EVERY ROOM SHOULD SING Beata Heuman’s new book uncovers her design

EVERY ROOM SHOULD SING

Beata Heuman reveals how she creates original interiors with this extract from her first book

MAKING THE ORDINARY EXTRAORDINARY

When it comes to design, I’m always challenging myself to see if there is anything I can add to push the ideas a little further and not stop at the obvious. Some people may think that I take it too far, and of course a certain balance must be observed. If every item is extraordinary, it will take away from the elements you’re trying to highlight, and it will all be too much. The apartment featured in this chapter is a modest space on the lower ground floor of a grand block of buildings. We didn’t have a big budget, so we had to think outside the box to make it work. We took an ordinary object, a marble kitchen backsplash, and created a large circular shape that acts as the focal point as you open the front door. It’s about giving special attention to ordinary things. It’s about being inspirational, not aspirational.

DESIGN IDEAS

WHAT IS HOME?

Childhood helps to form our understanding of what home is and what we might want it to be; allowing our inner voice to be heard is invaluable when trying to connect with what home means to each of us. Many aspects go into building a home: the architecture, the functionality, the local vernacular, and so on. These are all important, of course, but too often the most intimate and emotionally engaging part of building a home – creating a sense of sentimentality in the space – is neglected. Your home will continue to evolve with you through life, taking in whatever comes your way and reflecting you and your family’s past and present. It needs to be a fold for all the experiences you go through, which is a completely individual journey. That is why any sort of uniform style never seems quite right to me in a residential setting. →

WHO IS IT FOR?

First and foremost, consider who will occupy the rooms now, but take a longer view as well. The reason why there are so many buildings that are over 100 years old is because our ancestors didn’t just think of themselves, but also of future generations. This cottage featured has parts dating from the 1600s. It has an original inglenook fireplace and beautiful half-timbered internal walls. Preserving the old features of the cottage was vital, but the home also needed to work for a modern family. If you are trying to put down roots with the interiors, you should always install floors, fixed joinery, and bathrooms in a style that will stand the test of time, which often means looking to the past for inspiration. Do the interior for your own pleasure first and foremost, but spare a thought for whoever may come after you.

DESIGN IDEAS

■ Extracted from Every Room Should Sing by Beata Heuman (£45, Rizzoli)

UNLOCKING THE IMAGINATION

For some reason, people who are usually confident when making decisions, such as what art they like or what clothes they wear, waver in their self-belief when it comes to decorating their homes. Interior design is filled with ideas of how things ‘should be’, which can be daunting when trying to find your own voice. But in order to see the world around you from your own perspective, you have to free yourself from convention. If you want to encourage imaginative thinking, you should do something a little unexpected. It makes people stop and think and ask questions. It helps them form a personal relationship with what they are looking at. I am endlessly putting paw feet on armchairs and embroidering eyelashes onto sofas. I suppose I am trying to get people to connect with seemingly inanimate objects, and see what I see when I look at furniture. &