KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM FOCUS/25 ON DESIGN LONDON
Welcome to the BLOG
Hi, I’m Sandra,
If you're in awe of stunning interiors and crazy about home decor, you’re in the right place. As an interior writer with a background in styling and photography for leading magazines around the globe, as well as an avid home renovator, I am here to help all you interior enthusiasts to style and decorate your home with ease and confidence, like a pro.
On this blog, I’ll be sharing inspiring tours of beautifully styled spaces along with insightful articles packed with advice, tips, and ideas for home styling and decoration. Having styled countless different homes, I am able to introduce you to a wide variety of interior styles and aesthetics, rather than focusing on a single look. Today’s post will help you immerse yourself in interior inspiration from Focus/25 on Design in London.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM FOCUS/25 ON DESIGN IN LONDON
Having spent four days in London at one of the world’s main design destinations - Focus/25 on Design - I came away inspired and excited to share my takeaways from the week. With over 600 brands, the Design Centre Chelsea Harbour is a true mecca for design and inspiration. Almost all under one roof, it’s where new collections are launched, and you can immerse yourself in design, colour, pattern, and textiles. During the week, there were insightful talks and hands-on workshops, along with Conversations in Design events held by the leading interior magazines including The World of Interiors and Elle Decoration. In this post, I will show you some of the design, decoration, and styling takeaways from the event. I’ll also include snippets of a couple of the talks and workshops both myself and Sophie attended. Sophie, who has styled many shoots along with me, always joins and especially enjoys the hands-on sessions, which this season included painting wallpaper at Lincrusta and exploring the Japanese art of Kintsugi at Bella Figura and many more. Sophie also created a wallpaper collage that’s very much on-trend as it’s all about layering prints, a theme that was on display in one form or another in many of the showrooms.
The key takeaways for my own home are to introduce more pattern and print via wallpaper and soft furnishings, to include trimmings, and to have the confidence to layer prints. Layering was the mantra across wallpapers, fabrics, and furnishings, as well as styled surfaces which were layered with, for example, a vase, bowl, or sculptural piece perched on a stack of books. Having been captivated by the magical opening sequences of White Lotus, which showcased custom, location-specific art on what looked like wallpaper, I was also inspired by the dreamlike prints in the showrooms. Designs included mystical creatures, folklore motifs, and exotic birds that, like White Lotus, transport you to another world.
Visiting many of the 130 showrooms in four days meant I was never going to be able to cover everything, but here’s a few of the standout moments to give you a feel for the event. If you happen to be in London and want to experience the Design Centre yourself, Focus/25 on Design The Longer View, started September 22nd and is on until October 16th. For more information go to www.dcch.co.uk.
Photos: Sandra van Aalst Images top left: Kit Kemp in collaboration with Andrew Martin, top right: Ralph Lauren, bottom left: Shepel, bottom right: Romo. All following photos in the article are by Sandra van Aalst unless stated.
LIVE ARTISTS IN ACTION AT COLE & SON
Prints of animals appeared in many wallpaper and fabric collections, featuring various animals from around the globe, including monkeys, deer, meerkats, and jungle animals. At Cole & Son, we saw the launch of the Baobab collection, where we watched the original artists in action painting the intricate and incredibly detailed designs. The wallpaper pictured here, featuring giraffes and flora, showcases the rich nature of South Africa. In the showroom, it has been teamed with fringed cushions in rich textures that pair perfectly with the shimmering background.
GORGEOUS ROOM SETTINGS WITH RICH, WARM TEXTURES
Throughout the design centre, many showrooms featured beautifully elevated spaces. Shepel’, who redefines luxury with bespoke furniture in the richest of fabrics, is one of them, with their contemporary curved sofa shown here in brown-toned velvet and linen, embellished with a fringed trim. The bed on the right, in the Paolo Moschino showroom, caught my eye as I was drawn to the shape of the frame, which is inspired by Italian renaissance revival style. I also admired the styling of the bed with bright white linen teamed with deep green and rich, brown soft furnishings in tactile materials, as well as the Eastern-inspired artwork hanging above the bed.
