Style your perfect new home with our best interior design ideas

So now you’ve got the keys to your new dream home, you can’t wait to make a start on creating the perfect interior that reflects your personality and style. Our resident interior designer Kim Bell, from Etch Interiors, shares her helpful insights into making the most of your new property…

Creating a space where you feel comfortable and relaxed in your home can have a real influence on your wellbeing, says interiors expert Kim Bell, who has been creating beautiful bespoke interior designs for Chestnut Homes for nearly five years.

“It's really important to have a nice environment in your home as it does impact how you feel,” says Kim. “You also want to show it off to your friends and family and be proud of where you live.

“What I enjoy about being an interior designer is seeing all the new trends coming through. I love colour, patterns and texture and seeing how these can complement one another.

“I want to bring that to a client and make them feel as happy as I feel when I'm choosing the fabrics in the design room. I like to see their face light up as much as mine did when I saw it.”

Here Kim shares her top tips on styling your new Chestnut Homes property:

Have a plan of attack

It’s essential to have a plan and to work out your budget before you start. Take the time to ensure your fabrics, paint tones and wallpapers match. If you get this wrong, it's not going to feel comfortable and you won’t enjoy living in this space.

The most common mistake people make when updating and styling their home is not having a plan and a budget to follow. I don't think people realise how much they could end up spending - they might go into it thinking they can have the world and have so little, but with so little you can only do so much.

Choose a focal point

I always think about the type of person who is going to live here, where they have lived before and what fixtures, furniture and appliances they already have.

We pick out the colour scheme and then we focus on one colour in the room that we're starting with, and work off that, choosing fabrics, paint colour, textures and patterns that work well together. We take the theme into different rooms so we're maintaining the same colour palette throughout the house.

Go with the flow

Make sure everything flows so it works together nicely. You need to move easily around the room - consider carefully how to lay out your furniture so that you maintain that traffic flow. Make the most of every square foot of space.

No more white walls in your home

I would recommend avoiding plain white walls - that’s a bit of a no-no these days. We want to have some fun and entertainment by projecting a bit of theatre onto the walls and make a statement.

Every room needs a focal point. You need to have something interesting so that people come in and say ‘Wow, look at that’. Attention to detail is so important in making a lovely home.

Keep up to date with design new trends

I think the questions I’m most commonly asked as an interior designer is about new trends and where they come from - I enjoy discovering what’s in fashion through online research, going to shows and looking at new collection launches.

One of the main trends inspiring us right now is the organic theme - bringing the outside in with the use of accessories such as plants. We’re also seeing a lot of curved lines and bold colours.

A perfect room to decorate for first-time buyers

We had a lot of fun dressing a home for first-time buyers at Chantrey Park, Market Rasen. In the kitchen, we put in a bar table and styled it with cocktails, so they could imagine having their friends round for a drink and to show off their new home.

We also created little cooking themes, such as a pasta-making area and in the living room, we used a lovely feature wallpaper on the TV wall - it’s the first thing you see when you walk into the room. We had a bespoke TV unit made to measure which works so well with the room.

We chose a bold sofa in a rich velvet fabric and added pops of colour with the cushions, using different textures and patterns.

Working from home is obviously really important now, so we made space for a bespoke desk in the living room. We also created a living wall to help with feeling connected to nature which also has a fun neon light in it.

Waiting to decorate your new home

If you plan to redecorate your home, we recommend that you wait between 6 – 18 months until the drying process is complete.  

Kim our interior designer’s final word of advice

Moving into a new home is a fantastic experience and to make the most of it, it’s all about being prepared and having a plan - and also about getting excited and having fun.