How to turn over a new leaf – room by room

Where you live should be functional and calming. Designer Emma Sims-Hilditch shares her tips with Jessica Doyle

‘Beauty is subjective, but good design can change people’s lives. It’s a transformative thing,” says interior designer Emma Sims-Hilditch. “When you come home from a stressful day at work, or things generally aren’t going smoothly, having a calm environment around you can influence how you feel.”

She is sitting in her light, bright (and extremely calm) kitchen in her home in Wiltshire, at the table where she and her husband, John, both launched their respective businesses more than two decades ago: she, a curtain-making enterprise that evolved into the interior-design firm Sims Hilditch; he, a hammock business that became the kitchen and furniture company Neptune (of which Emma is also creative director).

The two successful businesses prove that the Sims-Hilditches have an innate sense of how people want to live. “We do a lot of family homes,” says Emma, “where there’s naturally going to be a certain amount of chaos – all that paraphernalia that goes with family life. Having had three kids myself, I understand that organisation in the home helps with that feeling of peace, so you don’t have a home that makes you feel stressed.”

Emma’s skill is in translating that vision of relaxed yet functional modern living into stylish homes, through careful space-planning, thoughtful interior architecture and her own creative eye. It’s an enviable talent; and in her first book, The Evolution of Home, she shares some of her secrets.

‘If you have a calm environment around you, it can influence how you feel’

“I like the word ‘evolution’,” she says. “A lot of the properties we work in are old, and have evolved over time to become homes we want to live in today. In the modern world, we don’t have so much time to go and sit in the drawing room or the morning room – we mainly want to be in one big space.”

Of course, since the start of the pandemic, many of us have thought about separate spaces too – for home offices and utility rooms to separate off the less aesthetically pleasing elements of home life. As Emma points out: “Designing houses is as much to do with functionality as form. It’s not just the pretty bit, the colours and fabrics – it’s much more about getting the interior architecture done well first.”

Her advice is to take time to plan spaces such as utility rooms, entrance halls and clothes storage, so that everything has a place, and everyone knows where that is. She also considers the flow of a house, maximising the available space with joinery and furniture layout. “Think about what you can do with that area under the stairs,” she says. “Maybe you could make it into a shoe store, or a wine rack.”

Decorating is, for her, the icing on the cake. “Although it’s a very important bit of icing,” she notes. This is how she brings character to an interior. For example, in a new-build house lacking architectural features, she would never just plaster and paint the walls, but instead likes to add texture through panelling, wooden or brick cladding, wallpaper or fabric walling.

Colour choices might come from a client’s artwork, or a favourite fabric or wallpaper that informs the scheme, but will always also be influenced by the light: “In a north-facing room that doesn’t get much light, we encourage our clients to paint it a moody, atmospheric colour, a warmer shade rather than a cooler one, otherwise it’s going to feel like a doctor’s waiting room,” she says. Then comes “the fun bit”: sourcing furniture, particularly antiques. “I love the character antiques bring to a room. You can collect pieces and move them around; we’ve lived here in the same home for 30 years, and it’s always changing, whether that’s reupholstering a chair or repainting the kitchen island.”

For those without the means to hire a designer to do a whole house in one hit, she suggests taking things room by room, but always with a vision of the overall look in mind. “Start with your entrance hall perhaps, and save up for the sitting room: think ahead, plan everything in a strategic way. That will make for a calmer space.”

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A space for relaxing

Comfort is the focus here, and it’s worth seeking out the best-quality sofas and armchairs the budget affords. Yet, to me, comfort is about so much more than upholstered seating; it relies on an interplay of lots of different factors.

A scale plan sketched on graph paper will not only allow you to make the most of the space, but will also prompt you to consider how people will relate to one another while in the room and to other significant features, such as a fireplace. Some people view this process as a way to ensure that items of furniture “talk to one another”. I love to centre furniture around a large, button-tufted ottoman (also an opportunity to add a striking fabric). Plan a spot within reasonable reach of each seat where a cup or glass can be set down.

This stage of the planning process should also involve lighting – furniture placement and sources of light should be hand in glove, and thinking ahead will allow you to locate wall or floor sockets to avoid meandering cords. A wide range of lighting options is important and should include a mix of table and floor lamps (all on the same circuit so they can be adjusted via a dimmer by the door), some pretty wall sconces, picture lights, and perhaps a chandelier.

It’s important to create a sitting room with a distinctive feel that is removed from the rest of the house. As well as lighting, other additions can conjure different moods, from fragrance diffusers to a sound system. Texture is important, too, so I like to use velvets, wools, and natural linens; wool throws not only add texture but also protect upholstery from small children and four-legged friends, while patterned upholstery is more forgiving of stains.

Invest in at least one piece of furniture that will create significant wow factor, such as a console or armoire. It will become a captivating focus.

The colours you choose for walls, curtains and blinds will also have an impact on the mood. For example, in south-facing rooms, deeper hues will balance the bleaching effect of strong sunlight. Don’t be tempted to use very pale colours in north-facing rooms – they can look rather cold. Richer hues work well in small, intimate rooms that are mainly used in the evening.