Interior design: Three must-reads to inspire spring home revamps

We help you open a new chapter to get projects underway by checking out the best of the new and classic publications on the shelves

Author Rachel Ashwell’s 'playroom' at Meadow Manor where she lays out her interior styling ideas.

Evenings are getting longer, giving us hope of spring ahead, even though the weather is lumbering between periods of biting cold and rain for days on end. But it does signal that the long-awaited season of hibernation is coming to an end, and the primordial instinct to nest kicks in, prompting spring cleaning and decluttering.

It’s also instinctively the time of year when we start thinking about home improvements, some as simple as swapping out a few cushions to breathe new life into tired furniture. Other times it’s a project on a wet weekend, slathering emulsion on walls tainted by open fires and stoves, and the wear and tear of everyone being indoors more.

A few new focused books to get projects underway might be just what’s needed for home stylists overwhelmed by the hamster wheel of trends.

Meadow Manor by Rachel Ashwell 

Rachel Ashwell details how she decorated her English country house after running a Texas B&B and living in LA.

It’s one for the fans of cottagecore, which anyone who keeps up with the lingo of interiors will know as the update of shabby chic.

Not that Ashwell’s Somerset home could be termed a cottage. It’s closer to our strong farmer’s house or period rectory.

Unusually for this type of book, the rooms are organised by the feeling the author wants to create, an example being the living room, which she calls “a place to gather”, styled accordingly. The overall effect is highly aspirational with a singular theme, but plenty to borrow if you want the country-cottage vibe in your blank canvas new build.

Seeing American expressions like “faucet” instead of “tap” seems out of context, though. Whether that’s Ashwell’s years spent living in the US or a publisher focusing on sales over there, who knows, but it does jar slightly.

Meadow Manor by Rachel Ashwell, €46.73, is published by CICO Books, with photography by Amy Neunsinger. 

At Home with Blue by Fifi O’Neill 

This comes just at the right time to show us, as we go in the direction of warmer days, that blue isn’t just for summer.

Blue is used as an accent colour to add variety and visual interest to this guest house bedroom from At Home with Blue.

Rather than dividing the book by shades of which there are more than can be imagined, it seems the author opts for themes: Heavenly blue, true blue, moody blue and atmospheric blue. Who knew there were so many interpretations?

The coastal look isn’t about blue dominating. Other hues and a mix of materials and textures offer something more versatile.

Blessedly, we’re not subjected to an avalanche of coastal cabin, or its monied relative, the Hamptons look. Instead, the dozen homes presented are all surprisingly accessible, and combined with woody accents, textures and contrasting pops of colour, this one will delight the blue and green lovers, without necessarily alienating the red and pink fans.

At Home with Blue by Fifi O’Neill, €28.98, is published by CICO Books, with photography by Mark Lehman. 

Inspirational Interiors by Roger Banks-Pye

So many interior books are written by women, so when an email announced the reissue of an old gem by the late Roger Banks-Pye, it was a sit up and take notice moment.

Interior designer for Colefax & Fowler back in the day, he’s credited with injecting new life into the traditional design approach of the company, to the point where the job of decorating the London home of Italian fashion designer Valentino nearly 40 years ago landed on his drawing board.

Coincidentally, the recently deceased fashion designer wrote the introduction to this book, Inspirational Interiors.

With so many trends and styles being relentlessly thrown at us, there’s something refreshing about going back in time and realising that classic design never dates. In fact, some of the looks of 2026 are bang on 1996 when the book was originally being penned.

The design classic combination of yellow and blue is trending again.

An emphasis on patternm which today we’re calling pattern-drenching, the classic combination of blue and yellow, especially the flat moody hues, are from a generation ago. Although, as a committed lover of neutrals, I can’t agree with his view that there are “moments when plain white walls might seem a relief, those moments are rare and should be discouraged”.

This reissue will be welcomed by those who prefer a more animated interior. For those who love a solid interiors book with useful and timeless tips, this is one to add to the bookcase.

Inspirational Interiors by Roger Banks-Pye, €46.73, is published by Ryland Peters & Small, with photography by James Merrell. 

Your spring interior design must-reads.