The Independent - Interiors RSS Feed

The ten best coffee tables

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:00:13 GMT

Chosen by Rebecca Burns

A Room Of My Own: Craig Ford, fashion brand manager

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 00:00:01 GMT

The building is a 1950s piece of Modernist social housing. When I bought it three years ago it was a bit of a mess. The woman who lived here before had tried to turn it into a Victorian home, putting up ceiling roses and things. I stripped all that out and got back to the clean lines. I really like that period of architecture. I did the renovations while I lived here, and it was probably the most stressful period of my life, living in one room while we did the others up. There was no hot water for three months, but I think it was worth it.

Why Diane von Furstenburg is re-modelling Claridge's

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:38:25 GMT

Today's top fashion designers need more than catwalk success and sellout handbags. They need a hotel to brand their own. The latest fashion designer to succumb to this hotel design trend is Diane von Furstenburg. The designer, famous for her iconic jersey wrap dress, is bringing a new look to a series of rooms at London's famous Art Deco hotel Claridge's this June.

Loving, hating, buying...

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:00:01 GMT

The modern warehouse

Not to be mistaken for a pop-up shop with a similar name, The Modern Warehouse has been running for six years specialising in mid- century modern furniture. This stylish Rosewood Chest (£1,450) is typical of their one-off pieces. (www.themodern warehouse.com)

The ten best range cookers

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:43 GMT

Chosen by Miranda Vinall

Is it possible to decorate a unisex – and tasteful – nursery?

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:32:18 GMT

"I can't believe you don't want to know," is the resounding response when I explain I don't know the sex of my unborn child. Now eight months pregnant and hit by the "nesting bug", my mission is to create a unisex nursery that steers clear of cult-ish cartoon characters and lurid colours.

Get the look: from the minimalism of Wallander to Mad Men chic

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Much has been made of the gorgeous clothes and perfect styling of Mad Men, but for many viewers it's the interiors which are the real stars; Don Draper's double-headed desk lamp, Pete's office sofa and Betty's padded velvet headboard are all the subject of desperate online pleas from frustrated amateur designers keen to recreate the look.

The ten best sofa beds

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:00:18 GMT

Lie back, relax, and take in our selection of the finest sofa beds. Ideally suited for a husband in the dog house or a best friend too merry to find their way home.

The 50 best Kitchenware

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 00:00:06 GMT

The ten best interiors websites

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:51 GMT

Chosen by Ifunanya Ifeacho

There's a pattern emerging: How Marie Perkins helped define the phenomenon of big, bold prints for the masses

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:00:01 GMT

From textiles to table mats, greetings cards to curtains, over the past few years pattern has exploded into our homes and lives, leaving few objects untouched by graphic retro prints or whimsical illustrations of flora and fauna.

Making magic with Alice in Wonderland

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:27:47 GMT

Designers, in both fashion and interior worlds, have gone completely potty for Alice in Wonderland in the run-up to Tim Burton's much-anticipated fantasy film out early March.

Making magic with Alice in Wonderland

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:27:47 GMT

Designers, in both fashion and interior worlds, have gone completely potty for Alice in Wonderland in the run-up to Tim Burton's much-anticipated fantasy film out early March.

How to decorate children's rooms

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Decorating your children's bedroom has traditionally been a tricky area – they want cartoon wallpaper and garish colours, you want something they will like for more than six months and colours that won't completely clash with the rest of the house.

The ten best bedlinen

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:06 GMT

Chosen by Kate Hilpbern

Britain's sexiest hotels for Valentine’s Day

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:44:13 GMT

Tired of playing the British prude, many of the country's top hotels have become brazenly sexy in their interior design. "Some blame the recession, some the increasing attractiveness of the British people, but whatever the cause, UK hotels are getting sexier," asserts Ben Cooper, Editorial Director of Travel Intelligence. "It seems you can't enter a suite these days without being greeted by an 8ft four poster or a roll top bath. As avid fans of the weekend away, we wholeheartedly support this trend."

Britain's sexiest hotels for Valentine’s Day

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:44:13 GMT

The ten best slicers and dicers

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:40 GMT

Chosen by Larissa Khatchik

Mission interior design: Adventurer Ben Fogle goes into soft furnishings

Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:41:09 GMT

"If I wasn’t a TV presenter, I would be an interior designer," Ben Fogle informed me earlier this month. Really? The same Fogle who rowed across the Atlantic and pounded on foot across the Antarctic? Apparently so. Confirmed this week, the intrepid explorer is the latest ambassador for the home furnishings store OKA.

Well hung: There's nothing cosy about this wallpaper

Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:00:01 GMT

Who says the humble wall can't be a talking point? A new show called Walls are Talking: Wallpaper, Art and Culture, at the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester, is the first major UK exhibition of wallpaper by artists. It transports domestic wallpaper design far from the world of the cosy sprigged Laura Ashley pattern and into an altogether darker place, where themes of warfare, racism and sexuality often take centre stage.

The ten best fridges

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:54 GMT

Chosen by Nicola Hebden and Larissa Khatchik

How to create the perfect kitchen

Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:00:01 GMT

At first it might seem overwhelming trying to create the perfect kitchen, but the chances are you've already worked out what's annoying you about your current one, so start by thinking about what you would do to put that right.

In bed with the stars

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:24:14 GMT

What do the bedrooms of Claudia Schiffer, Keira Knightley, Liv Tyler and Jools Oliver have in common? They are kitted out in the Anglo-Indian hand-printed bed linens, embellished cushions or embroidered wall hangings designed by emerging online boutique Lulu and Nat.

Television: Learn to think outside the box

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:01 GMT

So, after months and months of saving every penny and consulting numerous paint charts and colour swatches, the living room has finally been decorated to your exacting standards. It's tasteful with just a hint of trendiness to signal to the Joneses that you are well up with them. You've remembered to fit the dimmer switches and hide the cables. You've bought a beautiful rug that isn't too similar to the curtains. And you've even remembered to buy storage space for the satellite box, the DVD player and speakers, although you have insisted that the video player and old tapes finally be relegated to the loft.

The ten best mirrors

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 00:00:25 GMT

Chosen by Rhiannon Bury