Category: Lifestyle

Interior design can have a dramatic impact on the overall look and feel of a room, but this doesn’t always require a complete overhaul of a space – or even super matchy-matchy decor, for that matter. No, often it takes just one or two key features to transform a room from bland to beautiful.

Want to know more? Well, luckily for you, today we’ll be sharing a number of focal feature ideas for different areas of the home that are guaranteed to completely change a room’s ambience. From eye-catching staircases to cosy boiler stoves and more, we’ll show you how just one focal feature can steal the show.

1. Use stairs to create heavenly hallways

There’s no escaping the fact that most hallways simply serve the purpose of ushering people through to the more exciting rooms. However, as the gateway to your home, let your hallway be the star of the show for a change, using your stairs as an eye-catching feature.

If you have the space and budget, one idea is to install a fairytale spiral staircase. Curving around as you ascend to the next level brings something magical to a typically mundane act, as well as creating a stunning focal point for your home.

For more traditional staircases, why not use colour to accentuate their natural beauty? This could be brightly coloured carpet runners or a bold wallpaper print used on the back of stair treads. You could even go for painted stair treads or spindles in an ombre effect for a more playful look. The key here is to pair bold tones and patterns with pale, neutral hues like white, light grey or cream to allow the colours to speak for themselves.

2. Create a focal feature with fire

Fireplaces are a tried and tested focal feature in many homes, and for good reason. Back in the olden days, they were the place to gather to keep warm and cook, but in modern homes they offer the perfect opportunity to make a stylish design element – regardless of whether the fireplace is functional or not.

If you’re blessed with a traditional-style open fireplace with a mantlepiece or chimney breast, bring it bang up to date with a colourful makeover. This could be embellishing the hearth with patterned tiles or giving the fireplace itself a fresh coat of paint. If the fire isn’t usable, don’t leave it empty. Use candles, flowers or other decorative ornaments to draw the eye in and transform it from a functional element of the room to an integral design piece.

Of course, open-fireplaces aren’t your only option. If you’re looking to give your living room a cosy feel, then a free-standing stove could be the way to go. With models available in a choice of colours and styles, you can give the heart of your home that centrepiece it deserves. Finish your design with a collection of stove accessories like a funky wood basket and a sumptuous rug laid in front of the fire for soaking up that warm glow of an evening.

For further information on enhancing your fireplace design, check out our blog here.

3. Give your kitchen the wow factor

Whatever set up you have in your kitchen, this busy room is primed for making a style statement in your home – and it doesn’t require a full-scale kitchen makeover either. Instead, pick one key feature to update and let this be the core focus of your kitchen interior.

As the workhorse of most kitchens, we love the idea of making your kitchen worktops do more than just food prep and display various kitchen appliances. With a simple countertop update, you can transform the entire look and feel of your kitchen without even having to consider replacing any other integral pieces like cabinets and appliances.

For a timeless look that can be adapted to both classic and contemporary kitchen design, sleek and elegant granite worktops are a sensible choice. Not least, they’re incredibly durable and practical, meaning they’ll stay looking pristine and beautiful for decades with minimal effort, but also the wide choice of colours gives them incredible versatility to suit almost any decor style.

For more information around why you should have a fireplace in your kitchen, check out our blog here.

4. Let original features shine through

Whether you’re updating your bedroom, living room or kitchen, sometimes you don’t need to invest in adding new decorative details to a space to give it a fresh new look. Stripping back rooms to accentuate their original features can work equally as well in altering its aesthetic.

If your property has some quirky original features like exposed brickwork, wooden ceiling beams or vintage parquet floors, let these features come to the fore. You may think this will only work if you love rustic or industrial interiors, but you’d be wrong.

Contrasting old and new interiors correctly can make these design elements even more distinctive. Think a high-end modern all-white kitchen set against a striking red brick backdrop with pops of zesty coloured accents added in to soften the look. Or an ultra minimalist bedroom design that’s centred around original wooden floors, using a cool colour palette and simplistic decor to highlight its natural beauty.

Whichever avenue you choose to go down with giving your home defining focal features, we hope this gives you plenty of ideas on how to use one or two core elements in your interior design to transform the space.

Author bio:

Sophie Armstrong is a content creator for granite and quartz worktop specialists Burlington Granite who provide a full bespoke worktop solution by offering templating, cutting, polishing and fitting, all driven by 25 years of industry experience

1. It can be stunning focal feature

Unlike most other rooms in the home, the kitchen serves several practical purposes, and this means that the appliances often act as the focus points in this space. While you might have an attractive looking fridge or top-of-the-range washing machine, it’s unlikely that you want to draw attention to functional appliances when you’re considering interior decor.

By bringing in a fireplace, you can accessorise the borders and hearth with fireplace tiles to completely transform the look of your kitchen and make the fireside the focal point. A wood burning stove, acts as an eye-catching feature in its own right. However, you can always add the finishing touch by having a basket of wood and any pokers or accessories beside the stove.

2. It will provide warmth in winter

When the winter months set in, home cooked food is what most of us crave. But preparing to spend potentially hours in a frosty kitchen doesn’t hold much appeal, especially when you can be sitting snug and cosy with your throws by the fire in your living room – so how do you remedy that? Bring the fire into the kitchen, of course!

Heating your home using your kitchen fireplace can also be a way to keep energy costs low. Most modern stoves today are highly efficient and very clean burning. From wood pellets and firewood to mineral fuels, there are several options available to you when it comes to using your fire, so you can spend some time figuring out the best option for your home.

For more information around making the most with a fireplace during winter, check out our additional blog here.

3. It will create an atmosphere

Last but not least on our list of reasons for adding a fireplace to your kitchen is the atmosphere that this can create. A fireplace can add character to a room that has perhaps previously been all about being functional. While it still provides a purpose, it can be an attractive centrepiece even when not in use.

If you’re lucky enough to have space for a dining table and chairs in your kitchen, a fireplace could be the perfect finishing touch. In the winter evenings, you can light it up and allow the warm glow of the fire to bathe the kitchen in an ambient light as you eat together as a family. In summer when the fire isn’t needed, use the hearth to display candles and freshly picked flowers.

By choosing to have a fireplace in your kitchen, you can create a truly unique focal point that is practical, yet gives off bags of aesthetic appeal.

Author bio:

Suhayl Laher works at Tiles Direct, one of the UK’s largest independent tile distributors and retailers – bringing design inspiration to homeowners, architects and developers.