I'm terrible at interior design. How do I style my house nicely??

[losenotloose]

I know what I like and look at magazines etc but don't seem able to replicate it! We bought some quite expensive curtains a year ago and I hate them. Looking at them know I don't know what I was thinking. This is the kind of mistake I make all the time. I have friends whose house's are stylish, modern etc. How do I do it?!

A jute rug and items from the John Lewis Croft collection are also good bets.

Thank you for the ideas. I like those linen curtains!

I am the same. I give my mum and sister my card and let the do it. They're fabulous and enjoy spending my money so fab!

Those curtains aren’t good op I’m sorry,

What colour is your furniture Ie the sofa etc?

I’m kind of thinking you should embrace it in an arts and crafts meets Scandi way.

I can see you’ve got lovely ladder back chairs. Are you open to painting them? (If they aren’t precious, that is. I don’t have “good” furniture so most of what I have can be improved with paint)

Something like in this pic I found? I’m on the fence with the pale painted furniture, so I’d probably go for a darker blue or green rather than the white.

Your floor is gorgeous and it would look amazing with a plain jute rug like in this pic too. It adds Another dimension of texture. Jute is unfussy so it balances out the OTT pattern.

I’m with the previous poster who suggested a new curtain rail. Think these curtains need something substantial, but again, nothing too ornate. I also think the walls need to have more colour too, but can’t say what I’d suggest without seeing more of the room.

(But all of this will only work if you actually like the print!)

I'm obsessed with Pinterest. I try to find reasonably priced options similar to things I see there.

I'm so with you OP! For me I have to keep it simple - plain walls and then choose one colour and just put that in. e.g. just doing new lounge. We have off-white walls, stiffkey blue feature wall, blue velvet sofa along with corner neutral one and I have ordered orla kiely blue stem material curtains. I would so like to be able to put another colour in too and it work but I have tried that and failed so many times. It works OK if I keep it simple. I love brightly coloured, mismatching but matching but would need someone to create that for me as I don't have the ability. And thus far I can't afford to pay someone to do it for me.

@Beetle76 has it exactly! That's what I was going to suggest. If it's a 70s ex council house then the curtains can "match" that period perfectly. The while Laura Ashley floral William Morris vibe was very big in interiors in 70s. Scandi doesn't just mean pale and minimal. I think tweak the curtains (thicker lining, new pile, hang better) and then lean right in to the 70s scandi vibe...

@losenotloose your definitely not alone! I am useless as making things look stylish and end up spending double the money and still not pulling it off. I've got pinttest and instagram but still useless.

I've now decided to visit showrooms and just replicate what I like, agree some people just have the knack.

@Bluntness100 sofa is navy blue, dining table and chairs are dark wood. The dining furniture was inherited and I plan to get rid of that also!

I really dislike the curtains so will definitely have to change them, for something cheaper this time. I've just been looking on Houzz for inspiration and trying to get dh involved!

Oh don't give up on the curtains! You're giving me hope with the navy sofa and dark wood. I think paint the room dark and you could see a big difference. Inspo here:
www.dezeen.com/2017/06/05/helsinki-jackie-bar-interior-studio-joanna-laajisto-retro-60s-70s-disco-music/

Please don't cut them up and make cushions. If you don't like them sell them (with photos showing the label and stating Strawberry Thief, William Morris and John Lewis in the description) and go and get some plainer ones if that's what you like. Maybe cheap curtains this time until you are sure of your style (I've bought fabric from IKEA for very little then had them made into very generous made to measure lined curtains and they look fab and cost as much as blinds).

White walls and white curtains is great (I've done that before and will again) but as a PP said you need to think about texture. But you need to decide if you care enough to put the work and money in to make it look stylish. My rule is: something from IKEA, something designer, something vintage, something high street. Madabouthehouse has a rule: something new, something old, something black, something gold (she means shiny).

As previous posters have said Pinterest really is your best friend!

I usually find I start searching 'dining room' and pin all the bits I like regardless of what style they are and then you usually find what the common style is within the board and pick that as my basis. I feel if I've liked a lot with that particular style it's obviously the one to go for if that makes sense.

