theSun Property November 2016

theSun ON FRIDAY

NOVEMBER 4, 2016

>Common interior designmistakes

Big

bad blunders

CCORDING

to experts,

making decorating boo-

boos is more common than

one would think, despite

themany articles, books, guides and

interviews with interior designers

out there. Say some industry

professionals, somemistakes are so

easily committed that even

designers long in the business

themselves make them.

In this article, interior designers

weigh in themost common interior

designmistakes that almost

everyone will, if not would have

already committed, in their homes.

ZERO-PLANNING

Too often, excited homeowners

have an idea of what theywant their

home to look like without taking

into consideration the cost and

space needed to recreate that said

look.

It is good to knowwhat youwant

a particular room to look like, but

establish a budget andmeasure the

dimensions of the room first. With

the necessary information at hand,

it will be easier to take your dream

design and rework it into the

“template” that you have.

Look for online room

arrangement tools to helpwith

visualising your dreamdesign and

plan the room layout before starting

work on it. It takes a lot of planning

to get that dreamhome you sawon

Pinterest. Moreover, every item

that goes into the room should

complement each other. It is

common to forget that principle,

which has seenmany homeowners

purchasing items in isolation and

do not think how it could or can’t

workwith the other pieces.

ONE SIZE FOR ALL

Having a good layout will also help

you avoid unnecessary spending on

furniture that ends up cluttering a

space.

Homepolish interior designer

AshlieMastony remarked that it is

more financially savvy to invest in

one slightly expensive statement

piece than buying lots of

inexpensive small

accessories to function

as accents.

“Themost common

interior designmistake

I see iswhen people

buy lots of small

furniture pieces, or

piles of accessories, to

avoid investing in a big

high-impact item like a

great sofa, an awesome

headboard, or an

amazing piece of art. In

the end, the little things

cost just asmuch and

space feels cluttered

rather than cohesive,”

Mastony said.

Hutsly founder

AnthonyGrosbois

chimes in saying, “A

small sofa plus a small

table and a small lamp

equates to a small idea.

Consistency is not

always a good thing!

Playing on the scale of

your furnishing is a

great way to add some

interest to your room.”

London-based

interior designer

Abigail Ahearn agrees

too, adding that one

simple stylingmistake

could prevent a room

fromreaching its full

potential. “If everything

is the same size or if everything is

either too big or too small, your

roomwill read like a hot mess,”

Ahearn explained. “The easiest trick

is to think of your space as a city and

fill it with a combination of heights

and proportions. Look at any

cityscape and you’ll find this

intriguingmix of scale and a unique

blend of fascinating shapes ... that’s

what youwant to nail!”

RAYOF LIGHT

Just one ray of light, that is. Most

Malaysian homes have the typical

fluorescent tube lamps in their

home.What’s important is having

layered lighting options and

dimmers in the home.

“Lighting is incredibly important

in any space.When lighting is

washed over you fromabove, it

can be unflattering and harsh,” said

EyeSwoon founder

Athena Calderone.

Calderone notes that overhead

lighting often seems like themost

obvious choice, but various light

sources are needed to create an

ambience, especially a cosy and

captivating one. “Always choose soft

white bulbs. Harsh fluorescent or

white lights canmake a space feel

stark and uninviting,” she added.

Interior designerMaryCook

shared her tips on choosing the right

lighting. “You have to think about

the colour of light, the quantity of

light andwhere to place it. You have

to think about light at various times

of the day and various times of the

year,” Cook said.

“The best way to design your

lighting for success is in layerswith

asmany of those layers as possible to

be switched separately and on

dimmers. So nowyou can adjust

your lighting for whatever kind of

mood youwant,” Cook added.

Citing a recent project with her

partner, Michael Smith, the duo shed

some light onways to layer lighting

in a home. “In two-storey foyers or

staircases, wewill often use clusters

or groupings of fixtures together to

add impact at the right scale. In the

dining room, we integrate

chandeliers or pairs of chandeliers

to light the space and add

decorative interest. Table lamps

are next to the living room sofa or

on a nightstand in the bedrooms.”

COLD FEET

Rugs are largely under appreciated

accessories. In the day of open

concept homes, rugs serve to define

spaces and draw boundaries

between the varied functions of a

home.

The living room is a prime

example of when a rug comes in

handy. Sadly, not only is there a

strong dislike for rugs in

Malaysian homes – primarily due

to “high maintenance”; the wrong

size is usually picked out for its

intended function.

“Living room rugs should be big

enough for at least two legs of each

furniture piece to be on it, if not all

four,” said home style expert Emily

Henderson, who lists small rugs as

one of her design pet peeves. “A

living room rug should really

ground the whole seating around it.

It tells everyone that this is where

the conversation is. A small rug

makes it feel disjointed and really

cheapens everything.”

Henderson insists that living

room rugs should be at least 8ft x

10ft. “Considering a 4ft x 6ft? Don’t.

That’s fine next to a bed, in a

kitchen, or in an entrance way, but

a 4ft x 6ft rug will assuredly not

work in your living room.”

LACKING PERSONALITY

Lastly, never give in to the

pressures of having the latest home

design trends. Even leading interior

designer and TV personality

Nate Berkus believes the same.

“The mistake people make is that

they’re often insecure. They look

over their shoulder and listen to

what everyone else is talking about

instead of sitting down and asking,

‘What do I really love?’”

So, take time to sit and jot down

what you like within your home.

Do research and skim through the

common blunders mentioned

above to ensure you haven’t made

the same mistake. Then slowly

but surely decorate interiors in the

way you would feel most

comfortable living in.

Trends merely serve as

inspiration for future re-

decorations and as a point of

discovery of one’s preferred home

design. The rule of thumb – create

a home that you would love to live

in rather than one that is just nice

to look at.

Email your feedback and

queries to: propertyqs@

thesundaily.com

Floating rugs.

Decor or clutter?

Too large and bulky.

Balanced furniture.

Functional lighting.

PHOTO: WWW.POPSUGAR.COM

PHOTO: WWW.HGTVCOM

PHOTO: TEMPODADELICADEZA.COM.BR

Depicting a home that is ‘lived-in’.