Ercol sideboard at Roomes — *Ercol Canvas Large Cabinet, available at Roomes.*

Sponsored Content: This post has kindly been sponsored by Roomes. All words, thoughts and opinions are by Melanie Lissack.

Have you ever felt like you can never finish a room and have it feel complete? Maybe you’ve picked your paint colour and you know what style of sofa you are after, but you just don’t know what else to place into the space to finish off your decor scheme? Or, perhaps you’ve picked out a wallpaper that you like, but you have no idea what type of fabrics would complement it?

Large scale items such as soft furnishings, furniture and lighting can be big investments, so it’s crucial to not get it wrong. Classic home decor mistakes include buying rugs or sofas in the wrong size, or choosing colours that clash with your existing decor. A common interior design regret that I have made in the past includes being disappointed after ‘playing it safe’ and choosing furniture in plain fabrics, rather than pushing myself to be braver with my textile selections.

It’s these types of home decor challenges where the input from an interior designer is invaluable. A trained set of eyes will instantly spot potential interior decor errors and can offer suggestions and alternatives, saving you money in the long run by encouraging and supporting you to buy once and buy well.

You might have a completely empty room and have no idea where to start, or it might be that all you need is some gentle help and guidance with furniture options, narrowing down colourways, or picking out fabrics. An interior designer can help you with all of these decisions, as well as reassure and assist you with bolder patterns and colourways, pushing you outside of your comfort zone to achieve the type of decor scheme you’ve long admired, but never had the confidence to achieve alone.

cottagecore cushions — *Image Credit: Roomes*

While typical interior design services have often been associated with high-end projects, you may not be aware that affordable interior design services - such as that offered by Roomes - exist to help the everyday customer create the home of their dreams. I was so intrigued that I decided to try Roomes Interior Design Service out for myself, taking an outline of an unfinished room in my home to Roomes interior designer Holly (who graduated at the The British Academy of Interior Design), to help me complete the space for just £250 (which is fully refundable if you spend certain amount in store).

A stylish and welcoming Essex-based flagship furniture store, Roomes are also a family-run business who have been serving Upminster and the surrounding areas of Kent, London, and East Anglia since 1888. Their wide range of furniture and homeware includes leading brands like Ercol, Laura Ashley, G Plan, Morris & Co and Parker Knoll. Realising that customers often struggled to make interior design choices, Roomes branched out as leading furniture retailers to also offer an affordable interior design service. This service is available for every type of property and any type of project, and includes an onsite measuring visit, interior design development, installation coordination and a final styling appointment.

budget friendly interior design service — *Image Credit: Roomes*

For my own room that I had been struggling with, I’d picked out an Ellie Cashman wallpaper, and I planned to install sage green wall panelling on the lower half of the walls. The room already contained a light ash herringbone floor, and I had my eye on a couple of items I’d seen on the Rooms website: an Ercol Grade 3 seater sofa which I like for it’s modern yet casual shape, and a green Laura Ashley table lamp with floral detailing would match proposed panelling.

mood board living room sage green — *My initial room concept ideas that I sent over to interior designer Holly at Roomes.*

I passed these details over to Holly, along with a few images of the rest of my home so that she could get a sense of my interior style. From here, Holly used these as a starting point to complete a room scheme for me as part of Roomes Interior Design Service.

Roomes Interior Design Service: How It Works

Book a visit
Head to the Roomes website to enquire about your project and reach out to Holly, Roomes Interior Designer!
Introductory phone call
Holly will contact you to introduce herself, learn about the project in more detail, and get a feel for your needs before the home visit.
Home visit & site measure
Holly will come to your home to discuss your project in depth, including your style preferences, timeframe, budget, plus practical requirements. She’ll also carry out a full site measurement while she’s there.
Design development
Holly develops a tailored design package that typically includes mood boards and 2D/3D floor plans, plus specifications for furniture and fabrics.
In-store presentation
A presentation of the proposed furniture, fabrics and finishes is prepared and shown to you in store, so you can see all the options and select your preferred choices.
Scope & ordering
The design covers everything for the room, from wall coverings to window treatments, upholstered and dining furniture, beds and mattresses and lighting and accessories. Once you place the order, the initial £250 booking fee will be deducted from the order total if your spend is over £5000.
Delivery & installation coordination
Roomes will coordinate delivery and installation with suppliers so everything arrives and is installed smoothly. Roomes pride themselves on their customer service, so you can expect a continuously high experience from start to finish.
Final styling visit & sign-off
Holly normally returns after installation to add finishing styling tips, make any minor adjustments and sign off the project.

