A Gift for 2026

“The best rooms have something to say about the people who live in them.”

It’s a common fear that an interior designer will rush in, make loads of changes, leave their mark on your house, and rush out again. But this quote from David Hicks (famous for the Hick’s Hexagon pattern - fans of The Shining will know it!), is what interior design is really about.

If you have been wondering about working with a designer but don’t know where start, you will find a link to a free consultation at the end of this month’s newsletter to help you kick off 2026 in style.

It’s designing not shopping

If you have never worked with a designer before it can be confusing, maybe a little daunting. Sometimes clients come to me with a hoard of cuttings showing items that they like. That is shopping. Interior design doesn’t start there. The room above didn’t come from a list of brown walls, buttoned ottoman etc; we started with the feel that my clients were after, the feel of the rest of the house, how the room would be used and personal items they wanted to be included. And only then did we go looking for the elements that would help us get there. You may love it or hate it, but that’s not the point - it’s not yours. Yours would be completely different. Interior design is a unique, holistic process looking at the beautiful as well as the practical - so now you know why you need us!

A quick guide to colour temperatue

Buying a bulb used to be easy. Not anymore. Apart from the practical stuff like the right fitting, size and shape, colour temperature is critical. Getting it wrong can turn your cosy room into a place you want to avoid. And it’s all about the Kelvins. The higher the number, the whiter the light. So 2700-3000k, known as warm white, is ideal for living rooms and bedrooms, and is closest to the old incandescent light bulb or candlelight. Your office probably has 4000-5000k - cool white with a hint of blue designed to make you more focussed and productive. Someone will have thought about that; it’s not just luck. Read more about Sarah Ross Design’s lighting design service here.

Freedom in every knot

Hand-knotted rugs are an investment and, when you discover that every square metre contains 222,000 individual knots, you realise why. It makes each one unique - packed with life, care and artistry. But Jaipur Rugs have taken this one step further. Women in rural India make up 85% of their workforce. Their Manchaha collection is created by those women using leftover yarn, allowing each weaver to create their own design on the loom, whilst benefiting from a sustainable livelihood and social standing that is mostly denied them. The image above shows their Freedom Manchaha collection, designed and woven by long-term prisoners, each one containing their own story, giving their maker dignity, income and creative freedom.

Image courtesy of Jaipur Rugs

The gift of time

During February, March and April, Sarah Ross Design is offering an opportunity to have a 45 minute consultation to talk about any aspect of your project from planning to furnishing; to find out more about working with an interior designer; to ask all those questions you have been itching to ask. Simply click here to get in touch and we can book it in. And pass it on, if you know someone who needs this!

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Get in Touch

If you have a project coming up, why not get in touch so that we can talk it through and see if Sarah Ross Design can help.

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