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Earthborn flower pot north facing paint colour
Top tips on how to design your long narrow living room
How to design an L shaped room ideas and tips
How to decorate alcoves in your living room
How To Sophie Clemson How To Sophie Clemson

How to create a flow in your open plan room 

Open plan rooms have grown increasingly popular over the years and usually become the hub of the family home. When working with customers who need help designing their open plan room, a question they usually ask is, ‘How do I create a flow?’. This is an important factor to consider for open plan rooms because having a flow will create a cohesive and well designed space. We’re sharing with you our interior tips and tricks so you can create an open plan that flows beautifully.

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Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson

The Living House answer your open plan room questions 

When you're designing an open plan room, there are so many things to think about, and it can become overwhelming with all of the decisions you need to make. We have a great community on our Facebook group where you can share your design dilemmas. We asked our members to share their open plan room questions so that we could answer them here on our blog. We've had so many great questions, which I have loved answering! Read on to see our members design dilemmas for their open plan rooms, it might just help you with yours.

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Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson

Is a kitchen island right for me? 

Is a kitchen island right for me? This is a big question that comes up often when we help customers with their open plan kitchens. I’m sharing a few key points that you should consider before you commit to a kitchen island to help you avoid making any costly design mistakes.

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Shopping, Seasonal Sophie Clemson Shopping, Seasonal Sophie Clemson

Refresh your home with these summer home finds

Summer seems pretty much nonexistent at the moment (please come out soon, sun!!). Even though we’re waiting for warmer and sunnier days, it doesn’t mean you can’t brighten up your home. While designing for our customers, we have found so many beautiful summer inspired interior finds that we just had to share them with you. If you’re wanting to give your home a little summer update, check out these great homeware pieces we have discovered. Whether you're on the hunt for something colourful and bold or light and airy, there is something you’re sure to love.

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Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson

5 rules for designing an open plan room 

At The Living House, we’ve been designing open plan rooms for years now and understand what works and what doesn’t. Each open plan room can be completely different and needs to work in multiple ways depending on your lifestyle, however, there are some rules we like to follow for the open plan spaces we design. We’re sharing with you five rules we use when designing an open plan room for our customers.

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Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson

5 things we would never do as interior designers 

At The Living House, we have over 30 years of experience between us, and like many other designers, there are things that we would never do when designing our own homes and our customers'. Of course, interior design shouldn’t be about strict and rigid rules, we feel our homes should reflect our lifestyle and personality. However, there are some interior decisions we stand by at The Living House that we would love to share with you.

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Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson

What is transitional interior design?

If you’re a fan of the hit Netflix show Dream Home Makeover, you might have heard of the term transitional. It has become increasingly popular and is a much loved style by our customers and us! If you’re looking for a relaxed, lived-in feel that uses traditional and modern pieces together, then read on, because you’re going to absolutely love the transitional interior design style.

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Shopping, Seasonal Sophie Clemson Shopping, Seasonal Sophie Clemson

Revamp your garden for summer: our ultimate outdoor picks

To inspire you I have a roundup of my favourite outdoor pieces from well-known high street brands. There’s bags of inspiration here with my favourite finds so that you can make the most of your garden. Throw open those doors and get started on creating a beautiful outdoor space that your neighbours will envy and you will enjoy all summer long!

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Shopping Sophie Clemson Shopping Sophie Clemson

5 sustainable homeware brands you need to know about 

At The Living House, we love to discover sustainable brands when designing for our customers. We are often asked by our customers to design their rooms with sustainability in mind. This can range from finding pre-loved furniture on Facebook Marketplace to eco-friendly paint and sofa fabrics.

We can shop from anywhere, so if caring for our planet is high on your agenda too, we have shared five of our favourite sustainable brands.

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Tips and Advice, How To Sophie Clemson Tips and Advice, How To Sophie Clemson

5 interior tips to design a kids’ shared bedroom

Designing a kids shared bedroom can be a tricky task. You want both of your children to love it and feel like they have their own space, but most importantly, it needs to be practical too. An important factor when designing your children’s shared bedroom is that you want it to be fair, with each child having an equal amount of space to call their ‘own’ and showcasing both of their personalities. We’ve shared our top 5 interior design tips to inspire you when designing your kids' shared bedroom.

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Tips and Advice, How To Sophie Clemson Tips and Advice, How To Sophie Clemson

How to design a kids room to last

When designing a kid's bedroom, you want it to last for years to come and have longevity. We know that children go through many phases, from liking dinosaurs one minute to football the next. As they grow and go through different likes and dislikes, it’s impossible to constantly make changes to their bedroom. We’re sharing our tips to design a kids bedroom that will last for years to come and grow with them.

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Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson

10 pet friendly interior design ideas for your home 

When designing your home, it should be all about your family, and of course, that means your furry friends too! Your pets are an important part of your home, and we wouldn't be without them, but before you know it, your sofa can become a scratching post and your rug can be covered in mucky paw prints. After years of designing for families with pets and having two dogs and three cats within The Living House team, we know what is going to stand the test of time.

We’re sharing with you our 10 top tips so that you can have a beautiful family home that works for you and your pets!

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Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson

Top 10 kids rooms selected by an interior designer

When designing a kid's bedroom, it can be tricky to know where to start and what style to go for. You may have scrolled through Pinterest and found lots of inspiration, but you’re still on the lookout for something a bit more magical and different. I've selected 10 kid bedrooms that I've discovered on Pinterest, which I think are truly wonderful, and that will inspire you.

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How To, Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson How To, Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson

How to design a kids small bedroom

Kids bedrooms are usually the smallest room in the home, which can come with some challenges. You want to maximise the storage space because of the never ending toys, but the room is small, which leaves you wondering how you are going to fit everything in while still creating a cool and fun bedroom your child will love.

With some clever storage ideas, multifunctional furniture, interesting paint techniques, and much more, you can make the most of every inch of space in your kid's small bedroom. We’ve shared 10 of our top tips to help you design your kid's small bedroom.

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How To, Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson How To, Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson

How to design a family friendly living room 

Families come in all shapes and sizes, and no family is the same, just like our homes. When designing for our customers, we create a room that works for the whole family and that is truly bespoke to them. Living rooms are the most common spaces we design for families, they are one of the rooms in the home that everyone uses.

After years of experience when it comes to designing living rooms for families, we wanted to share our expert interior design tips with you.

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Paint, Furniture, How To, Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson Paint, Furniture, How To, Tips and Advice Sophie Clemson

How to make your living room cosy

I don’t know about you, but for me, January always feels quite bleak with the cold and wet weather and, of course, the dark evenings. If I’m out and about for the day, I can’t wait to get home to hibernate and be all cosy! Once in and settled by this, I mean instantly changing into my comfy pyjamas and oodie, all I want to do is chill out and relax in my living room. In the winter, you start to look around your living room and think, how could I make this space cosy?!

Well, if this is exactly what you’re thinking, the good news is that I have shared 5 tips to make your living room feel like a cosy haven!

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