We love nothing more than dramatic, gasp-inducing Autumn interiors.  Their dark and moody atmospheric qualities provide the ideal foundation for you to push boundaries, make a statement and experiment with new colours, patterns and materials

And we think Urban Luxe is definitely one of the best interior design styles to incorporate into an Autumn scheme.

Urban Luxe has it all: glamour, opulence and classic detailing but it’s perfectly balanced with modern design to create a harmonious and contemporary aesthetic that exudes undeniable warmth and sophistication.  A perfect companion on crisp Autumn evenings!

Here is our beautiful living space in all its glory, representing everything that is truly breathtaking about an Urban Luxe interior.

Our starting point was colour.  We chose Córdoba from Little Greene because the aubergine undertones in this hue were very reminiscent of the earthy notes of Autumn and we liked the fact that it wasn’t blue or green based, because we’re seeing these dark colours in interiors A LOT at the minute!  It’s always risky to go against the grain when it comes to trends but we think it’s worth playing around with different colour combinations to inject individuality into your space.  But don’t fret there’s still a nod to inky blue!

Once we settled on our main colour for the space, we also considered a feature wallpaper because we are pretty sure that all things floral are going to make a huge impact on interiors in the near future.  Actually, strike that, we think that pattern in general is going to be HUGE.  We love Farrow & Ball’s Lotus print and decided to include this in the design.  It’s incredibly opulent and reflects all of those classic elements that are central to an Urban Luxe interior.  Instead of applying this wallpaper to the fireplace wall, we decided (again) to go against the grain and use it on the sofa wall, and that’s because of the visual contrast it provides alongside the grunge pink.  Our love of muted Scandinavian colours is evident in this design, with the muted pink and dashes of grey-ish blue.  They definitely help to balance the strong wall colours.

The Colour Palette

We took a closer look at the colour used in the Farrow & Ball wallpaper and discovered that it appeared to be a very dark blue, so we worked that into other areas of the room.  This is a very effective way to anchor a design: it adds consistency and a little bit of order.  So there are cushions on the sofa incorporating a very rich shade of blue (such a striking contrast with the muted pink!), and floor length curtains in a similar hue that have a subtle sheen.  We felt curtains were more appropriate in this room to reinforce an air of opulence and grandeur.  We’re aware that curtains seem to have fallen out of favour these days but they still have their place, especially in contemporary interiors and we love how they inject a certain level of sophistication that other window treatments simply cannot.

Let’s talk about Grunge Pink.

Is Grunge Pink a thing?  We’re not sure, but we love the idea of taking blush pink and evolving it into a shade of pink that has ATTITUDE!  An Urban Luxe interior DEMANDS EDGE and therefore, we decided to use a cool shade of pink (we’re talking temperature here, not street smarts), on the sofa and lampshades to add relief to the overall design.  We love it!

Art was a major consideration for the sofa wall because we had already decided early on that a round mirror was being placed on the fireplace wall.  But what can you place on a wall that has loads of pattern already?  URBAN ART, OF COURSE!  The only reason these two pieces of art are able to withstand the pattern of the wall (and pink sofa) is because they are incredibly quirky in their own right.   And we loved the juxtaposition of the classical wallpaper and the softness of the pink sofa, with the raw energy of the Diana Gomez print from Rockett St George.   The equally edgy ‘Hopeless Romantic’ print from House Curious was chosen because of its perceived contradiction.  Art is a great way to start conversations and statement art displayed in this manner will most definitely elicit a response over crisps and dips!

We think the days of gallery walls are over!  Pair down your art to make the most impact in your space.

We’re not gonna sugarcoat it: combining pattern in this space was tricky because of that darned (beautiful) wallpaper.  We wanted to add pattern elsewhere in the space and decided the safest way to do this was via cushions.

The days of matchy-matchy cushions are gone!  Goodbye!  Au Revoir!  Cheerio!

Nowadays it’s a much more casual affair and this works so well in a contemporary interior.  We decided to add two rich blue cushions for a bit of consistency and then plonked a floral one beside them.  And it works!  Why?  Because it’s a bit dark ‘n’ moody and includes pink tones!  Oh yeah!  This fabric is called Delft Flower Grande Graphite and is available from Designers Guild.  We also included a throw because they’re always a very welcome bit of tactile charm during the Winter months and the fringe detail is bang on trend at the minute.  Go get one at Heal’s.

Lots of pattern, art and colour combinations?  Oh, YES. YOU. CAN!

The coffee table and rug are less ‘showy’ because really, something’s gotta give, right?!  So a nice dollop of serene marble has been used, which incidentally looks rather fresh alongside the Grunge Pink.  This coffee table is from Habitat and the rug is available from Floor Story.  Continuing with the marble theme, the side table, from La Redoute mimics the warm tones of the painted walls and provides an effective contrast to the patterned wallpaper and pink sofa.  Its brass effect legs also brings some glam to the room and reinforces the use of brass in other parts of the space.

Which brings us to the other side of this room!

The mid-century statement chair!  The chandelier!  The mirror!  The Cushion!  Where do we start?!

Let’s talk about the chair.  We like the idea of not incorporating the traditional arrangement of two sofas in this living space.  In our minds, this room has one main sofa and two statement chairs.  It’s just a less conventional vibe that appeals to us and is much more at home in an Urban Luxe design.  We opted for a muted blue because we felt another colour was required to break up the colour palette of the walls and pink sofa.  The cushion was something we clocked on the House Curious website very recently and the colourway is utter perfection for Autumn, particularly the deep reds which are a great companion for our Córdoba walls.  We also like how the red/orange colours pick up the same tones in the Design Sponge book sitting on the coffee table.  Nothing in professionally designed interiors is by chance, huh?!

Orient Print Cushion, House Curious

The chair is from Rose and Grey and whilst we love it, we do think the hefty price-tag could be a bit much for some, so when we spotted a similar design at IKEA for much less, we were absolutely thrilled (we’re planning on buying one for Hub HQ!).

There are many metallic round mirrors knocking about at the minute and whilst we think they are awesome, we decided that black was the better choice for this space.  Black is being pegged as a big interior design trend too, which is why you’ll see little dollops of black in this space.  Small punctuations of black in any room will instantly add a little bit of edge, especially in an Urban Luxe design scheme.  This mirror also includes chic gold detailing, which we love.  Snap it up at John Lewis.

Finally, we come to the chandelier.  We chose this style because it’s a quirky play on the fringe trend at the minute and we felt there was enough going on in this space with the colour palette, various finishes and patterns, so we opted for a less intricate design.  It still provides an injection of glamour to this Urban Luxe space, however without being too overbearing.  Find a similar design at Wayfair.

WE HOPE YOU’VE ENJOYED LEARNING MORE ABOUT HOW TO CREATE AN URBAN LUXE INTERIOR TO WELCOME THE NEW SEASON!  WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS STYLE OF DESIGN.  LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!