Bring the shores indoors!

Take inspiration from the seaside to create an interior that works well wherever you’re located!

Keep the memory of a high season holiday at the seaside alive by painting surfaces white or off-white and make good use of typical seaside style designs such as stripes and flag motifs, seashells and driftwood. Add contrasting accents of bright red, yellow and blue to remind you of the vibrant, jolly atmosphere, beach huts and deck chairs.

This look also works well in coastal or beach houses to create a feeling of unity with the surrounding environment.

If you prefer the peaceful serenity of the sea air, carefree living and crashing waves use soft, muted blues ranging from turquoise to deep slate blues and navy.

The calming design is completed with lots of organic materials ranging from wooden floorboards or coir, sisal, seagrass flooring to natural wood and softened with calico, cotton and linen.

The beach design is perfect to create a room to dream for your little one. Use colours inspired by the beach and seaside itself. The three paint effect on the wall creates the waves and mysteries of the sea shore.

For a luxurious seaside retreat use a fresh aquatic theme in the bathroom to remind you of soaking up the sun on an exotic beach.


There is a great variety of designs to bring the beach to you so let Transformations Interior Designs help you create a look that’s right for your interior.

After 47 years the purveyor of contemporary good design to the masses has died!

After nearly five decades of defining British Interior Design Habitat has gone into administration!

Habitat was founded by Terence Conran in 1964 when, struggling to sell his furniture anywhere else, he opened the first store on Fulham Road, London to market his Summa range of furniture.

The store, with its quarry tiled floor, whitewashed walls and spotlights, was to become the Habitat template. This new shop, which created a feeling of space and allowed the products to be the main focus, was a stark contrast to its larger, established rivals and brought something new to the high street.

In the post war years, three-piece suites, heavy dark furniture and chinz was packed into British interiors but Conran offered an alternative to the gloom of post war austerity with modernism! Habitat displayed products in mocked up rooms offering simple forms, natural materials and a fresh colour palette.


Habitat was offering affordable, contemporary designs which were extremely popular with the middle class and the business expanded quickly in the UK throughout the 60s. Habitat soon went international with the first store opening in 1973 in Paris, there are now 26 stores in France, 5 in Spain and 5 in Germany with other interests around the world.

Having persuaded shoppers that good design was affordable for all, the idea was copied by other retailers and after 47 years Habitat is no longer competitive. On 24th June 2011 Habitat went into administration with a deal to sell the Habitat brand and three of its central London stores to Home Retail Group, who also own Argos and Homebase, for £24.5m. The future of the other 30 stores around the UK is unclear.

Habitat brought colour, smooth lines and contemporary design into British homes, it gave people new ways to do up their interiors and changed the way we actually lived. Without Habitat the nations passionate love affair with Interior Design may never have happened!



In the absence of Habitat let Transformations Interior Designs bring colour, simple form and contemporary design into your interior.

If you've got it, flaunt it...if you haven't, fake it!!

Exposed brick is pretty hot in the interior at the moment so if you've got it, flaunt it!

Exposed bricks add a pleasing and familiar sense of rhythm to a space. Coming from the earth brick is the oldest of all man-made materials and was first used over 6,000 years ago. Whilst it is associated with tradition and convention rather than cutting edge, brick, with its warm colour and non uniform texture, can provide a welcome contrast in a clean line, minimalist design and is increasingly being used in contemporary interiors.


However if you simply don't have the brick to expose you can now fake it with a range of treatments available today to suit most budgets.



This very realistic brick wall is actually just covered with Attic 1 wallpaper from Concrete Wall, £94 per square meter.






Brewers also stock an "unfinished brick" wallpaper at £36.95 for a 10 meter roll.

Let Transformations Interior Designs make the most of the brick in your interior...or at least help you fake it like a pro!

The colour of 2011 is Honeysuckle!

Avid readers of this blog may remember that Turquoise was the colour declared by Pantone as the colour of 2010 symbolising “escape”. To read this blog click here.



The colour Pantone have chosen for 2011 is Honeysuckle, otherwise known by the Pantone reference 18-2120.








Interestingly Pantone have described Honeysuckle as a colour which “emboldens us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor” and describes it as “encouraging and uplifting” “perfect to ward off the blues” which is a clear reference to the current financial climate and austere times we are in.

With strong connections to the colour red Honeysuckle is a captivating and stimulating colour which is bright without being too bold. Positive qualities include invoking feelings of love, warmth and comfort.

Let Transformations Interior Designs help you to introduce the colour of 2011 into your interior

The joys of Spring!

When the days are getting longer, flowers are starting to bloom and spring is in the air there is no better time to introduce some of the joys of spring into your interior!


“floris” wallpaper by Harlequin is a great example providing a refreshing, light space with a powerful splash of spring colour.

This fabulous flowery wallpaper is anything but twee when teamed with simple, contemporary furniture.

Black is a popular colour in the interior at the moment and this current trend can provide a striking background for these flowering magnolias.

“Sweet Bay” wallpaper and fabric available from Sanderson





If a whole room, or even a whole wall, seems a step too far introduce a bit of spring with clever use of one strip of wallpaper.




This one piece of “Miya” wallpaper by Harlequin introduces colour and visual interest to this otherwise neutral space.










If flowers aren’t really your thing “silhouette” by Harlequin brings nature and colour together with this modern collection of trees.


Let Transformations Interior Designs bring the joy of Spring to you!

Cool radiators!

As we enter October we start to think about turning the heating on! Radiators are an efficient method of heating a space and as such are a feature of many interiors, yet despite the amount of resources we plough into our designs the conventional steel panel radiators are often the primary source of heating.

The key to radiator efficiency is surface area which makes the panel radiator, with its large hot surface, a well performing and functional piece of equipment however they often have a bulky appearance and are difficult to conceal.

Underfloor heating can be an ideal way to free up your wall space and maximise the flexibility of the room however this can be a costly and disruptive solution.

Fortunately there have been some significant advances in radiator design of late and we have put together some of the more stylish and quirky radiators on the market which combine efficiency with good design to demonstrate how cool radiators can be!

Rad Art is a new innovation in radiator design which takes the advantages of a conventional radiator and combines it with stunning art which will add colour, visual interest and warmth to any interior. The front panels are interchangeable with a variety of designs available.

The “Calorisfero” wooden radiator uses wood woven around the steel elements to give an alternative natural finish. The wood can be stained or coloured to complement your interior.

These sleek radiators combining shelving, complete with lighting, with a fully functioning heating device would make a Marea a welcome addition in most interiors.

Practical and stylish - this convenient bench is hot!

With so many fabulous options available let Transformations Interior Designs help you choose the right solution to not only heat your interior but also enhance it!

Go Wild!

The wild and exotic elements of the African safari style gained popularity in the early part of the 1900’s when Britain’s Royal Geographical Society explored the African continent and the images captured the attention of Europeans who introduced the exciting style into their interiors.

Today Africa is a still viewed as an ultimate getaway with the African safari style continuing to offer a bold, distinctive yet classic design for the interior.

Key components to creating the African safari style are natural, organic materials combined with bold animal prints and contrasting colour to bring the vibrant and rich wonder of the African experience into your home.

This style of interior design can be adapted to suit most interiors and tastes

ranging from the minimalist touch using clean lines, intricate carvings with a hint of animal print

to a bolder use of the style incorporating a variety of animal prints and furs, colourful geometric tribal designs infused with dark woods, bamboo, tropical leaves and natural materials such as rattan, sisal and jute.

Let Transformations introduce the adventurous, naturally beautiful and exotic African safari style into your interior www.transformationsid.co.uk