Interior Styling Unmasked

flowers and taps

samll kitchen

This article was written and provided by Kerry's Interior Solutions
(0415 668 691)
.

Where do you start?

Having designed your new home or renovations the next step is to make the right choices of colour, texture and design. Selecting your finishes prior to building commencement will provide clear guidelines for the builder, permit greater accuracy of quotations, accelerate the building process, and ensure time labour and cost effectiveness of tradesmen.

  1. Choose your profile selections. Determine the style of the plans eg: contemporary, traditional, country etc.
  2. The next thing to consider are the shapes used in the design - round, arch, square, rectangle or angled. It may be the shapes are contrasting, i.e. utilizing both rounded and squared shapes. Whatever the style and design, stay consistent to the plan with your further profile selections for the remainder of the home eg; gutters, front door, facade materials, bathroom tiles, PC items, kitchen bench tops and cupboard profiles. The use of contrasting shapes to feature areas only accentuate feature areas and should be used minimally within the home.
  3. Select practical applications. Determine your lifestyle requirements to the purpose of each individual room so furniture layout, flooring, lighting, electrical needs, easy cleaning and low maintenance replicate your needs. This will bring functionality and maximum enjoyment from your home.
  4. Choose your ambiance. Determine the ambiance you want e.g., relaxing/harmonious, uplifting/friendly, opulent/rich, or romantic/luring. Next choose the tonal values and colour scheme that relates to your choice of ambiance eg: related, mono chromatic, contrasting or triadic colour schemes, primary, secondary, or tertiary colours. See our Picking colours for your home article. Also keep in mind that textures to walls, soft furnishings and lighting are all equally important when considering ambiance.
  5. Selections should flow. Determine colour and profile selections for the ceiling, cornice, architrave and doors and keep these selections consistent. These items flow from one room to the next, keeping the home united, breaking the consistency of these items would cause baulking and stop starting within the home. For the same rationale floor coverings should also be kept to a minimum preferably of two - three.
  6. Choose your space. Determine your open plan living space. Open plan living areas can loose their sense of purpose within a home. Its wise to have subliminal definitions created by tonal/colour changes, drop lighting or a rug under a dining or coffee table (see image below). See Seven deadly sins of home design
  7. Don't forget window dressings and awnings. Determine your window dressings and awnings prior to construction as some selections require addressing at the construction level eg: motorised blinds, plantation shutters and their housing etc.

rugs-under-tables

Using rugs under tables

Checklist - prior to building commencement

Prior to building commencement you will need to run through the following list with your builder, it will help to ascertain a budget and a common goal, to achieve the desired results for your home.

Exterior colour and profile selections required for:

  • Roof -Tile/ Colour Bond
  • Fascia
  • Guttering
  • Eaves
  • Down Pipes
  • Walls - Brick/ Render/ Colour Bond/ Hardy Plank/ Other
  • Feature Walls
  • Front Door
  • Windows Frames/Glass
  • Railings/Balustrades
  • Decking
  • Paving/Tiles/Concrete
  • Driveway
  • Letter Box
  • Landscaping
  • Fencing
  • Courtyard
  • Exterior Furniture/ Decor

Interior colour and profile selections required for :

General

  • Landscaping
  • Doors
  • Door Furniture
  • Cornice/Architrave
  • Feature Walls
  • Furniture Layout
  • Lighting & Electrical Requirements
  • Floor Coverings
  • Paintwork
  • Window Dressings
  • Decor

Kitchen

  • Kitchen
  • Bench Top
  • Bench Under
  • Splash Back
  • Door Profile
  • Handles
  • Appliances
  • Kick Boards
  • Tap Ware
  • Sink

Bathroom

  • Wall Tiles
  • Feature Tiles & Application
  • Floor Tiles
  • PC Items/ Bath/ Toilet Suite/ Shower Screen/ Vanity/ Basin
  • Accessories/ Mirror/ Towel Racks/ Toilet Roll Holder
  • Tap ware

Laundry

  • Cupboards
  • Handles
  • Bench Tops
  • Tub
  • Tap Ware
  • Splash Back
  • Kick Boards
  • Appliances
  • Floor Tiles

There's nothing like information. This article gives you not only a guide to styling but a checklist so you are "ahead of the game" and have all your finishes and colours selected early so you are not running around trying to make things work too late in the construction process.

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