As told to Kate Youde
Mindful design — interior designer, Matthew Williamson
In 2023 we will see interior designers and homeowners making more mindful choices. This will include environmentally conscious decisions on everything from paint to furniture and accessories, as well as the continued resurgence of reclaiming, restoring and upcycling.
Using what you have already and reworking it in a different way can be so rewarding — it is more personal and just as effective as starting from scratch. We tend to think luxury comes from buying shiny new things but luxury can be found just by seeing things differently. Rather than physical items, we may start to think more about feelings and atmosphere. A candlelit drinks trolley will add a luxurious touch to a living room, for example.
Perhaps it is a contradiction, but the new trend may be to go your own way and not follow a generic style, to resourcefully create layers from what you have and to tell your own story. The best-looking rooms and homes are those which have soul and a unique personality.
Matthew Williamson is a former fashion designer and an award-winning British interior designer
Mixing old and new — design studio director, Charu Gandhi
Trends are cyclical and often pull from the past and in 2023 we are going to see an integration of vintage and modern design aesthetics. Mixing micro-trends such as leathered stone finishes with more vintage features such as stained glass will give your space a unique feel.
Increasingly, clients are also asking us to design schemes with less furniture and we expect this to continue. Not only does this result in spaces that feel larger, more open and less cluttered but it also instils a sense of calm. Similarly, for bedroom linen, instead of the stark blue-toned white hue to which we’ve all become accustomed, we are starting to use a much richer, warmer — almost yellow — palette as it creates a cosy, calming atmosphere by reflecting a softer light.
To accent this, we are using wood finishes, especially timber with beautiful grains, to offset the cooler neutral tones used on furnishings, walls and flooring.
Charu Gandhi is founder and director of interior design studio Elicyon
Home bars — kitchen specialist, Tom Howley
We have plenty of bars in the order book for 2023. Not fully fitted bars that you sit at but a place where you can prepare a drink (main picture, top). Generally this will only be a 1.5m cabinet against the wall in an open-plan living space with a little sink, perhaps with a Quooker tap for fizzy, chilled, filtered and boiling water. There might be a drinks fridge or a wine fridge and there will be storage for glasses and bottles of spirits.
Most people that live in large houses like to entertain and they like to have all the toys there when people come round. And it can tick the box for everyone — I have just designed one with a treats cupboard for kids.
Tom Howley is creative design director of his eponymous kitchen company, Tom Howley
Green — creative director, Martin Waller
Green is the new grey. The austerity of the taupe age is over. It is now the age of Kermit, the Incredible Hulk and all things emerald, lime, forest, pistachio, jade and sage, for everything from wall colours, fabrics and cushions to bedheads, rugs and curtains.
Green is the English country house decorating staple and has a noble heritage, from the neoclassical British architect and designer Robert Adam onwards. An extension of this leads us to florals, where green is the perfect foil.
With the fallout of Covid and a bleak economic outlook we are returning to the warmth and comfort of English country house floral prints — though for 2023, it is more a splash or dash than the full-on chintz extravaganza of the 1980s.
Martin Waller is founder and creative director of interiors brand Andrew Martin
Photography: James Kelly; Georgina Viney Photography
