Interior trends and what the best dressed homes in Yorkshire will be wearing this year

*Chequerboard tiled floors are coming on strong this year, mainly for use in hallways and bathrooms.

They make a statement but they aren’t always easy to live with. I’d use them in a small space for a big impact.

Terrazzo tiles with smaller scale aggregates embedded in them will become more common and they are a great wall and floor tile.

*Internal insulation is something that people are looking for due to high energy bills and there are some good retrofit solutions, including Wallrock thermal wall lining paper from www.anaglypta.co.uk

It uses technology originally developed for aerospace and provides what the manufacturer describes as “a warm blanket for your walls and ceilings that significantly reduces room warm up time, stops heat escaping through walls and ceilings, minimises condensation, mould and damp, allows walls to breathe and reduces your energy bills.

It also provides sound insulation, reducing noise by up to 35 per cent and covers up rough or damaged walls to transform them into a flat finish. You can then add wallpaper over the top of it.

*Ceilings don’t have to be plain. You can wallpaper them and paint them in different colours. As for paint, warm neutrals will still be popular but a 1970s palette of reddy-browns and pale blues looks fantastic and we will see more colour on wood, including skirting boards, architraves and doors.

*Nana’s house is a trend more people are embracing so we’ll see more sofas with skirts, ruffles, scallops and small scale wallpaper patterns, though I wouldn’t recommend this look in a three-bed semi.

*Kitchen cabinetry will see a move away from paler Scandinavian woods and painted wood to mid-oak and walnut.

Bespoke kitchen company Secret Drawer, which has showrooms in Ilkley and Skipton, agree and say: “Wood is now enjoying a big revival, especially walnut cabinetry. Its rich, dark colour, fine grain and natural warmth are prized by makers for giving a look and feel of instant luxury.

“We use sapele wood, which is in the walnut family but is much more sustainable.”

Country style will never go out of fashion but Dean Keyworth, author of a brilliant new interiors book: The New Country: City style for rural living published by the RIBA, reveals how traditional and modern design can be simpatico.

Dean, designer and former president of the British Institute of Interior Design, believes we will see more of a bold approach to this thanks to the pandemic induced flight from towns and cities to the country.

Statistics show that the population of London is falling for the first time in 30 years as a younger and more diverse group of people are swapping the congested capital for countryside and fresh air.

He made that major switch himself after leaving his London home to convert a deconsecrated Presbyterian church in Northumberland into his main home.

He says: “Moving from the city or town to the country used to be something you did when you retired but the pandemic changed that and the country is attracting a younger demographic, including families with young children, and their expectations are different and they bring modernity.

“What happens and what happened in the church I bought is that you mix old and new, not least because it’s hard to find new furniture that is big enough if you have big rooms.”

In general Dean says that there will be a move away from open plan living, not least because older houses in the country can be draughty.

The key message is “do not be tempted to knock walls down without thinking the decision through.”

Dean adds: “Open plan seemed like a good idea but people are now realising that walls are good. I work on a lot of large, beautiful houses with lots of rooms but the favourite place to sit is usually the snug.”

As for kitchens in historic country homes, he says: “I have some words of caution about going with an ultramodern kitchen. Firstly, there might be an expectation from future potential purchasers for a more traditional set-up with painted units, flagstone floor and an Aga and, secondly, fashions in modern kitchen design tend to change more frequently.

“For example, the must-have all-white gloss sleekness of five years ago now seems a bit cold and dated. It may, therefore, be a safer, if less imaginative, bet to stick to a more timeless style that will last for a generation.”

Dean’s book also contains a pertinent quote from much-loved interiors doyenne Nina Campbell, who says : “You can make the prettiest room in the world, but if there is no table by the sofa to put your drink on and no lamp to read by, what’s the point?”

Think on, as they say.