Written by Ingrid Gorissen
Summertime is upon us! And as our days stretch longer, the sun shines brighter and hotter, and our sunscreen stash gets a refresh, we’re celebrating the warmth, fun and beauty of the summer season.
While we may not be able to jet off on a holiday just yet, it might be the perfect time to look with a designer’s eye at your home and start on that makeover that you have been longing to do, but not knowing where to start.
Are you ready to dress your home up for a summery staycation or just for that “happy and healthy” living feeling all around?
Your home is your heart, reflecting you and your family’s life.
Here are some great tips for creating your very own dream home:
- Just make a start and don’t be overwhelmed by the thought of decorating your whole house at once. Relax and take one room at a time. You will see that once you start, the rest will flow as you will get more and more into the swing of your ideas.
- Create a style file and tear photo’s out of your favourite magazines; Collect ideas, colour swatches and anything that inspires you. Trust me, all the bits and pieces will come together to reveal a lot about the style and colours you’ll be happy to live with.
- Suit your lifestyle: If you are a lover of casual entertaining and relaxing living, a formal decorating style won’t work for you. Choose a look that is easy, compliments and enhances the way you live your home and this will be an absolute joy for you to be in.
- Work with neutrals: Keep the bright colours and flashy patterns for accessories. A neutral colour palette gives the flexibility to change or adapt your basic look to keep up to date as match evolving tastes.
- Remember the classics:
Buy big ticket items such as lounge suites in classic, timeless shapes and neutral fabrics. You’ll want these pieces to be with you for many years to come, so they need to be versatile unless you are confident and know which bold colour you like and, in that case, have the Big item as the centre accent piece and create a neutral space around it so it pops out and makes a statemen! - Inject colour and personality: Giving your home an individual touch is most important as they create your personality and happiness. Easy creating an inviting atmosphere designers items are cushions, throws, rugs, plants and artwork. These can be easily changed to achieve a variety of looks without breaking the bank. Decorate with objects and photos that are special to you and your family to reflect your personality.
- Create a budget for decorating:
When building or renovating it is easy to forget to allocate a portion of your budget to furniture and decorator pieces and so not realise the full potential of your project as soon as you finish construction. - Think ahead and you won’t be left with a beautiful space but ill-fitting or even, no furniture at all.
- Decorate to scale:
Truly, spaces emerge when your house is decorated to scale. By that I mean the furniture and decorator pieces need to be in proportion to the size of the room. Choose pieces that complement the size and you’ll have a seriously stylish look. - Lift and separate:
Add a rug to define the various zones and highlight the areas you wish to draw attention to. Rugs provide warmth, colour and texture to a room as well as catching it from a design point of view.
You help your eyes to focus into an area instead, drawing attention to, instead of not knowing where to look. - Add some wow factor: Give your home the final touch of WOW factor with pieces such as large vases, pendant, plants, artwork to create the maximum impact without clutter.
Always remember to never be afraid to ask for help.
Your dream home could be just a small step away from being decorated just the way you want it!
Yours in happy designing,
Ingrid