PLANNING to make over your home? You could watch a dozen TV shows or scan the glossy interior design magazines. But a short-cut to the latest trends is to study the domestic arrangements of the wealthy, for their make-overs set the style for everyone else.

Nick Candy, of Candy & Candy, development managers to the überrich, knows something about their tastes. He says that they are now requiring homes with complete spas, including steam showers, Pilates rooms and gadgets such as automatic bath fillers.

This preference for the highest pampering standards within your own four walls extends to hairdressing. The Candys work with Daniel Galvin, hairdresser to the Chelsea set, to build home salons. Nick Candy says: “If you are going out to Sir Elton John’s White Tie and Tiara Ball, you wish to get ready in private.”

These requirements may seem excessive to some, but where the rich go, other homeowners tend to follow, in a modified fashion of course. Expect housebuilders to start referring very soon to bathrooms with a few extras as “spas”. Here is our guide to the latest interior preoccupations of the wealthy:

STAYING IN

It is not enough that your home is your very own spa or hair salon. It must also be your nightclub. Lucy Russell, managing director of Quintessentially Estates, which finds and furnishes homes for the moneyed, says that some are installing everything for their entertainment in their home. Why go out when you have a sound system where the speakers alone cost £80,000 (curvy KEF Muon numbers made from aluminium). Other hip leisure facilities include a bowling alley and a library, while amateur marine biologists are choosing aquariums.

COLOUR COORDINATION

The cappuccino palette (brown, beige, cream, mouse and so on, in other words, the shades of five-star hotels) still has its enthusiasts, but grey, black and white are coming to the fore, as a more blokey aesthetic develops. Ralph Lauren’s new home collection features bedding in striped-shirt materials. But luxury is not inextricably linked with taupe or monochrome. John Stefanidis, the designer and architect, has clients who are branching out into “reds, turquoise and acid yellow”.

BRAND VALUE

The very rich find certain brands reassuring. Lucy Russell lists some key names: Boffi and Toscoquattro (uncluttered Italian style) are the favourites for bathrooms. Kitchens must be equipped with Boffi sinks and appliances by Gaggenau (German restaurant-grade stoves). John Stefanidis says his clients are keen on bathrooms from Kohler (sleek American minimalism). Siedle and Viabizzuno are the names in security systems and lighting, respectively.

SUPERSIZE

The colossal living spaces required by the wealthy require huge furniture and other stuff. Furniture from Zaha Hadid, the award-winning architect, fills the yawning void of a 6,000 sq ft apartment very nicely, but the ultimate giant-sized feature is a concrete fireplace from Darkroom Architecture. As this is constructed on site, there is no standard cost, but £10,000 is the least you will pay. Donna Karan and David Bowie are both Darkroom clients. So powerful are these supersized pieces that the room is sometimes designed around them. Kelly Hoppen, the designer, has made Agape baths (Italian stripped-down style) the centrepieces of her creations.

JUXTAPOSITION

Combining the new and the old is a coming trend. Karen Howes, of TH Designs, an interior design service, achieves the look by placing an Eames chair or a Saarinen Tulip table alongside “sumptuous velvet sofas and crystal chandeliers”. A version of the leather and plywood lounge chair designed in 1956 by Ray and Charles Eames costs around £850; for around £520 you can have a new version of the pedestal Tulip table from Eero Saarinen.

THE NEXT BIG THING...

Could just be the playful style of Jonathan Adler, the American interior decorator and a believer in “irreverent luxury”. His manifesto includes: “We believe that when it comes to decorating, the wife is always right. Unless the husband is gay.” He is a militant anti-minimalist and says that “colours can’t clash”.

For more pictures of the latest in interior style, go to: timesonline.co.uk/interiors

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