Interior design has generally been impacted by fashion trends – both historically and in the modern day. In this write-up series, “Designing in Style,” I explore the meaning of style for interior designers. I draw on my expertise working alongside several of London’s greatest-recognized interior design teams. This fifth and final write-up in my series moves on from countryside styles to modern/contemporary – a major focus of the London Interior Design community nowadays.

Modern or contemporary design is all about simplicity. Interior designers tend to focus on fresh, clean lines, together with easy colours and fundamental shapes like perfect circles and rectangles. But the question I hear again and once more from my interior design students in London is, “How to make a contemporary/modern design intriguing and special?” This can be a real challenge – interior designers always want to give their clients some thing special, but within the constraints of extremely straightforward, almost minimalist, design briefs, this can require some serious creativity!

My recommendation to interior design students is often to use extra imagination in the details. In London, wealthy homeowners tend to be very focused on subtle extras. To add interest to a standard modern/contemporary scheme, the interior designer can consider highlights, trims or accents in the colour scheme. Even if one only has a monochrome palette to work with, perhaps a white piece of furniture would look stunning with a gorgeous bespoke black throw. Or maybe a hint of pink can be introduced into a grey tone to produce a truly “interior designer” look for a room? There are all sorts of possibilities, and in London’s most prestigious districts nowadays the most essential thing for interior designers to maintain in mind is that the label of “modern/contemporary” is just a guideline. If the client has a favourite piece of furniture or artwork that doesn’t really fit the “modern/contemporary” label, use your interior design creativity to figure out methods to incorporate it into a scheme. You truly can’t go wrong if your “modern/contemporary” design is unified and classy – and in London quite a few clients are very sophisticated, with an eye for beauty and detail. If their requirements are met, the interior designer has carried out their job!

Well, that closes out my series on “Insights into Interior Design: Designing in Style.” Thank you so significantly for reading – I hope I have been able to give you some perspective on the many diverse styles that are and have been well-liked with London’s interior design community over the decades.