Which colours and materials suit a high-end interior?

A high-end interior expresses luxury, but with restraint. Not everything is gold or silver: the effect comes from an elegant balance between gloss and matt. The style suits people who want a sense of luxury and, at the same time, warmth and the feeling of home. Colour combinations, natural materials and clear lines do that work. Modern, clean-lined elements are set against robust materials, and walls often get a finish of their own, such as leather or bronze panelling, which makes the surface something you notice and touch. You will also find traces of classic, modern and industrial styles in a high-end interior; in the right proportions, with the right colours and materials, they settle into a whole.

A luxury interior stands or falls with its materials. They need to fit one another and the colour scheme you have chosen, so it helps to stay within the tints of the colours above. Depth comes from balance: gloss against matt, and soft textures against hard ones, leather next to wool, warm timber next to cold steel. Let the same materials return in other rooms; that connection is what makes the house feel like one whole.

Walls do not have to be papered or painted. Timber wall panelling looks remarkably chic, and so does artificial leather mounted within a frame on the wall. A wall like that appeals to the hand as much as to the eye.

For a new-build villa we made an interior design in the style Bold Luxury, with natural materials throughout. The piece that stands out is the set of three-dimensional bog oak wall panels by Wonderwall Studios. Their colour warms the room, and because the timber is dark it reads as luxurious and calm at the same time. We placed the panels symmetrically, in frames, in both the seating area and the kitchen, so the two spaces answer each other.

For another client we worked the kitchen in a warm tint of oak veneer and set a worktop in a contrasting colour against it. The dining table got the same finish as the kitchen cabinet fronts, which ties the kitchen and dining room together into one coherent whole.