Insider Secrets
Karen Creith takes us step by step through the basics of great design.
Paint finishes by Dulux
INSIDER SECRETS
10 STEPS TO A BEAUTIFL HOME
If you've ever yearned for a beautifully decorated home but lacked the confidence to put it together yourself - or didn't know where to start - take heart and read on, as interior stylist Karen Creith takes us step by step through the basics of great design.
Good design and great styling are a combination of both function and form. A well-designed space makes living and entertaining in your home a fantastic experience. If you get it right, your home becomes your sanctuary from the outside world, a place you can retreat to and escape from all the pressures we face in today's hectic world. But how do you achieve a truly great result? It's easy if you follow these few simple guidelines.
1. Make a start. Don't be overwhelmed by the thought of decorating your whole home at once. Just take one room at a time to make the whole process less stressful.
2. Create a style file. By this I mean tear photos of rooms and spaces that appeal to you from all your favourite magazines, especially Home Ideas of course. As you begin to collect these images a pattern will emerge to reveal the style you like.
3. Suit your lifestyle. If you're a lover of casual entertaining and relaxed living then a formal decorating style isn't going to work for you.
4. Think long term. Buy big-ticket items such as lounge suites in classic, timeless shapes and neutral fabrics. These pieces will be with you for many years to come, so they need to be versatile.
5. Work with a neutral palette. This gives you the flexibility to change or adapt your style over time
6. Inject colour and personality. Use cushions, throws, rugs and artworks to your home individual character. These pieces can be changed easily to achieve a variety of looks without breaking the bank. Decorate with objects and photos that are special to you and your family to really make your space a reflection of you.
7. Budget for furnishings and accessories. When building or renovating, allocate a portion of your budget to furniture and decorator pieces so you can achieve the full potential of your project. A beautiful space but ill-fitting furniture - or none at all - can stop you enjoying it to the fullest.
8. Define living zones. Always add a rug to separate the different functions within open-plan living spaces. Rugs give warmth, colour and texture to a room as well anchoring it from a design point of view. My all-time favourite is the shag rug.
9. Decorate to scale. This is how truly great spaces emerge, and by that I mean the furniture and decorator pieces need to be in proportion to the size of the room. No matter how much you love that oversized sofa, if it's too big for your room it's not going to work. Choose pieces that complement the room's proportions and a seriously stylish look will emerge in front of your very eyes.
10. Give your home the WOW factor. Statement pieces such as large urns, floral arrangements, textural sticks and huge colourful canvases create maximum impact without clutter.
Above all, don't be afraid to ask for help. Your dream home could be just a small step of decorating away. So what are you waiting for?
*Good design and beautiful homes aren't restricted to big cities or the metropolitan area, and Karen knows this better than most. Through her business - Furniture One at Parkes in the central west of New South Wales - she is reminded daily just how design-savvy women in the country are, and is only too pleased to advise them on putting together a home to rival any of their city cousins. Karen's motto is "Make yourself a home!" and that's a philosophy we all relate to, no matter where we live.
FURNITURE ONE (PARKES)
Phone: (02) 6862 2545
www.furnitureone.com.au
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