the way of you sleeping, after all.

Fortunately for everyone who has been delaying the bedroom declutter, Helen from Design Hunter is here to help with some expert advice. Helen has won a raft of awards and has been featured in The Sunday Times, Elle Decoration, Good Homes and more over the years and is famous for her minimal design aesthetics. So, when she talks about getting rid of clutter, we listen.

This blog has three great, simple tips which will work wonders as you face the final objective in mission declutter and make that final stretch as easy as possible.

French For Pineapple: Decorative Wall Moulding DIY

Next, we’re with Bianca Hall, who runs the fabulously named French For Pineapple for a bit of DIY, as she talks us through her impressive decorative wall moulding project.

This is a fantastic way to add some texture and layers to your walls, without having to worry about spending a huge amount of money or time. It may seem quite intimidating at first glance, but Bianca does a great job of breaking down how she achieved the look, by the end of the blog you’ll be halfway to the door to pick up some wood, adhesive and your very own mitre saw.

Don’t Cramp My Style: How to Use Bold Colours in Your Home Even in a Rented Space

Living in rented accommodation is increasingly common these days, and is a constant battle between wanting to put into practice some of your design ideas while still staying within the rules of what your landlord allows. Usually, “what your landlord allows” begins and ends at “magnolia”.

Double-award winning Anna of Don’t Cramp My Style is one of the many renting interior designers we have, she also happens to have an excellent blog, impeccable taste, and a veritable smorgasbord of great ideas to make your rented accommodation better represent your personal style.

This particular blog is full of great tips for using traditionally forbidden brighter, bolder colours in your rented home. There are great ways to add some colour to proceedings without making your landlord angry or forcing you to redecorate again before you leave.

Apartment Therapy: Live Your Truth: 7 Ideas for Building a Home that’s 100% You

Scandi-chic, hygge, greens – it seems like everywhere you turn today you’re reading about the hot new interiors trend that you simply must follow, lest your friends and family disown you for bringing shame upon them. Fortunately, your friends and family are much nicer than that and you are indeed allowed to focus on making your home your own without giving the latest trends a second thought.

Apartment Therapy agree with us on this, and have put together these tips on making your home 100% yours, it also includes some great shots of wildly different homes, just in case you’re looking for a bit more inspiration.

Strawberry Squeeze: Why You Should Forget Trends and Design a Home That Reflects You!

And just in case you don’t believe us when we say you don’t have to follow the latest trends to having an amazing home, here’s Sam from Strawberry Squeeze giving the exact same advice.

With some great reasons for forging your own path, alongside some useful tips for what you should be looking to achieve with your home, this is a great blog to refer to as you continue to ignore everything green – or buy everything green. That’s the beauty of design – it’s all up to you.

Thanks for reading our latest issue of Material World, we hope you’ve enjoyed the blogs we’ve featured and would recommend checking out all the sites. Do you think we’ve missed out something great? Tweet us and let us know.