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25 Jul 19

Biophilia, colour-blocking and our childhood homes – show notes S4 Ep2

Hello and welcome to the second episode of series four of The Great Indoors and a big thank you to Topps Tiles for sponsoring our latest series. If you haven’t already, you can listen to the full show here and please remember to rate and subscribe – it all helps other lovely listeners find our pearly gems of wisdom and become part of The Great Indoors tribe!

So in today’s episode, we discuss whether our childhood homes shape our future interior tastes, the hot topic of biophilia, a return to the colour-blocking trend and of course, my personal tongue-in-cheek fave, design crimes.

Are we influenced by our childhood homes?

I was clearly influenced by my childhood home(s) to some extent as my parents were the original fixer-uppers! We moved quite a bit when I was growing up and I became quite intrigued with the transformations my mum and dad created – with the odd mishap here and there!

My real family home was from the age of six until I moved out and I can remember my mum fully embraced the decorating trends of the era – and yes I’m talking rag-rolling, stippling and scumble glazes – you name it! And I have to say, my teenage bedroom featured some extravagant paint effect decor, so I guess you could say I was inspired by my Mum’s love for the creative techniques and projects.

Kate related much more to her grandmother’s style – furniture in particular and has some pieces dotted around her house  – which are much more ‘her’ than her mum’s swags and curtain pelmets. Kate feels very much attached to the sentimental pieces and the stories they tell, I, however, became somewhat stricter when we moved and insisted if things don’t fit the space – they have to go! Sorry, Robinson family!

So, while we may take snippets of inspiration from our childhood homes, and it may skip a generation, we do inevitably form our own tastes and styles.

Biophilic design
 Biophilia and the benefits of introducing plants and greenery to the home are discussed by interior designer Sophie Robinson. A green velevet sofa, plenty of houseplants and light interiors all create the look. read more here. #biophilia #sophierobinson #podcast #thegreatindoors

Sainsbury’s Home Urban Paradise collection features invigorating green accessories set off by natural greenery in the form of house plants

So this is a subject which has had the spotlight recently – Biophilia is the love of nature and in particular the human attraction to natural processes. So why have plants come back into fashion again? Well, it could be that we have become more aware of the benefits of having living plants around the home. For one, they absorb toxins which in this age of technology can only be a good thing, and of course, the colour green is invigorating. In addition to greenery, biophilic design and eco expert Oliver Heath has stated that there have been studies showing that natural materials such as wood, wool and stone can actually help reduce stress and heart rates! You can see Kate’s full interview Oliver here, where they discuss this fascinating subject in depth.

Biophilia, is a love of nature. A refurbishment project by Oliver Heath features a natural reclaimed wooden clad wall and a variety of living plants in his vintage boho home in Brighton. #biophilia #oliverheath #podcast #sophierobinson

A full eco refurbishment of a 1960s house in Brighton by Oliver Heath, a biophilic dream!

In my recent office refurbishment at home, I just had to knock a hole in the wall to give me a view of the garden from my desk. The room before the renovation was dark, uninspiring and had no view at all. Now I get the best view in the whole of east Sussex. My home office was the old dining room and its a really good size but as my job takes up most of my week, I feel it’s important to prioritise having a really great space. I have written more on the subject on how to design your ultimate work space here.

Colour blocking

Use geometric patterns as a colour block design. Linee Studio featured clean lines and complementing colours so the space doesn’t look too busy

This is one trend that started life in the fashion world and has translated into the interiors world perfectly. Case in point, fashion designer Roksanda Ilincic makes her interior design debut that echoes her style. She designed this penthouse apartment (below) in the Gasholders complex in London’s Kings Cross.

Roksanda’s design features a mix of midcentury and modern furniture, a clever mix of curiosities and specially commissioned artwork. The table is by Angelo Mangiarotti from 1970, the Costes dining chairs are by Philippe Starck.

As the name suggests, it uses different – ideally strong – colours in large blocks. For me, you can never enough colours in a room but if you’re starting out you can achieve the look fairly simply by choosing a strict palette of around three ‘hero’ core colours and you can do this with a plain piece of furniture, a rug, and artwork. If you have an open plan space, paint blocks or sections on the walls to create zones.

Cape Red doorway by Little Greene

For the more adventurous among you, use the walls as your canvas to introduce different colours on each wall or section of the wall and even the ceiling. In my opinion, colour blocking works best when using bold, saturated colours that really make a statement.

Design Crimes

Much to Kate’s horror I recently invested in a new TV – all 49inches of it as opposed to Kate’s 27, the size of my computer monitor! Throughout my career in magazines, the TV was always frowned upon and quite rightly so – you don’t really want to look at a huge black block in the middle of the room.  So as the majority of us embrace modern technology and increasing screen sizes, the best solution is to try and incorporate it within a scheme – as I did in my mum’s annex with her custom build shelving.

