The high-street chains have dramatically raised their interiors game in the past few years, and now there are delightful, inexpensive discoveries to be made in the most unexpected places. For the price of a premium chicken, Sainsbury’s sells sets of striped bed linen. M&S has just launched an innovative “pop-up” double wardrobe (Sonoma, £799; 0845 603 1603, marksandspencer.com). Next, mainly known for its fashion, has top boys’ bedroom kit starting at £12 (next.co.uk), and Tesco is stocking fuchsia velvet cushions for £10 a pop
It’s the same story in the department stores. Plotting new ways to capture our decorating budget, Debenhams, House of Fraser and their ilk have recruited up-and-coming designers, rediscovered great British talents and put out grabby, fashion-led lines. This is about buried treasure, rather than simple thrift, but there are great deals to be had, such as Lisa Stickley’s bird cushion (£12; 0844 800 8877, debenhams.com).
Debenhams started the trend for designer collaborations more than a decade ago, engaging big-name dress designers to entice the fashion-loving homeowner into its interiors section. Contributors now include John Rocha, Betty Jackson, Julien Macdonald, Ben de Lisi and Matthew Williamson. Head-turning designs this spring are the purple tie-dye cushions in Williamson’s Butterfly range (£20) and de Lisi’s adorable bulldog table lamps (£40).
Paula Nickolds, director of buying at John Lewis, loves the way her collaborations have brought “insider designers” to the attention of a wider audience. The store might be the first place you’ve encountered Clarissa Hulse’s exuberantly coloured textiles, Ella Doran’s witty homewares — check out her stainless-steel bins, decorated with images of stacked newspapers (£15) — or Nick Munro’s wall mirrors (£220; 0845 604 9049, johnlewis.com), but all have been lauded within the industry for years.
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Other stores are reintroducing us to some British design legends. Sue Roberts, head of design at House of Fraser, recently recruited one of her own idols, Sue Timney. “I remember Sue coming to talk to us at college,” she says. “We went through archives and pulled together and updated things that would work now.” Timney’s trademark monochrome clock, Regency stripes and fleur-de-lys motifs, printed on tableware, will be in store from mid-April (from £15; 0845 602 1073, houseoffraser.co.uk).