Guest post- Top interiors trends to look out for in 2013!

This article is brought to you by Edel Flood.

The advent of 2013 offers an excellent opportunity to make over your home and give it a whole new look. Whether you want to undertake a full renovation or just give one or two rooms a bit of a lift, it can be useful to know what is hot in the world of interior design this year.

Retro florals

Floral patterns have never really gone away, especially for traditionalists, but this year the look takes on a more retro than classic vibe - think Orla Kiely-style prints in bold colours and with clean, simple lines. This looks great in small doses throughout the home via patterned cushions, dinnerware and art prints, but the more daring among us can also opt for wallpapers and curtains emblazoned with bright flower and leaf designs.

If you are on a budget, try trawling through markets and charity shops for vintage pieces from the 1950s and 1960s, which is when the look originated, or have a go at repainting furniture or creating your own canvas prints with similar patterns.

Emerald hues

Color standards authority Pantone has declared emerald to be the go-to hue for 2013, making this a fantastic shade to start with if you want to make over your home, but are pretty open to colour suggestions. Again, it can work equally well in both accessories and across large surfaces, depending on the look you want to achieve.

Pantone suggests using emerald to evoke a luxurious feel in studies, dining rooms and hallways, or in feature walls in lounges. Alternatively, you could invest in dinnerware and kitchen appliances in this shade or opt for emerald linen and towels to brighten up bedrooms and bathrooms.

Mirror mirror on the wall

Mirrors have always been useful for helping enlarge small spaces and complementing traditional or vintage interiors, but we are being encouraged to use them in a slightly different way this year. The trend involves grouping together an odd number of small mirrors on a wall, much as you would with a series of framed pictures.

The trick is to invest in mirrors with pretty or unusual frames and place them in a slightly haphazard fashion on the wall, rather than in a neat circle or square. This works well in most rooms and will especially suit Victorian-style interiors.

Mix it up in the kitchen

Kitchens utilising a number of styles will be on trend this year, making this the perfect look for indecisive types. Colors, materials and textures that you might not think really go together are being used to create truly unique rooms with lots to capture the attention of visitors.

This does not necessarily mean that the resulting look should be overwhelmingly clashy; instead, think about combining just two or three different shades/styles in subtle ways. This could involve different wood finishes (e.g. light cabinets and darker floors) or mixing up plain, modern walls with chintzy floral patterns on your accessories.

The natural look

Another key theme of 2013 will be bringing nature into the home, ideally through the use of lots of wood - and the less polished the finish, the better. Birch, beech and oak look set to be the most popular wood types for this style, especially in furniture and flooring.

You can complement your wooden finishes with materials and accessories featuring woodland patterns/motifs, and this would be a particularly great look to use from spring through to autumn, changing your colour palette slightly as the seasons turn.

Disclaimer: I have received compensation in return for publishing this article.