Award-winning interior designer says one ‘easy’ mistake can knock 10% off your home’s value

Let’s be honest: home isn’t just where the heart is. The value of your house, especially if you’re lucky enough to be a homeowner, is often just as important as creating your perfect space.

Whether you’re into bold home design or play it on the safe side, there’s one faux pas you could be making… and you probably have no idea.

Anouska Lancaster, an award-winning interior designer best known for starring in the Channel 4 series Renovation Nation which followed the jaw dropping restoration of her Cornwall home, lets Metro in on the industry secret.

The golden rule of interior

‘There’s a fine line between having an eclectic home and having a cluttered home,’ says Anouska. ‘It’s a line you can easily fall over if you just keep collecting stuff.’

Anouska is by no means a minimalist designer. She’s a lover of bright colours, eye-catching patterns and showstopping feature pieces – and we mean showstopping. She has an antique carousel horse pride of place in her living room.

So, how do we make sure we’re walking the wobbly tightrope between less-is-more and more-is-more?

‘Sometimes you need to come at it with fresh eyes,’ Anouska tells Metro. ‘When you come back from being away, you might want to think to yourself ‘I need a little refresh’ and consider what needs to go.

‘I trained to be an artist,’ she says. ‘It’s a bit similar to painting a picture and knowing when it’s finished.

‘When you’re creative, you want to just keep creating, but you have to stop yourself as you can almost ruin a masterpiece by doing too much.’

To check a room doesn’t pass into over-cluttered territory, Anouska says: ‘When you’re looking at any room in your house, you have to be able to let your eyes rest somewhere.

‘It could be not putting those extra couple of cushions on a sofa, just because you love them. It could be a wardrobe that’s just painted, or a wall that just lets you gather your thoughts.’

What about increasing value?

Now we’ve got our heads around what not to do, there’s also plenty you can do, even on a budget, to up the value of your home.

‘Wow-factor pieces really add value,’ says Anouska.

‘Even if you can’t afford to do a whole room, if you just have one thing that really stands out – for example, the most amazing, upholstered sofa, an incredible headboard or an antique dresser – that’s what people remember.’

On the vintage carousel piece, pride of place in her own home, she says, ‘it kind of doesn’t matter what else I have in the house, because everyone always talks about the horse.’

Anouska says it can be helpful to take one room at a time when upgrading your home.

‘Years ago, when I moved, I couldn’t afford to put a new kitchen in, so I completely painted it. It started as an orange oak. I coated it in acrylic eggshell, then picked out a fuchsia pink I like.

‘I couldn’t afford a hood for the hob, so I created the look of a stipe running down the wall. Everyone would just be wowed by the colour and wouldn’t take any notice of the actual fabric of the kitchen.’

On top of colour drenching, Anouska recommends one other kitchen hack.

‘Handles totally transform. Everyone’s moving towards brushed and gold polished brass. If you get new handles, the whole space can look brand new.’

You don’t need to break the bank

‘Don’t be afraid to pair an expensive piece with high street stuff – mix and match. It makes it much more exciting anyway.

‘Home Sense is my guilty pleasure,’ says Anouska on her favourite high street spot, where she finds bargains to put alongside antique pieces. ‘I’m absolutely obsessed. I’ll go in there for a candle and come out with a chair.’

If you do have a bit of a budget, Anouska says there’s one thing she would recommend splashing the cash on when decorating.

‘Buy an investment piece. A piece of art that you absolutely love. Even if you can’t afford to do anything else in the room, art is really great.’

Starting with what art you like can often be helpful when trying to figure out what design direction you want to go in for a particular room.

‘You can figure out what colours and patterns you’re drawn to, and move backwards,’ she explains.

All of this said, Anouska is a big believer in being led by your heart. ‘Primarily, it shouldn’t really matter about the value. Your home should be about what calls to you, and what you love.’

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