Interior Designer Suggestions:

After my initial consultation, Holly suggested a wide range of products that would all work cohesively together in the space, all of which could be sourced and supplied via Roomes. You can see the final look for my living room via this mood board:

living room mood board Roomes neutral — *The final room concept featuring all of Holly’s professional interior design picks.*

I was so happy with Holly’s suggestions. My personal interior style is to mix timeless furniture with a modern edge, while I’m a big fan of soft curves, muted colours and floral motifs. With that in mind, Holly paired a number of timeless pieces from Ercol alongside feminine Laura Ashley accessories. I love how she has combined tonal blues and greens to complement the bluebell wallpaper, while also throwing in a few curveballs (such as the glossy red bobbin lamp with a scallop shade!) A ‘surprising pop of red’ has been a huge interior trend for the past year, and Holly demonstrated with her choices just how that single injection of red can draw the eye, yet still blend nicely with a soft colour palette and neutrals.

Holly also selected a number of antiqued gold accessories which sat comfortably with the soft blue of the sideboard and the sage green tones, while the inclusion of wooden nesting tables adds a general layer of warmth to the scheme.

bobbin lamp scallop shade red — *The Spoll Floor Lamp in Red, available via Roomes.*

Designer Picks In Detail:

Furniture

British furniture brand Ercol are known for their mid-century modern pieces and the Pebble Coffee Tables are a classic design that never goes out of style. The fact that these tables come as a ‘nest’ provides double the table surface area when required, but can also be tucked together to save on space when not in use. “I chose the Pebble Coffee Table in the ‘oak on ash’ finish, as this compliments the light wood detail on the sofa”, said Holly.

Holly continued to use the much-loved Ercol brand via the ample storage ability of the Canvas Large Cabinet, where she chose the 'Ocean' U003 finish to highlight the blue in the floral motif of the selected wallpaper.

The Lounge Co's Joseph Armchair in the fabric 'Helter Skelter' was the final touch of furniture, added as a contrast to the paler shade of sage green on the wall panelling. “It has a cosy design, which is ideal to nestle into, to read and to relax”, said Holly.

Lighting

Along with the green Laura Ashley table lamp that I had already picked out on the Roomes website, Holly selected the luxurious-looking Sutton Ceiling Pendant in antique brass to add more warmth and richness into the scheme. The Spool Floor Lamp in red was chosen as Holly knew I was quite happy to be brave with colour, and she felt the quirky design added an element of fun that would pop against the neutrals and the greens.

Textiles

Textiles are something that I have always struggled with. I have never been confident with choosing rugs - I always find picking one quite daunting. Go too bold and it can overtake the room, while the safer, plain option often does nothing for a space. Holly’s choice of rug for my design scheme was perfect: neutral, but with a high-pile texture that adds visual interest without commanding full attention.

“In order to not detract from the bright and airy feel, enhanced by the light wood parquet flooring, I chose the Freja Cove rug in ivory,” said Holly. “Its pattern seems to be somewhat reflective of the herringbone effect of the flooring and is just enough without being too overpowering - allowing the print in the wallpaper and scatter cushions to really sing!”

Accessories

Holly picked out a starburst mirror to create a striking focal point in the room, along with a decorative sculpture to complement the floral prints and a white vase. The finishes of the mirror and the hare pair perfectly with the central pendant, while the vase was right up my street with its sophisticated pussy willow imprint.

Laura Ashley pussy willow vase — *Laura Ashley Pussy Willow Vase, available via Roomes.*

Conclusion

I was so happy with Holly’s vision for my living space. From sending her the basic elements of what existed in the room and conveying my interior style, Holly solved a number of design dilemmas that I had in the room (such as how to approach the lighting and choosing the right rug), and guided me to make the right choices to make the most of the space. I didn’t have to worry if anything was the wrong shape or size as Holly carried out a full room measurement beforehand. Every item could then be ordered, delivered and installed by Roomes, making it a simple, easy and flawless process.

To book your affordable interior design service from Roomes to help you with your home decor journey and avoid costly mistakes, click here to discuss your project.

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