get restoration hardware style interiors in the u.k.

18th July 2019

What a journey our living room has been on since we moved in. I still have the video of what this room looked like when we moved in and I cannot believe its the same room. Over the last year and a half we have flipped the room on its head, added a real wood burning stove complete with faux chimney, new carpet, new cornice, curtains, carpet and as of today it is finally 99.9% finished.

Its weird what a little confidence in your ability does for you and once I began tackling rooms on my own and trusting my instinct whilst also welcoming Ali’s input, annoyingly he’s right pretty much all the time and in this room it was no different. He’d told me he didn’t like the sofas from the word go but I wouldn’t listen. Finally I caved and began researching the style I wanted this room to take. After a weekend at Thyme, I had dinner at their incredible Ox Barn restaurant which really channels a country meets Restoration Hardware vibe which I instantly fell in love with. The light toned wood, glass tea light candles and the mix of both natural alongside quite dramatic finishes sent me spinning into new wave of interior design inspiration. As I spiralled, my style resonated with the R.H. aesthetic more and more which meant the frustration of not actually being able to shop the bloody store became overwhelming so I dedicated a fair amount of time to resolving the issue.  I searched online stores from top to bottom and curated wish lists on as many as I could in order to create the kind of space I envisioned.

COLOUR & TONE

The general consensus when it comes to R.H. styling is neutral colours with dramatic furniture and finishes so it was a bit of a different spin in my lounge because I had gone for a dark toned wall in the shade ‘Hague Blue’ by Farrow & Ball. But I applied the same rule as it appears on a lot of the inspiration images I had been referencing where by I added grey/light toned solid wood furniture in with a scattering of brass/gold toned accessories and dramatic black and cream/white fabrics and finishes. The rustic wood mixed with the more modern gold tones were a dream against the blue walls and from there, everything fell into place.

Don’t be afraid to mix your metals either, this was one of the most valuable lessons I learnt from chats with my talented interior designer friend Sarah. The addition of gold tones to a room instantly warms the space up and I’m not a fan cold stark feeling spaces (probably due to my old house being just that) so this really has changed the feel of so many rooms in my house.

Below I have curated some of my favourite items in order to add these tones to your room to create a little more drama and warmth in your home.

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LIVED IN LUXE

The Restoration Hardware style what I like to refer to as ‘Lived in Luxe’ it looks expensive and stylised without being too stiff. Mirrors and pictures can rest against walls rather than being perfectly positioned and mixing formal fabrics with those that are more natural and lived-in works so well. I didn’t want this room to end up feeling Shabby Chic, so I went for a structured sofas shape with a relaxed  white linen fabric which you will see in tonights video, initially completely threw me when it arrived. But now that this room is finished, I can’t imagine another sofa style in this room. Linen is just the most beautiful fabric and its one of my absolute favourites to use in my home.

Our sofas and armchairs are from the ‘Isaac’ range in shade ‘Alabaster’ available at Sofa.com.

DECOR DISPLAY FURNITURE

In my old house, we couldn’t even display picture frames because anything on our (strategically painted white) surfaces, would absorb all the natural light and make it dark and dingy. So in our new house, we have gone all out with bookcases and console tables galore, I find styling and dressing these areas so therapeutic but what I’ve realised recently is, the surface that you are dressing is as important as the dressing itself and finding the right texture and colour woods has been a journey. Grey/light tone woods are synonymous with Restoration hardware style, often mixed with black iron legs or details which can sometimes add a VERY SLIGHT industrial element but it has to be very slight. Our stunning console pictured is from Charlested Interiors and its the perfect size and finish for the space which linked in perfectly with our coffee table from Oka (not seen) that has the mix of iron and wood we were searching for.

Below I’ve curated a list of decorative display pieces which work well (and some of which are being fed into our own home as we speak) with displaying a mix of coffee table books, sculptures and trinkets.

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If you want to see more of my living room and have a real nose around, my latest Youtube video contains a full tour so make sure you head over to my channel to see the finished result.

What is your favourite interior style and what are your tips for dressing your space? let me know in the comments below