How to make your HOME the PERFECT PINTEREST space?

We all dream of that picture-perfect home. Understanding the specific requirements of the user makes all the difference. Following are a few suggestions to put together that space you’ve been inspired by on Pinterest.

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Choose style of interiors

The interior design of your house reflects your perception of a perfect home. Primarily ascertain the interior style that accommodates your requirements and flatters your aesthetics. Lifestyle of the user determines how the space is to be used and maintained.

Hence the design decisions shall be based on the interior design you choose.

For example, the Mediterranean style kitchen is beautiful but is high maintenance due to the details of the cabinets over a period of time. But if you like the same and would prefer it to be low maintenance the style can be tweaked to suit your style and aesthetics.

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Good lighting

Lighting is one of the fundamental design elements which enhances the ambience and mood of the space. We need to understand that simply by varying the levels of intensity and warmth of light we can:

create the illusion of space,
highlight an element
define the utility of the space

General lighting, task lighting and decorative lighting needs to be used thoughtfully to achieve the right amount of illumination.

For example, the kitchen will require general and task lighting since the functions performed here are intense and require focus. The dining can be either bright with focus and general lighting making the ambience more energetic or it can have dim with decorative lighting making the space feel cozy.

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Right colours

Choice of colour would depend on the style of interiors as well as the intended ambience.

Once you’ve chosen the style try to use the shades in accordance with the theme within the limited colours of that style. Also consider within the chosen palette which would best suit the space in terms of the ambience.

Like most of us know, colours also impact your mood. This can be used to our benefit, by choosing according to the mood you would require in each of the spaces.

For example, if you choose to have a Mediterranean style interior, the colour palette would consist of white, warm tones like beige and other lighter shades of brown, and yellow and cool tones like sky blue, green blue, teal and similar shades of blue and green.

This gives us a good palette of colours which can be used to create various moods within the same house. The kitchen can be a combination of white and blue which induces a sense of calm and clean. The bedroom could have a combination of deeper shades of blue and lighter shade of beige which creates a cozy space. The study room could have shades of yellow and white giving it a lively, happy and motivating vibe.

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Well-designed storage

Storage design ensures the spaces designated for various needs have been used to the best. To understand this, we need to answer these 3 questions:

What item would be stored in the given unit?
How it needs to be stored?
How often the stored item would be used?

Once you have the answers to these 3 questions, we can easily design your storage unit.

For example, when designing a book shelf, the answers to the above questions would be books, stacked vertically adjacent to each other and fiction books would be accessed daily & the informative books used occasionally.

Since we have this information, we will be able to design the book shelf specific to this requirement. The lower section of the unit could be open and the upper section could be either closed or semi open and have shelf heights as per the standard maximum height for a novel and an informative book respectively.

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Use most of the

surface area

In a small house, it becomes important to use most to the surface area so that everything is stacked well and not thrown around the house.

Use of ledges, low depth storage, foldable table cum wall mural, bottle storage unit and kitchen tissue holder, are a few examples.

The designer has to be sensitive to these smaller needs to accommodate these into the furniture design. This would ensure less clutter because it would otherwise by default lay on your tables and other furniture/spaces.

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Organized spaces

A decluttered space gives the home a more spacious feel. By just understanding the specific needs of your home you can make sure that there is a designated space for everything used by everyone who resides in the house.

For example, if your family uses more footwear than what can be accommodated in a standard shoe rack then we would need a case specific design. In this case we need to either:

have a large shoe rack in the foyer or
2 units of shoe rack, one on the outside near your entrance one in the foyer or
a one shoe rack in the foyer & shoe storage space in the individual wardrobes

Each of the requirements have to be understood specific to the users’ needs.

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Create cozy spaces

All of us would love to have that cozy little corner where you completely feel at home. This space can be put together with a comfy seating, a few throw pillows and some candles or fairy lights.

It could be as simple as this or as elaborate as a cozy low cot with a good mattress, a quilt, lots of pillows, warm low lighting and low side tables for the phone which is an essential for comfort today.

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Curtains

Curtains add so much décor value beyond the purpose. A great way to make your space look good without a hole in your pocket.

Choosing the right fabric, colours and holder to compliment your interiors will add value and warmth to the house. You can also add sheers along with regular curtains to improve the function as well as aesthetics of the house.

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Decor

The one trick that works only if done right. Adding décor pieces can elevate or bring down the perception of a space. Not sparsely nor excessively, the perfect balance is what makes this work.

For example, if the small foyer has just plain wall with a simple laminate finished console, adding a decorative mirror or wall mural will enhance the space. Instead if you add multiple photo frames and also a few decorative items, the space becomes cluttered and has no point of focus and hence the trick fails.

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Add green to your space

A little bit of green can add life to your spaces, even to the most boring ones. For people like me, who find it difficult to maintain plants, there are plenty of low maintenance succulents, preserved plants and the last option would be artificial plants.

Integrating greenery into your space will make you feel more relaxed and happier. Various studies have been conducted to prove the same. Plants makes your home aesthetically pleasing as well as add health benefits.

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Multi use furniture

In small homes, we try to use furniture that can be either moved aside after use or reused in another form within the given space. This would make sure all your spaces are used efficiently.

For example, a foldable study table which is hinged to the wall would serve as a mural when closed and table when required. Wall bed, staircase storage, bed above with a study below, are just to name a few. This type of furniture is usually designed to accommodate certain specific requirements within a given space.

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Metal and Glass

A combination of glass and metal for the furniture, partitions and doors, reduces the bulky feel and helps in visualizing the space bigger than it is.

Metal can also be used with a combination of a special stone, making it a statement piece of furniture or décor without being imposing in the given space.

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Flooring

We generally do not pay too much attention to flooring design in residences as we do for other building types. A little bit of thought to it can turn a simple kitchen or balcony into a picture-perfect space. Floor patterns which add a bit of colour and geometry can transform the space completely.

Patterns can be worked with tiles, carpet, vinyl or even oxide flooring. Once this is done, all you need is complementing furniture since there wouldn’t be much you’ll need to do with the wall surfaces.

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We would like to take this forward as a discussion via email or in person.

You can get in touch with us:

If you think we can transform your space into the one you've always dreamed off, call us to fix

an appointment for a "Needs and Options review" meeting.

- Ar.Shruthi Anand