Tastemakers with Natalie Walton: How to make your interiors feel timeless
Teleisha Thomas
August 2026
Natalie Walton is a leading interior stylist, designer and bestselling author with years of experience creating spaces that are deeply personal and built to last. Her practice is rooted in cutting through trends and inspiration overload to help clients focus on what they truly value, and translating that into spaces that master personal style.
Here, Natalie shares how she helps clients uncover their true style and how she designs timeless spaces. Further, we follow Natalie to her favourite design stores to source pieces for clients.
How to make your interiors feel timeless
Start with a simple foundation, then introduce character
One of the ways to make a space timeless is to start simple and then layer in contrast. Clean lines, a considered material palette — that's your foundation. Then you bring in the old alongside the new, the rustic alongside the refined. Without that second layer, a space can look right but feel a little empty.
Choose tiles for the long term, not the moment
Choosing tiles is one of the hardest decisions in a kitchen renovation because they're semi-permanent. What I always come back to is: will this material still feel right in five, ten years? When you go with a timeless material and colour, your kitchen
can adapt and evolve around it, without anchoring the space to a particular moment in time.
Understanding your own visual vocabulary creates a foundation and a guide through the unexpected turns that come with creating any home.
Use zoning to add visual interest
A kitchen doesn't have to read as one continuous surface. Introducing different zones that have different functions but also look and feel different, adds real depth to a room. Colour drenching is one of the most effective ways to do this. It differentiates a zone beautifully and creates a sense of intention, without needing a structural change.
Let small spaces be playful
A powder room is one of the few spaces in a home where you can really push things. Because it's small, you can go large with the pieces you introduce. An unexpected material or a wallpaper you might not commit to anywhere else. Deliberate contrast in scale and era is what gives a room personality rather than just purpose.
Treat your walls to more than just paint
Most people think about walls in terms of paint colour and stop there. But walls set the character of a room before anything else is added. In older homes that might mean revealing original plaster or brick, the original essence of the space. In newer homes, look for ways to introduce texture and character deliberately. Wallpaper, tactile finishes, raw materials - these are what take a wall from background to feature.
Natalie’s sourcing favourites
Studio Gardner
An incredible space created by Joseph Gardner of Vogue Living and Aaron Wong. You are truly spoiled for choice here. Every piece stands out, and it's one of those places where you'll always find something that takes your space to the next level.
studiogardner.com
BESS Florist
Florals are my favourite way to bring a space to life, and Bess never disappoints, Cymbidium Orchids are a particular favourite of mine. They instantly create a wow factor.
besspaddington.com
Moebel
Moebel is something of a designer secret. A destination where you'll find truly artisanal pieces sourced from Italy, France, and beyond. If you're looking for special lighting or a one-of-a-kind object for your home, this is the place to start.
moebel.com.au