INSPIRED BY THE ROMANCE OF FOLK TALES
The gorgeous headboard fabric, cushions, and bedspread shown here are from Andrew Martin’s new collection in collaboration with award-winning interior designer Kit Kemp. Inspired by the romance of folk tales, Kit tells a fresh and exciting story through her designs. On the right is a small selection of Andrew Martin’s globally-inspired cushions, many of which have the latest key interior elements such as pattern, trimmings, and warm, earthy tones.
RETRO-INSPIRED INTERIOR PALETTE
With 1970’s-inspired design now de rigueur, the current interior trend for brown is apparent in many showrooms, with warm shades including the caramel tones shown here. Brown is replacing cooler hues such as grey. However, if you have grey in your home, it doesn’t mean you have to abandon it altogether. Brown and grey can complement each other, so you can use it as a grounding base and simply introduce warm brown accents. On the right, a mood board pairs brown with warm metallics that are also on-trend right now. The fabric on the curtain and chair from Romo shown here, with its mystical creatures, was the star of the show, appearing on everything from the cover of Design Centre’s The Guide to a mural decorating the lifts in the centre.
A LIVE TALK, PATTERN AND BOLD COLOUR AT MINDTHEGAP
I attended the talk between John Cooper, the winner of BBC1’s Interior Design Masters, and Stefan Ormenisan, co-founder and the creative behind MindTheGap. Stefan has brought an eclectic yet distinctive design of rich pattern, colour, and style from Transylvania to the UK. What we gleaned from spending time at the showroom was how to gain the confidence to layer pattern and add colour through wallpaper, furniture, soft furnishings, rugs, and home decor. By having the courage to opt for one of MindTheGap’s boldest wallpapers in his final piece, John Cooper impressed the judges and went on to become the overall winner of the show.
AMERICAN WEST INTERIOR STYLE AT RALPH LAUREN
Drawing inspiration from the rugged landscapes and rich weaving traditions of the American West, Ralph Lauren Home unveiled their new Fall 2025 collection, Canyon Road. Geometric motifs and wool textiles echo the Indigenous artistry of the American West, with insect-based dyes bringing both an artisan and sustainably-minded feel to the collection. Layered tones of brown in the range create a grounded, cohesive palette and feel distinctly on-trend this season. Also referred to as cowboy interior style or Western design, you can bring this look into your own home with leather and wool, diamond-patterned accents, and soft furnishings in warm, earthy hues.
CURVES AND ORGANIC SHAPES
I have already featured curves in my key elements blog post and talked about how curved, fluid lines have captivated the interior world - a revival from the seventies that will be here to stay. I also revealed how I succumbed to a curved sofa myself, not dissimilar to the stunning cream model pictured here by Gallotti&Radice. Curves and organic shapes are more ergonomic and, from looking around the showrooms, are clearly continuing to dominate interiors, with more items taking on a curvaceous shape. Many vases, like the ones pictured here, as well as tables, mirrors, and bases of lamps, are defined by softer lines. Plus, curves, circles, and swirl designs can also be found on soft furnishings, upholstery, curtains, and rugs, which gives us all many more options to bring curves and organic shapes into our interiors.
STYLISH LIGHTING
Table lamps are ideal for creating ambient lighting as the natural light starts to diminish at this time of year. The latest designs come in warm shades and organic materials, like the Amber lamp pictured right by Porta Romana, and the natural stone lamp I photographed in the Paolo Moschino showroom. The key takeaway from lighting isn’t just about the design, colours, and shades - it’s also about the power of layering. This means combining different sources, including lamps, pendants, and wall sconces, as well as task lighting to create a well-lit space. The ability to dim is another crucial element to creating ambient lighting.
STYLED VIGNETTES WITH DRIED FLOWERS
Within the showrooms, there were plenty of stylish vignettes to admire with home decor, soft furnishings, books, and dried flowers on display. I took a photo of the vignette on the left at Romo where the dried flower arrangement complements the natural linen wallpaper, as well as the mixture of brown-toned soft furnishings. The image on the right that I photographed at the Frato showroom has a tiny stone vase with dried flowers styled on top of books and a deeper-toned larger vessel, which gives height and contrast to the vignette. Notice how the books are angled to add interest and create space for the vessels on top.
