Making Life Beautiful

I thought I would share with you a short video I’ve put together showing the end result of a recent project.  The brief was to create a space that had clean lines, a contemporary look and feel which flowed through from the lounge to the dining and kitchen area.  A restricted colour pallette was used, predominantly black and white with accents of Aqua and Silver.   The wall behind the TV unit was painted in silver, using a special roller, to give the effect of wallpaper.  In the dining room, the focal point is the arch light, giving a beautiful pattern on the ceiling at night.  The kitchen optimises the space, with the breakfast bar also housing the microwave.  Waterfall ends on the breakfast bar turns this functional item into a piece of furntiure.

Are you looking to decorate or remodel your home and not quite sure where to start?  Well, before you go trawling through magazines to get ideas and inspiration, a good starting point is to look at your lifestyle.   This will help determine the functionality the house or room has to deliver which in turn impacts where you spend your budget.  Just because a house is decorated in the latest colours, newest fabrics and furniture, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work for you and your lifetyle.

For example, do you have a family with small children and pets?  does Mum and/or Dad work from home? do you like to cook and entertain?  Jotting down the key aspects that need to be considered  for your family lifestyle, will help shape your decorating style and where you spend your decorating budget.

If young children and pets are rattling around the house, then an elegant French Provincial formal setting is probably not a good idea.   Here, the budget would be spent on well constructed, tough fabric covered furniture, easily maintained floors and surfaces that can be easily washed and kept clean.  If you love to cook and entertain, then a well designed and thought out kitchen with heaps of work space and storage will be priority.   On the other hand, a large and flashy media room may not be the best way to spend your budget if there are two working adults in the family with children who are heavily into sports and spend little spare time at home.

So, by taking a step back and jotting down what your space has to deliver for you is a great starting point to help determine the style of your home and where you focus your budget.