Latest Trends

New season, new trends. And Dan Hopwood (www.danielhopwood.com) from the British Institute of Interior Design says the top three themes for autumn are texture, lighting and his personal favourite, a British take on wabi-sabi – the Japanese celebration of imperfection and nature.

‘Think of up-cycling as an art form’ he says. ‘The Dutch artist Bouke de Vries is a master of this with his latest works in reconstructed porcelain. The Patina Verdigris effect, which is the bluish-green coating that forms on the surface of copper, is also another great example’.

Hopwood suggests trying this effect over dining chairs. ‘Get odd ones off eBay and stick some transfer leaf in copper to them, then spray some water mist and dab Nitromors with a stiff brush on to the leaf, and the effect will kick in’. Alternatively, you can keep things natural with a dining or coffee table in unseasoned solid wood. ‘Reclaimed parquet floors, aged Chesterfields from Fleming & Howland, moody Rothko paintings and industrial black Dexion shelving also all work for this theme’, adds Hopwood.

Hopwood recommends: A raw wood table (pictured above) from James Ransley of Whetstone Oak (www.whetstoneoak.co.uk)