As HELLO!’s Homes Editor, I know a home renovation can be daunting with endless decisions and budgets that seem to creep up by the second. With a sprawling country estate in Wiltshire and a studio apartment in London, Sophie is well versed in scaling up and scaling down when it comes to home renovations and she sat down with HELLO! to share her top tips for decorating for every budget. Plus, she reveals her interior no-nos and gives us the lowdown on her Sophie Conran x Dreams collaboration, on sale from 11 November.
Tips on saving money in the bedroom
“Having good lighting doesn’t have to be expensive,” remarks Sophie. “There’s such an amazing range of lighting options in places like Dunelm,” so scouring the high street for bedroom lights should be top of the agenda for renovating a boudoir on a budget.
© Dreams Celeste bedTips on going luxe in the bedroom
“Don’t scrimp on the mattress,” warns Sophie. “I think it’s really important to have a good mattress.” Senior Lifestyle Editor, Karen Silas, knows full well what difference investing in a good mattress can make. “You spend around one-third of your day in bed – and when you suffer from back problems, the importance of finding the right mattress cannot be underestimated. It might be the best investment in my home, and my health, that I’ve ever made. Literally life-changing. Not only was it key in helping relieve my back pain – I no longer wake up achy – I’ve been sleeping better ever since.”
Tips on saving money in the kitchen
“I think now, more than ever, you can create a really good look on not very much. Brands like Wren and IKEA are doing really great kitchens. I did up the studio flat recently and I did a really cute little kitchen, from IKEA, and it wasn’t expensive.”
Tips on going luxe in the kitchen
While Sophie may have kept her kitchen renovation in her flat budget-friendly IKEA, she did “splash out a bit on the work surface, because I thought it made a lot of difference as it upgraded the feel,” so if you’re going to be spending big somewhere, say yes to those ultra-luxe worktops for a designer-approved look.
Tips on saving money in the living space
Sophie describes her interior style at home as “practical, joyful and comfortable,” and these are things that can be achieved regardless of the budget. It’s just thinking about the choices carefully. How does she inject joy? “Having plants in the house” is a no-brainer for Sophie, and it’s something that can be achieved even on a budget. Add a new plant to your supermarket shop and let your space be transformed.
Tips on going luxe in the living space
Antiques are Sophie’s vice, and choosing unique pieces is the perfect way to luxe up your house. “I love going to big antique fairs. I really like antiques because of the craftsmanship, and you could say they are amazing value as you just don’t get the same sort of quality now for the prices that you’re paying.”
Big interior no-nos
An overload of tech in the bedroom is an issue for Sophie. “Particularly in a bedroom, lots of things with little red lights on can destroy the sort of sense of calm,” she says. Another thing she advises is to “try not to be too trendy” when it comes to design decisions. Finally, ” you shouldn’t underestimate the Impact that colour has on you” when choosing the right shade for each space. “I read something the other day that was saying that blue is actually not a good colour for a bedroom because it makes you energetic. And if I were thinking about it, the sky is blue. When the sky is blue, you do feel energetic, don’t you?” she pointed out.
A healthy home
Sophie’s range with Dreams has a big focus on wellness, including menopause-friendly mattresses with clever technology to help during night sweats. It was a passion close to the designer’s heart for a major reason. “It was important for me because one of my best friends has had breast cancer, which meant that she couldn’t go, on any of the HRT. And she has had the worst time,” she opened up. “They recommend you have natural fabrics for your sleepwear and your sheets, but it doesn’t say anything about the mattress and I’ve noticed that some are quite suffocating and make you hotter, and so we’ve incorporated lots of natural fabrics, we’ve incorporated things like platinum, which is antibacterial, and we’ve used layers and layers. It’s to help wick away the moisture so you’re not sitting in a pool of water.”
© Jack Elliot EdwardsWellness around our homes is becoming more and more of a focus, with water filters, calming diffusers and back-friendly mattresses, but have you thought about the sound pollution in your property? “We don’t really think about it,” Sophie acknowledges. “But noise is reduced by soft furnishings, so having a fitted carpet in the bedroom reduces the noise, curtains that are lined reduce the noise and also by having upholstered pieces as they all absorb sound.”