I was also always taught your large pieces that will are expensive and bought to last a long time (sideboard, sofas, tv units, good curtains etc) should be in more neutral classic tones to avoid them going out of fashion and then you can incorporate trends in decorative pieces and soft turnings. It also helps for when you want to redecorate etc!

Also, Ikea do linen curtains for £29 and they're very good. They're really long so can cover over french doors etc (good for my house as we have quite tall ceilings) but they can be taken up easily. I took a pair of them up a year ago with iron on hemming you use in trousers it was super easy but will horrify all those that can sew I'm sure 🙈

With your current curtains you could always get seat pads, cushion covers or even throws made out of them if they go with whatever style you pick so they don't go to waste? Sometimes if a heavy print is on a smaller item it can look nicer. Maybe even some cushions for outdoors in the garden?

William Morris is classic anyway but Arts & Crafts inspired is on trend at the moment. If you really don't like them though, sell them.

You don't have to match you decor to your house, you don't even have to match your furniture to your curtains. Eclectic can work just as well.

www.engelvoelkers.com/en/blog/interior-design/home-design-ideas/seven-essential-tips-for-mixing-modern-and-antique-furniture/

www.realhomes.com/advice/interior-design-how-to-mix-old-and-new

martineclaessens.com/blog/2015/11/1/a-modern-approach-on-william-morris

@Griefmonster we are on the same page

@losenotloose, sounds like the strawberry thief is out! If you don’t like it, you don’t like it. I also think you’d be better to sell them as curtains than to chop up!

If you are getting new furniture, maybe get that first. It’s easier to match curtains to furniture than furniture to curtains. Then choose your paint colour after you’ve chosen your curtains. Way easier to colour match paint to curtains than curtains to match your paint, if you see what I mean. (Sure, pick a general colour scheme, but the difference a few shades or tones can make can be amazing!)

Agree with PP, Ikea cheapies to cover the window if you need privacy if you can’t get it all at once.

I’m so envious of your project!

Ps. Like the red chair outside too

In my low ceiling rooms, my curtains compliment the room, rather than lead it. So they were bought last once I'd decided on the colour and style of the room. high ceiling rooms you can get away with having dominant curtains and making them a feature.if you focus on the too much with a small room or a low ceiling room, you end up too heavy

I love those curtains 🤩

I’m just coming on to say that personally I love bright crisp white everywhere and have painted all my downstairs walls and the wood furniture with it.
Nice warm honey toned wood floor and lots of green plants and I love it.
DH hates it.
Says it’s ‘institutional’

I see dark walls mentioned on this thread, navy, red etc but I’d hate that!
I’d find it dark and oppressive!

What did you like about the curtains when you bought them? You must have had some idea about what style you were going for?

All my big stuff is second hand. I was given large leather French navy, puffy 1990’s sofas. I hated them for years. However the room got styled around them and because they weren’t fashionable the look I ended up with was ok in the end.They were the counterpoint to some cool lights, sand wall colour, metallics and quirky finds.
I’ve just been given some brown leather sofas in amazing condition but they look too smart for the room and make the walls and lights look bland . So time to restyle. Wall colour and plants help a lot.

I am feeling like I decorate completely backwards from everyone else! I find something I love passionately and decorate round that. In the DDs room I (or rather they) chose the curtains first (pop-art Marimekko print) then chose everything else to go/clash with them. The playroom I chose the orange sofa first. Our bedroom was the red tiles in the fireplace. The dining room was my grandparent's teak dining table. Our spare room/study is the desk legs. Our last house was the leaded lights. I do default to white walls most of the time so that maybe makes things easier.

Op also you don’t need to use curtains, Roman blinds on patio doors can look fantastic and you get some gorgeous ones now, in soft velvets, silks etc, in amazing colours.

Busy prints are an acquired taste, if in doubt avoid prints.

We had a vintage armchair re-covered in that Wm Morris fabric. It looks lovely.
I agree that it is probably a bit much for big curtains in a normal sized room, though.
How about flogging them on eBay? But first thinking v carefully about what you’d like instead.
Fabric depts. of big stores will sell you a small piece to take home and ‘test’ against existing colours. At my local JL you can buy a minimum of 10 cm from a roll. And you can ask to be sent free samples of fabrics they have display lengths of, but not rolls. We did that with the WM fabric, to make sure it’d go with the room.