The Basics of Interior Design
The luxury lifestyle does not require a mansion. You don’t have to wait until you can afford a huge house on the beach to live in a beautiful home. Remember the luxury lifestyle is about quality things and people. Small cosy houses can be made luxurious for a small amount of money through clever interior design. Remember the self made wealthy don’t spend money when they don’t have to. Living a luxury lifestyle is not about throwing money away to look cool, it is simply about raising your standard of living. If you can do that inexpensively, so much the better.
In this article I will introduce you to the basics of interior design which I studied when I was renovating houses. The key to a successful renovation is to make cosmetic improvements, not structural improvements, to a house. Building new rooms, adding another level to a structure or moving walls around is very expensive and moving walls especially can weaken the structure. You want to improve a houses WOW factor to make an impression. Here are some tips…
Painting - A new paint job will do more to improve the look of your home than anything. It is a relatively simple job too, so you can save yourself a fortune by doing it yourself. Give the surfaces to be painted a good clean up with sugar soap and scrape of any loose stuff. Bog up any cracks or any depressions to make the surface smooth, then paint. Whether you use an undercoat or not depends on what paint you use. Get advice from a interiors shop. The underlying principle for all renovations including painting is KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid. Keep your color schemes simple, use neutral colors, they reflect light better making rooms look bigger and they look cleaner. Be consistent throughout the house.
Kitchens - Don’t go crazy, these can eat heaps of cash if you are not careful. If your kitchen is falling apart then you have no choice but to get a new one. If you can avoid it though, don’t get a new one just cosmetically touch up the one you have. New benchtops, tile splashbacks, door handles, cupboard handles, tap handles, a paint job and floor job will make a huge difference and won’t cost the earth.
Bathrooms - Another money pit. Light and bright is the secret here. Just like the kitchen if it’s falling apart, you have no choice but to spent the big bucks and replace things. If you can get away with it though, change your benchtops, door handles, cupboard handles, tap handles and floor tiles (wall tiles can be a huge expensive job, avoid changing if possible) Get a new paint job, a new toilet seat, toilet roll holder and towel racks. This will transform the room and won’t cost much.
Flooring - Makes a huge difference. New carpet, tiles or linoleum will transform a room. Also consider, if you have a timber floor of good enough quality, ripping up the carpet and polishing the floorboards. This looks fantastic and is inexpensive.
Doors - Change the door knobs throughout the home for a classier style and make sure you stay consistent throughout.
Window treatments - These also transform a room. Make sure they fit in with the rest of the room.
Landscaping - Can cost you a fortune. All you really need to do (unless your yard is a write off) is rip out all the plants except for the larger established ones. Install some edging, re lay some turf where necessary (if you have dead spots where grass won’t grow, you can pave that area which is expensive or extend the garden over this area and plant shade resistant plants), replant the garden with colorful plants and add mulch to your garden beds. Plant tall plants at the back of perimeter gardens or the middle of central gardens and have smaller plants in front. Try to get a few different shades of green in the leaves of different plants. Try to plant a range of flowers so you have something blooming at most times of the year. Flowers can give your garden a pleasant smell as well and attract birds. River pebbles or conrete treads are also an inexpensive alternative to paths.
Painting of the exterior - Makes a huge difference to the WOW factor. Probably best to get a professional to do it though, they own scaffolding, let them risk their necks.
Decking and verandahs - Cheaper than adding rooms to your house but adds square footage to your living space. If you live above the snow line this may not appeal, but for warmer climates outdoor living spaces are wonderful for entertaining. Tile over concrete porches.
Fences - If you have an existing fence, give it a new paint job. If you don’t have a front fence put in a white picket fence. Add an attractive letterbox.
Get a new front door - These really add or detract from the look of your home.
The bottom line is, you don’t need to change where you live necesarily, just how it looks. Spend your money on luxurious homewares not on expensive structural changes. Read on now to learn about how to layout your home and how to decorate it to raise your standard of living and to add to your luxury lifestyle.
1. The Basics of Interior Design
There are 3 basic guidelines for successful interior design.
A successful room is functional.
A successful room expresses a mood.
A successful room exhibits a sense of harmony.
Function - Ask yourself, what are the intended functions of this room? A room must serve it’s intended function. No matter how beautifully you decorate a room, if your scheme can’t fulfill all the functions you require the room to perform, then the room has failed. If a dining room is not convenient to eat in, then it fails. If a bedroom is not convenient to sleep in, then it fails. Does your living room have appropriate lighting for reading, if that is one of the functions of the room? Are there tables in easy reach of the seating to put your drink on? You get the idea.
Mood - What is the mood you want this room to express? Are you after
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Feb 04 2009