If you’re anything like us, you’ll have spent the last 16 months staring at the walls, floor and ceilings of your home and considered how to make them look more stylish/calming/brighter. And we’re not the only ones. 65% of people have undertaken home renovations in the last year, according to money.co.uk, making us a nation of the keenest renovators.

So, to satiate our interiors thirst we asked homeware expert and creator of Hoste London, Laura Jackson, for her ultimate buys to brighten up any room, as she appears on the cover of Stylist, which you can buy here.

We also asked the taste-maker the three things everyone should consider when renovating or styling a room before heading to H&M Home to hand over your entire salary.

Here’s her guide…

Make a plan

“I always start by pencil drawing a room, and move things around on my sketch. Think about where the window is and where the light is: spend a bit of time in the room figuring out where the sun rises and sets, and where the light comes in. 

And then I would be thinking about the size of the room and the scale, which is really important. I’ve made the mistake of having a really small sofa in a big room or a very big armchair in a very small bedroom. Sometimes I’ll print out, for example, a light and stick it on the wall to work out if it looks right there.

I also love making moodboards – I have to be able to visualise things so I can say: oh my god that fabric doesn’t go with that!”  

Consider the feeling 

For me, the most important thing is how you want to feel in that room. For example, is it the room you want to drink your morning coffee in? Okay, so where’s the coffee going to go? Is it going to sit on my lap? Not really. Okay, I need a side table. Is that side table going to fit? Or do I need a coffee table? Am I going to have books on the bookshelf or on the coffee table? How do I want to feel when I shut the doors at night?  

Go slow

I recently bought a really nice sofa from Loaf and instead of going headfirst, I got samples which took longer, even though I wanted it, like, yesterday. And then they didn’t have it in stock for another 12 weeks. At first I thought I’ll just get the other one, then I decided, no, I’m going to wait and have the colour that I want, which also goes with these other things… I really thought about everything. Sometimes you have to take a step back and not rush. 

You can buy your issue of Stylist here to read Laura’s interview and her guide to the ultimate interiors list. 

Images: Stylist, Tom van Schelven, Instagram