When sourcing interior inspiration, why not just cut straight to best? This flat in a Victorian house in Winchester is the work of British designer Faye Toogood, who applied her signature treatment of tactile materials – original wooden floors, cast-concrete basins and unlacquered brass taps – with vintage furniture – mixing mid-century classics with anachronistic antiques – and her own pieces, including the Roly Poly fibreglass chair.

Wearing its elegance lightly, the space is a harmonious bringing together of styles, periods and materials, where the timeless proportions of the Victorian structure are complemented, not rivalled, by the additions. The lesson is a holistic one: a continual sensibility has directed here and tying everything together are soft and restful tones – a reminder to think of your space collectively, not just as a series of rooms.

If Christchurch Road makes a case for quiet colours and select pieces, this 19th-century print house turned exuberant living space presents a convincing argument for the more-is-more camp. Over its five floors, moments of interest arise out of every turn: an integrated fish tank sits below two male busts and across from two taxidermy flamingos, while in the main living space two peacocks (sensing a theme?) take pride of place, and are flanked by towering stacks of books.

If you’re holding back on using your interior to express your creative desires, let this no-holds-barred approach be a lesson. Fill your home with whatever piques your interest, so that it becomes a repository for things that inspire, delight and hold meaning.

Work with what you’ve got is the takeaway from this former Victorian butcher on Hornsey Road in north London. The Grade II listing of the space covers much of the kitchen, where hand-painted tiles adorn the walls and floors, an Art Noveau glazed frieze runs at ceiling height and one of the two marble-topped counters is decorated with hand-painted depictions of Hampstead Heath.

With so much to go on already, why come up with additions that are only going to dilute the inherent beauty of the space? But you don’t need a Victorian butcher to learn something here: whether you have a Georgian townhouse or a mid-century bungalow, the move is to work out how you can be sensitive to the character of your house.

What should you do if your interior project requires more than buying a new sofa and a lick of paint? Look to this cleverly-conceived two-bedroom apartment between Old Street and Clerkenwell, which has been completely reconfigured to a design that preferences storage, functionality and light. Flexible living spaces come by way of pocket doors that can open up or close off the layout as needed; bespoke carpentry creates space-saving alternatives to freestanding desks and beds; and poured resin floors run throughout the space, as practical as they are pretty.

So, if you have a blank canvas and can start from scratch, use your space wisely and do yourself a favour by creating more storage than you think you need – you’ll thank yourself later. With all the paraphernalia of modern life out of the way, the pieces you do fill your home with will look all the better for not having to share space with bicycles, camping equipment, suitcases, old school projects … we could go on.