Styling for the Home with Joanna Thornhill

Ref: D1D37981

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About this course

This course offers a deep dive into the fascinating world of interior styling, focusing on those crucial (yet often overlooked) decorative accents, finer details and finishing touches which can help transform any room into a space packed with personality and wow-factor.

Course Description

Have you ever “completed” a personal or professional interiors project that somehow doesn’t feel like it’s actually finished? Want to know how to visually update and elevate an existing room without undertaking major renovations?

Whether you’re a keen amateur decorator, new homeowner, or a practising interior designer/design student, this one-day workshop will focus on those all-important decorating and styling elements which can be crucial to the success of any room scheme. Taught by a professional set stylist and interiors editor, you’ll learn all about the integral role that styling plays within the broader context of design, and how you can utilise its secret sauce to make the most of any room, on any budget.

We will cover various topics, including:

  • Understanding what styling is (and isn’t), and how it both differs from - and complements - the practices of interior design and interior decoration
  • Explore how the use of certain shapes, materials, colours and textures can affect how we feel within a space, and how to maximise this to strike the right tone
  • Master some key ‘rules’ and principles for arranging styled set-ups such as gallery walls, soft furnishings and “shelfies”, and learn which rules to follow (and which to break)
  • Discover how to make the most of awkward layouts, mitigate limited natural light or create the perfect balance of storage and display through strategically arranged furniture and accessories
  • Learn where to shop, source and find interesting furniture and accessories, and how to blend new buys with customised, upcycled and vintage pieces for interesting yet curated outcomes

Blending informative presentations with moodboarding and other interactive exercises, we will also visit a nearby leading interiors store to see real-life visual merchandising examples and unpick their styling secrets.

You’ll leave with a PDF filled with useful resources, oodles of ideas to try out at home, and a clear framework to follow when undertaking any of your own styling projects.

Course Materials

Included

On this course the College will supply all the materials.

What students need to bring

You will be provided with stacks of magazines to look through during some of our exercises, but if you have any existing photographs of projects you’re currently working on, ‘problem’ rooms you’re planning to tackle soon or examples of other designer’s projects you’ve been particularly inspired by, you might like to have them handy for reference, too (whether magazine tear sheets or photos on your phone or a tablet device).

Available to buy

Available from tutor:

  • As a five-times published author, your tutor will bring a small stock of her books (which she can sign), which will be available to purchase on the day. Her full range of titles are listed below. She usually brings a few of each but if there’s anything you’d definitely like to purchase, feel free to contact her via her website in advance so she can ensure there are enough copies!

BOOKS:

  • Master the Art of Colour by Tash Bradley (Content Production & Editing by Joanna Thornhill)
  • Interior Design Masters by Joanna Thornhill, in association with the BBC1 TV series
  • The New Mindful Home by Joanna Thornhill
  • My Bedroom is an Office by Joanna Thornhill
  • Insta Style for your Living Space by Joanna Thornhill

Additional information

Please note, the afternoon store visit is around five minutes walk from the campus, which we will travel to and from on foot.

Timetable

Student registration: 9.30am - 10am
Course teaching: 10am - 4.15pm
Morning teaching: 10am - 1pm
Lunch break: 1pm - 2pm (lunch is not included)
Afternoon teaching: 2pm - 4.15pm (15 minute break)
Teaching finishes: 4.15pm

General Information

Short courses are open to anyone aged 18 and over. The course fee covers tuition and materials where stated. You will need to bring all other items listed under the ‘Materials to bring’ section.

Refreshments

Coffee and tea are included in the course fee, but you will need to bring lunch with you to eat in the refreshments room. There are also plenty of other local venues to purchase food.

Access

If you have any specific access needs, we will need to know about your access requirements in advance. Please tell us about your needs in confidence by emailing: [email protected] This venue has steps to the front reception, with limited access via a side gate to the ground floor. There is a small lift to higher floors or stairs.

Safety

Short course students are required to sign a safety compliance form as part of West Dean Health and Safety regulations.

Refunds and cancellations

Please refer to our terms & conditions below.

Disclaimer

The information given is accurate at the time of publication. However, West Dean College reserves the right to cancel or amend courses if circumstances require.

Terms & Conditions

Tutors

Joanna Thornhill

Joanna is an interiors expert, whose work across the last two decades spans commercial styling, writing, trend forecasting, teaching and consulting, both for brands and editorial clients.

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