The public has spoken … these are Britain’s most beautiful rooms in 2020

Get ready to be hit by a huge buzz of inspiration, and just a hint of envy. After searching high and low the interior design experts at Cox & Cox have revealed Britain's most beautiful room.

Related: Enjoy this multi-level garden makeover with clever planting and banquette seating

In March Cox & Cox launched a competition to uncover the UK's favourite rooms in an amateur design competition. Hundreds of talented home decorators sent in snaps of their favourite room at home.

However, the public voted for a stylish home bar as Britain's most beautiful room. The room belonged to Emma from Easthope and was a dead ringer for a trendy London cocktail bar.

Emma had converted the small room into a stunning party room, complete with a jaw-dropping drinks collection.

'The idea came from my love of entertaining,' explains Emma. 'The bar sits right in the middle of the house and opens out into the back garden, making it the perfect location for hosting.'

'When we bought the house, all the rooms were magnolia with either beige or a blue carpet, so I wanted to bring some colour into it and add a bit of character.

'I was careful to keep the design modern, but sympathetic to the age of the house, as the original building dates back to the 1880s,' she adds.

Emma was inspired by her favourite local bars and The Kenilworth cocktail lounge in Warwickshire.

'I originally wanted a neon sign that said 'Champagne,' but had a hard time finding one I liked. Then, when I had a bit of a tough time in my previous job, I found the current sign that says "Well behaved women seldom make history." It ended up being a must!'

However, the competition was extremely close. Emma's room secured 17.4 per cent of the vote, but the runner up was a close second with 14.6 per cent.

See below to take a look at the nine runners.

Britain's most beautiful rooms – the runner's up

2. Open-plan living space – Rachel, from Guildford

'I wanted to create a modern industrial look but with a relaxing and softer style in the family room,' explains Rachel. 'At the centre of the family room is the woodburner - I found it on Pinterest and sourced one from Firemaker in Scotland.

' I then sourced lots of quirky accessories, including from Cox & Cox, in metallic, green and pink colours and displayed lots of them on my lovely Cox & Cox display unit.   The large clock is also from Cox & Cox.   The stags head we sourced a few years ago and is a fun, modern take on a traditional look.   The rug pulls all the colours together.'

3. Children's room – Rachael, from Eaglescliffe

'The inspiration behind it me was my daughter,' explains Rachel. 'Her absolute favourite colour is yellow. My taste is very monochrome hence the spots, so I decided to go bold and give her her favourite yellow as a focal point. She was overjoyed.'

4. Living room – Christina, from Cheshire

'My inspiration came first from a weekend winter break in Stockholm a couple of years ago where I was so impressed by the amount of greenery in the hotels and shops, bars and cafes,' says Christina.  'It is such a lovely idea to bring the greenery into the home especially during the cold dark winter months when we can spend little time in the garden and outdoors.

'My hobby is to work with pressed and dried flowers and I find almost all my inspiration from nature. Nature has been proven to have beneficial effects on mental health, so  I thought it was a really good idea to incorporate it into my living space.  At all times of the year I try to bring some greenery in from outdoors.  The rest of the room is very neutral.  It is a very calming and relaxing space.'

5. Small bathroom – Tim and Anna, from Devon

'It was one of many rooms we have made over and despite a few setbacks (like a burst pipe which sent water spurting everywhere) it was a fun challenging experience. I learnt how to plaster, plumb, woodwork and lay a lino floor,' says Tim and Anna.

'There are plenty of upcycling projects out there and with a dash of paint or a roll of wallpaper you can turn any old corner cabinet into a great cocktail bar or dark wooden table into an attractive plant stand. I have never done anything on this scale before but with the help of YouTube and Google you can see the results.'

6. Living room – Marie, from Malpas

'We wanted a dark and cosy room. A cosy, country lodge type theme, so log fires, dark wallpapers, contrasting fabrics, mismatch pieces,' says Marie. 'We live in a barn conversion so we try to keep the look in keeping with the type, age and location of the property too.'

7. Children's room – Francesca, from Bexley

'We only moved into our house (a renovation project!) 6 months ago, and our daughter Blake’s room was the first room we completed,' says Francesca.  'I wanted to create a space that was pretty to look at but fun and functional for her to play in too - the reading corner and slide are in constant use! The whole house is a bit of a hybrid of traditional with a contemporary twist, and her room is no exception.'

8. Dressing room – Georgina, from South Buckinghamshire

'My spare room is my most recent project which I have been lucky enough to turn into my own dressing room,' says Georgina. 'I love so many colours that I always find it hard to pick just one so colour-blocking has become my new favourite interior trend. 

'It means I can combine a palette of colours together all in one space without it feeling overwhelming as they are just in small pockets. I love how colour, shapes and textures combined make all the difference to rooms that would otherwise be a little white box.'

9. Bathroom – Debra, from Manchester

'The inspiration for my downstairs toilet came mainly from looking at lots and lots of Instagram images, and from following lots of different companies and hashtags,' explains Debra. 'I’m also an avid listener/follower of The Great Indoors podcast with Kate Watson-Smyth and Sophie Robinson - they’ve both been great interior design inspirations to me, not only for my downstairs toilet but also for the rest of my house which I’ve recently decorated.  

'I kept seeing time and time again that the downstairs toilet is a place where you can be a little ‘different’ with your decor, compared to the rest of the house and I think I’ve certainly done that!'

10. Open plan living space – Sunny, from Chelmsford

'The inspiration of the room is my love for the clean, minimalistic Nordic look,' explains Sunny. 'I believe in minimalistic living as it helps keep the mind clear and free of clutter! I always prefer to buy good quality furniture and accessories because good quality stands the test of time and doesn’t have to be replaced constantly.'

Related: 32 Easy DIY projects and fun makes to do during the coronavirus lockdown for every room in the house!

Have you been inspired?