My mum’s bookcase was built so the TV would sit snugly within it

It seems Emily Henderson agrees as she recently said that we never see a TV in any interiors magazines, when in fact that’s what most living rooms are for, so why try and hide them? The TV on most people’s wish list is the Samsung Frame TV which becomes a piece of art when it’s turned off. For a small monthly fee, you can select your favourite artwork from some the top galleries including the Tate Modern and the V&A or you can display some your own masterpieces.

Spot the TV – OldBrandNew’s gallery wall. The central ‘artwork’ is the Samsung Frame TV

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Catch Sophie In All Her Colourful Glory On Instagram

Ah @the_rhs Chelsea! What a feast for the eyes! In Ah @the_rhs Chelsea! What a feast for the eyes! Inbetween biblical downpours, thunder and lightning, it was a wonderful day of colour, design and chatter with some wonderful women! I’m slowly falling in love with gardening and my phone roll is full of inspiration after being immersed in natures finest. Thanks @michelleogundehin and @hazelgardinerdesign @thesohoagencyuk for the company. And a big congratulations Hazel on this stunning floral installation. And don’t forget if you want to hang out and be inspired by all things colour then my FREE live webinar is on tonight (25th) at 7pm tonight! Hop on to my profile for the link to sign up. Cannot wait to share some inspirational colour filled time with you all 

#rhschelsea
This is the first room we decorated after our reno This is the first room we decorated after our renovations. The entrance to your home creates the first impression. It’s also the room you walk into first thing in the morning and when you return home at the end of a long day. It needs to create the right welcome and what that feels like is hugely personal. For me I chose my favourite colours, this powerful cobalt  blue has always been a colour I’m drawn to. My wardrobe is full of it. And the bright pink is another one that always makes me instantly happy. Together they are a striking combination and I think anyone who walks through my front door, immediately gets a sense of what I’m about. I’m passionate about creating interiors that authentically  reflect the people who live there. Studying the psychology of colour made it so much easier for me, giving me a deeper understanding on the affects of colour and streamlining my process. If you’d like to know how to unlock your colour super power, join me for a free webinar this Wednesday evening (available to up for 48 hours after). It an introduction into colour psychology for interiors and my hope is it inspires you to have the courage and conviction to know what’s right for you.  And for a deeper dive my online course Colour Psychology for interiors has opened for enrolment. All links to sign up are in my bio on my profile @sophierobinsoninteriors 
What does your hallway say about you? 
📷 @aluncallenderphoto 
CREDITS walls in lazuli by @zoffanyfw stair runner @roger_oates floor tiles @claybrookstudio door painted in rose ash @sanderson1860 

#colourpsychology #colourpsychologyforinteriors #banthebiege #punchyhome #hallway #boldcolourinteriors #colourlover
My kitchen, the heart of my home. The smallest, da My kitchen, the heart of my home. The smallest, darkest room in the house with no view, but that’s old houses for you! You’ll often find the kitchen in the worst place. So to amp up the joy I chose a forest green (hunters green by @zoffanyfw) for the cabinets to mirror the woodland outside. We sourced reclaimed school science lab work tops and I wrapped the room in one of my favourite papers, Rubarber by @borastapeter. Tom put in retro fit underfloor heating and we used reclaimed terracotta tiles from @ca_pietra_  so the floor looks as old as the house but feels so warm! . For the ugliest darkest room in the house it’s become our favourite because of the colours, patterns and rustic textures.that’s the power of great interior design! 
Next up in my series of posts about the psychology of colour is the Autumn personality. You’ll have a love of rich deep warm Colours, natural finishes, nature inspired patterns and period features. The autumn palette is warm, earthy abs rich and perfect for making spaces feel cosy and inviting. 
To learn more about the autumn personality, hop on up to my bio and click the link to be taken to the blog. And you can sign up to my FREE webinar I’m hosting next Wednesday if you’d like to learn more about this powerful framework. 
Meanwhile have a gorgeous weekend! 
📷 @aluncallenderphoto Styling @katemcphee 

#colourpsychology #banthebeige #autumnpersonality #colourpsychologyforinteriors #kitchen #greenkitchen #countryhomesandinteriors #countrykitchen #ihavethisthingwithcolor #myeclectichome #maximalistdecor
Come and join my FREE webinar on Colour Psychology Come and join my FREE webinar on Colour Psychology next Wednesday 25th at 7pm GMT 🤩 hop on up to the link in my bio @sophierobinsoninteriors to register.
My brilliant online course, Colour Psychology for Interiors, is open for enrolment this month, so if you fancy finding out a bit more about this utterly game changing framework I’d love to have you join. It’s SO MUCH more than ‘ red is energising’, ‘blue is calming’ stuff you’ve all heard before. This is a deep dive into discovering how colours work, how to harmonise them and discovering your own unique and authentic style. Only then can you create a home you live and one that supports you emotionally. I LOVE teaching this stuff because the feedback I get from students is mind blowing! Don’t take my word for it, sign up for the free webinar today! 😍 and if you’ve already done my course, please share in the comments below what you loved about it. 

