creating your living work of art

The decision to update your interior is easy. It’s just all of the decisions after that that can be difficult. So, where do you start? The key to creating a good interior is being able to pull it all together. It’s knowing how to make clever choices that work for you.

Before you start – before you choose any colours or furniture or fabrics or finishes or anything, you need to have a coherent theme for your interior. You need to have a clear idea about 3 things: Look. Feel. Function.

First, how do you need your room to function? What type of room is it? Is it for work – rest – play? Is it multi-purpose? Does it need to be durable? Easy to clean? Can it be indulgent and luxurious? Secondly, how do you want your room to look? This is your style. Is it simple and modern? Sleek & sophisticated? Conventional or quirky? A bit retro?

Thirdly, and most importantly, how do you want your room to feel? When you walk into you room, do you want to feel soothed and relaxed? Do you want your space to be stunning and stimulating? Light and breezy? Soft and cosy?

These 3 things are important because a good interior will enhance the way you live. As human beings we are sensitive to our surroundings. The eye, for example, can detect very subtle changes in colours and textures. We see individual grains of sand on a beach and even the veins of leaves in a tree. Your look, feel and function will make for a coherent theme. Then you need to keep that master plan throughout your project – even if you have decided to tackle it room by room.

For me, creating an interior is like creating a living work of art. If we paint a landscape, the backdrop is the land and the sky; the fixtures are the trees; and the decoration is the flowers and the fruit on the trees. Creating an interior is much the same. What’s the first thing you notice when you walk into a room? Consciously or unconsciously, the most impact comes from the main backdrop. The walls. The floors. The ceiling, or roofline. (These are the land and the sky). Walls include windows and door openings. The walls, floor and ceiling define an interior space. When you are building a new space or doing a major renovation, the placement of these things, to define your space (the interior design) is as important as the selections made for the colours and finishes for that space (the interior decoration).

If you get the backdrop right from the start, then a stunning interior comes more easily. If you already have an existing space with some problem areas, then a good interior renovation or make over can help to hide them.

The next most important consideration for your interior is the fixtures in a room. (These are like the trees). Examples are kitchen benches, bathroom sanitary ware and vanities, living room fireplaces.

Do you highlight these? Or blend them in? Here again you need to choose carefully. Like floor coverings and the placement of windows and doors, changing these things later can be relatively difficult and expensive. Your budget will obviously be important. The trick is to know where to spend money on quality items and where you can achieve a quality look for minimal cost. That is where some expert advice can be useful. It can help you save money, even make money by adding real value to your property.

Lighting is another very important consideration when creating a good interior. It falls somewhere between the back drop and the fixtures of a room. Don’t be limited by hanging a light from the centre of your ceiling. The best forms of lighting are the ones where it’s not obvious where the light is coming from. You just get a sense of the room being illuminated.

We are creating a living work of art. We have considered the back drop and the fixtures. The finishing touch is the interior decoration. (The flowers and the fruit). This includes most things that are relatively easy to change in a room. Colour. Rugs. Furniture. Fabrics. Cushions. Artwork. Again your choices are determined by your master plan – your desired look, feel and function.

I hope you find this approach helpful. The backdrop. The fixtures. The refined details. Creating a living work of art.

If you want to learn more about interiors, or anything else about designing your space, then contact us.

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