SPECTACULAR MURALS & BLOCK PRINTED WALL COVERINGS
There are simply thousands of wall coverings at the Design Centre, but I always make a beeline for Belgian brand Arte, as their wallpaper designs are not only exceptionally striking, but many have a rich three-dimensional feel. As I have a passion for palm trees and live by the sea, I was particularly drawn to the mural shown here from their Decors Panoramiques collection. I would have chosen it for my own hallway if I hadn’t already installed my mural a few years back. With block printing enjoying a revival, I also popped by the Zuber showroom and was drawn to the wallpapers in beautifully styled displays, like the wallpaper with the bird and flower motif pictured here. I learned that Zuber is the oldest wallpaper factory still in operation and apparently the only one to have preserved traditional woodblock printing.
Photo left: Courtesy of Arte.
SUSTAINABLE FABRICS - FROM REFUSE TO RECYCLING WITH OLD CARDIGANS AND JUMPERS
I found the demo at StudioTex fascinating. I learned that Luum not only recycles old cardigans and jumpers but transforms them into gorgeous, natural, sustainable fabric. Manjeet Upple from Teknion/Luum Textiles, pictured here, explained to me that an estimated 60 billion tons of garments are binned worldwide each year, so it makes sense to upcycle the waste into new fabric. She then demonstrated how she was preparing to reupholster an old chair that had been thrown out with Luum’s recycled fabric.
STYLISH BATHROOMS WITH DARK METALLIC FINISHES
I chose to photograph the bathroom on the left in the House of Rohl showroom because it brought all the stylish elements together in one display. Bathrooms are the ideal place for contemporary metallics, with brass fixtures aged to look even darker than their antique predecessors, like the wall-mounted mixer tap from Perrin & Rowe above the Victoria + Albert white basin in the left image. I’m also a fan of wallpaper in bathrooms as they are a great place to introduce pattern and colour. For a final touch, the vase of flowers with the porcelain vase complements the white basin. In the image on the right, luxury bathroom brand THG Paris showcased stunning bronze-brown taps perfectly aligned with the trend towards warmer, darker tones. The stylish console illustrates how you can bring curves into cabinetry and, with its fluted sides, it’s sculptural and on-trend.
EMBOSSED, EMBELLISHED AND EMBROIDERED
Cushions are my number one styling accessory, and after buying two with a rich terracotta trim, I realised how this small embellishment can transform not only the cushion but the whole room. To my delight, the design centre was brimming with gorgeous options, like the group I photographed in the Colefax and Fowler showroom pictured left, where many were beautifully embroidered, embellished with trims, or embossed, with the motifs sitting proud of the fabric. It’s an easy way to make cushions feel bespoke and luxurious. On the right, the Turnell & Gigon showroom had playful designs that had been appliquéd onto the cushions and echo the animal theme that is popular this season.
CREATIVE COLLAGE WORKSHOP
Sophie and I joined THG Paris and Cole & Son for a creative collage workshop, which helped us explore pattern and become more confident in layering one on top of the other. While I photographed the gorgeous bathrooms, Sophie carefully cut out different pieces of wallpaper to create this animal-themed collage for her daughter Mila’s bedroom. You can try this out at home if you have leftover wallpaper or samples by simply sticking them on with glue. Even if you don’t want to frame the final piece, it’s a great exercise in mixing the unexpected and becoming more confident in combining prints.
TRIMMINGS TO LAMPSHADES DEMO AT HOULÈS
Having seen a vast array of exquisite trimmings in the showrooms on everything from cushions to sofas, I have become obsessed with trimmings. I had always wanted to learn how to transform a basic lampshade into something a bit more special, so we headed to the Houlès showroom for a demonstration. Firstly, we learned about trimmings and the fact that they actually originate from military outfits. The talk was followed by an interactive presentation from bespoke lighting experts, A Shade Above, where they showed us various ways to use trimmings to decorate lampshades. Having been given a key tip, which is to attach your trim right to the bottom of the shade so it stays smooth and doesn’t gather or pucker up, I am looking forward to embellishing a few of my own lampshades.