#colourfulhome #colourpsychology #colourpsychologyforinteriors #banthebeige #colourlover #confidentcolour #confidentcolourscheming
Have you found your design mojo? Do you gravitate Have you found your design mojo? Do you gravitate towards a style of interiors that just feels so ‘you’. Making a home is so much more than creating beautiful squares for Instagram. It has to FEEL right and this is where the psychology of colour comes in. Colour is light, it has an energy which directly impacts your brain and emotions. And we all have a unique relationship to it. So rather than follow the crowd, be swayed by trends it’s so important to understand your own authentic relationship with colour. Over on the blog today I’m starting a series of posts all about the seasonal colour personalities. First up is spring which is all the joy, uplift and energy. My bathroom, pictured above, is very ‘spring’ with light reflecting walls, energetic patterns and bright colours. The mood  is uplifting, fresh and feel-good. Hop on up to my link in my profile to read the blog post in full and discover if you are a Spring personality and how to create rooms that reflect this joyful mood. 
Tap for credits
📷 @aluncallenderphoto 

#colourpsychology #colourpsychologyforinteriors #banthebeige #colourfulhome #colourlover #ihavethisthingwithcolor #spring #springbpersonality #colourfuldecorchallenge #homedecor #myeclecticmix #bathroom #bathroominspo
So proud of mr best mate @sophieabbottartist who o So proud of mr best mate @sophieabbottartist who opens her house this weekend to showcase her artwork in her home as part of Brightons artists open houses. She’s always been a creative whirlwind and keeps the joy of colour alive in her paintings inspired by the sea, and the local woodlands that surround her home in Brighton. For Sophie, colour gives her life, she’s the ultimate joy monger and I’m so blessed to have her as my side kick in life. If you get a chance today, pop round to heed for a bolt if the feel good vibes

#artistopenhouses #brighton #colourlover #banthebiege #ihavethisthingwithcolour
When you find the palette of colours you love, you When you find the palette of colours you love, you just wantto surround yourself  in every part of your home! This painting by @studiocoverdale really hits the mark for me, with all my favourites on one place. Today I’m opening my most popular online course, ‘Colour Psychology for a interiors’, ready  for your enrolment. This is my most popular and indeed  powerful course. It gets to the core of how colours work in harmony , how they effect you emotionally and how to bring all the design and pattern  elements together to make your home and your heart sing! I’m a Spring personality, and with that I adore all the busy patterns, bright and vibrational colours, plenty of pretty details and preferably all at once! While typical spring personalities prefer a more delicate and soft colour palette, my secondary season is Autumn, which prefers richer and punchier shades. Combined together my home is unique and perfect for me. I honestly rarely want to leave the house! And while this framework is an amazing tool for interior design, it’ll also give you colour confidence in every area of your life including your wardrobe. I can’t recommend it enough. When I started implementing this framework  in my own design practice six years ago it was absolutely game changing! While I’ve  always been confident with bold colour, this insight gave me the clarity to speed up my design process and get it right every time! Hop on over to the link in my bio to find out more. 
📷 @aluncallenderphoto 
#colourpsycholgy #colourlover #banthebiege #colourfulhome #colourmyhome #maximalistinteriors #boldbravebeautifulinteriors #dopaminedressing #dopaminedecor
The power of paint! I’ve been extolling it’s v The power of paint! I’ve been extolling it’s virtues my entire career. Roll a bold new hue on your walls and voila! Game changer. But on our recent podcast @mad_about_the_house explored the wider impact of paint on the environment. An astonishing 50 million litres makes it into landfill each year so it feels like, as serial decorators, we could all club together and do our bit to bring that figure down. 
It’s a minefield but over on my blog today I sum up my tips on how we can easily use less of it and round up the paint brands who are doing their bit to tackle the issues. From the ingredients in the tin, to recycling waste paint, to using pouches rather than tins, there is plenty of innovative ideas. Choosing natural paint feels like a good option and if you’re hooked on designer paint colours, it’s no more expensive. Last year I painted my bedroom Turquoise by @edwardbulmerpaint and I’m thrilled with the colour, quality and durability. Just goes to show lovely paint doesn’t have to cost the earth. Hop onto the link in my profile for the full post and if you know if a paint brand who are tackling the environmental issues raised, please give them a mention in the comments below.

#ecopaint #ecodecor #ecohome #paint #turquoise #bedroom #podcast #banthebiege #colourfulhome #colourlover #itsonlypaint #interiordecorating #interiordesign #colourscheme
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