How to do the rough-luxe look

The secret to creating an elegantly dishevelled undecorated chic

The ‘undone’ look has been around for a while, and stripping back walls and floors to reveal the history of the house beneath – whether that’s patches of previous generations of wallpaper, bricks or floorboards, or just peeling paint and crumbling plaster – can look surprisingly stylish, especially if you are lucky enough to have an old home that has a bit of history and suits a rustic look.

The new trend for ‘deconstructured’ chairs – with sections seeming to ‘reveal’ the un-upholstered insides – also tap into this aesthetic, as does the fashion for unframed oil paintings.

While renovating a Victorian tenement flat in Glasgow’s Southside, architect Laura Jane Clark from Your Home Made Perfect made a game-changing discovery that led her to rethink her initial plan for a neutral scheme. Behind the peach-velour floral wallpaper, the original deep-red stained plaster – complete with stencilled detailing – had been beautifully preserved for over 100 years.

‘As I exposed the whole wall, I quickly started to appreciate the almost map-like quality of the lines, gouges and mismatched patching-in,’ Laura Jane recalls. ‘It was like a snapshot of the history of the flat.’

The challenge with this look is how to integrate the elements of undecoration, without the scheme looking random and mismatched or appearing more shabby than chic. ‘The type and finish of the old plaster walls differed in each room, so I started experimenting with bold, dark colours against the exposed surfaces,’ Laura Jane explains. ‘With a bit of trial and error, I found that finding a hue that complemented the natural colours within the old walls themselves worked incredibly well, and the darker tones gave contrast and drama.’

To enhance the elements of stripped back, undecorated surfaces in your design, Laura Jane also recommends that you ensure any new decoration is finished to a high standard and junctions cut in with precision. ‘The striking contrast between the rough and smooth, old and new, will come together and look like a polished interior scheme,’ she points out.

Another key to making it look deliberate – rather than a case of running out of budget to pay the plasterer – is to balance the rough finish with polished furnishings. In a living room, it’s easy to achieve the rough-luxe look with sumptuous textiles, so opt for plush velvet sofas and chairs, and layer with tactile cushions and throws for a luxurious finish. Accessorise the space with shiny and light-reflecting pieces, such as glass-fronted display cabinets, a marble bar trolley stacked with glassware, or a shimmering vintage chandelier for contrasting glamour.

Alternatively, you can lean into the look, playing on the ‘warehouse’ vibe with industrial metal pendant lights, chunky furniture made from reclaimed wood, and vintage steamer trunks or lockers.

If you love the rough luxe style but only have a bland surface to work with, try to view your scheme in a slightly different way. ‘Think about your exposed element as more of a background texture in your design, enhanced with a gallery wall, panelling or as a base for a painted pattern,’ Laura Jane suggests.

And for those without an aged wall to strip, try this clever drip paint effect for an undecorated look, created using a wash of chalk paint in Country Grey and Old White from Annie Sloan (above).