Interiors: Warm up winter with accessories

EVEN the coolest style can be warmed up with a few tactile pieces. Pile rugs or this season’s favourite animal skin patterns on stone, ceramic or wooden floors look and feel good.

Accessories can warm up your winter decor. Picture: Contributed

Throws are a perennial cold weather accessory. Choose one in tweed, tartan or a chunky knit, and team with suede and leather cushions. Add textural interest to drapes by edging them with one of this year’s hot colours in a suede finish fabric, or tie back with thick rope loosely knotted either at the top third of the drape or two thirds of the way down.

Pick accessories such as vases, candle holders and bowls from the latest stone, wood and flat glazed ceramics. The bigger and chunkier the better, so look for large garden pots and urns. Filled with sculptural leaf plants or oversized hydrangea heads these look wonderful placed either side of a fireplace or doorway.

Mix bold and geometric patterns for a lively scheme. Use retro florals with coordinating tartans and plaids or ikat designs with toning stripes. Recalling the 1970s, colour blocking (bold blocks of colour printed on a plain background) in moody oranges and browns is one of this winter’s top trends. While mixing and matching patterns was a popular trend in this year’s design shows, for a successful scheme it is important to maintain a relationship between the depth and shade of different colours in the different patterns.

• Pat Elliott, The Borders Design House. Visit their website for design services, courses and workshops. Start a new career as a Homestyle Advisor or learn to ‘Be Your Own Designer’ with our distance-learning interior design courses (07765 057 409, thebordersdesignhouse.co.uk)