How to (Further) Reduce Plastic Use in Your Home

Image copyright Clair Strong Interior Design Since I first wrote about this topic in March 2018, the plastic-free movement has gained serious traction. There are now more ways than ever to reduce your plastic consumption and it’s becoming increasingly easy to make the switch. Here are some suggestions for reducing plastic use around the home:…

Designing for Children: Part 2

Image copyright Clair Strong Interior Design Last week we looked at how to design for children in the long-term. This week we’ll tackle the must-haves for any functional child-friendly space. Let’s jump straight back in! The Must-Haves Black-out blinds or curtains are essential. They will help you create total darkness at any time, which is…

Designing for Children: Part 1

Image copyright Clair Strong Interior Design Designing for children can be a lot of fun but there are some unique challenges you don’t see when designing a space for yourself or other adults. Children are constantly growing and changing, and so it is essential you design a space that grows with them. Children also have…

Practical Tips for Picking the Perfect Paint Colour

Image copyright Clair Strong Interior Design Picking exactly the right paint colour can be an agonising and time-intensive task. Flipping through endless colour cards, painting swatches, bickering with your partner and finally settling on that perfect shade of not-quite-white… only to find it’s actually not quite right. Sound familiar? If so, this blog post is…

A Handmade Revolution

The handmade economy in the UK is thriving. A report by the Crafts Council back in 2014 revealed there were over 11,000 craft businesses in the UK employing 43,000 people. The craft contribution to the economy is in the billions; and it is fair to assume these figures have only grown since then. Websites like…

Best of: Headboards

Image source: Clair Strong Interior Design Headboards are wonderfully versatile things. They can be used to update a tired bed frame, add luxury to a guest bedroom, or elicit a sense of grandeur in the master bedroom. They can tie a design scheme together, create a cosy ambience or just serve a useful function. In…

Creating Wow Factor in the Bathroom

Creating wow factor in the bathroom is all about going above and beyond what is expected. But you don’t have to splash out on a luxury suite or expensive extras to craft something spectacular. Even the most budget bathroom suites can be transformed with a little creativity. Today I’m sharing three of my favourite tips…

Bespoke on a Budget

Image: Clair Strong Interior Design The title of this blog post is a little misleading because truly bespoke items are never low budget. Nor should they be; hours and hours of work goes into creating one-off items. They’re made by hand with small tools; materials are bought in small batches, not in bulk; and every…

The Importance of Interior Design

Image: Clair Strong Interior Design It’s been four years and more than 250 blog posts, and I haven’t yet written about the importance of interior design. This was a huge oversight on my part, because it is important; more so than many people realise. Interior design is the art and science of creating spaces that are functional, healthy and aesthetically…

The Best Places to Buy Sustainable Home Textiles

I’ve covered sustainability in a few different ways on this blog. We’ve looked at sustainable design in general, and I’ve highlighted some of my favourite sustainable interior brands. But today I want to focus on a really specific topic: textiles. Sustainable textiles are growing in popularity because they are so environmentally friendly. There are many…