Readers Ask: Professional Advice for 5 Design Dilemmas
There are decor questions, and there are design questions, and here's professional advice from a Singapore designer
Houzz’s Advice section is a treasure trove for homeowners because you get a whole community of fellow homeowners and as well as design professionals asking and answering design dilemmas. It’s also a good way for designers such as myself to see what potential clients are looking for, and share our wealth of experience. Here are five questions from Houzzers around the world and solutions I’m putting forward.
If you want to give your visitors a warm welcome to your home, then your entry area or foyer is a great place to begin. Firstly, I would use some paint to re-proportion the room. This means giving it more symmetry by using a darker, warm neutral paint colour on the walls and keep the ceiling white to draw the eye to the full height of the room. I would also introduce a large square rug to make the space appear larger than it is perceived to be.
Warm wall lights on a dimmer switch or picture rail lights above your artwork will grab your visitors’ attention and give them pause before they enter the public areas of your home. I would certainly introduce more artwork on the walls and select art of larger scale to give the room more interest and add ambience.
Warm wall lights on a dimmer switch or picture rail lights above your artwork will grab your visitors’ attention and give them pause before they enter the public areas of your home. I would certainly introduce more artwork on the walls and select art of larger scale to give the room more interest and add ambience.
raniedhillon asks:
I live in Singapore, where space is a constraint and majority of the people like myself live in small apartments. How does one plan and maximise the space inside so a family can live comfortably and yet have enough storage space? Storage seems to be a perpetual problem in Singapore apartment homes. Please advise.
I live in Singapore, where space is a constraint and majority of the people like myself live in small apartments. How does one plan and maximise the space inside so a family can live comfortably and yet have enough storage space? Storage seems to be a perpetual problem in Singapore apartment homes. Please advise.
Having designed for developers in space-starved Hong Kong, I can firstly say that it is important to start with the planning process. Engage a professional interior designer (no matter how limited your budget is) to get the space planning right as this is the foundation for the rest of your home’s decor. If this is wrong from the beginning, whatever you do later will just be a Band-Aid solution.
Gather images of storage ideas that you like by searching Houzz and gather them into an ideabook. You can share this ideabook with your interior design so he/she can work them into the design. In this way, you will know whether your ideas can truly fit into your space plan. Don’t’ forget to explore the vertical space as well as the horizontal to maximise all the spaces available.
For finishes and materials, choose reflective finishes that reflect light and add ambience.
New to Houzz ideabooks? Get started here
Gather images of storage ideas that you like by searching Houzz and gather them into an ideabook. You can share this ideabook with your interior design so he/she can work them into the design. In this way, you will know whether your ideas can truly fit into your space plan. Don’t’ forget to explore the vertical space as well as the horizontal to maximise all the spaces available.
For finishes and materials, choose reflective finishes that reflect light and add ambience.
New to Houzz ideabooks? Get started here
Select loose furniture and furnishings that are multi-functional, for example, a dining bench which has a storage compartment to store cushions and books in. Choose home appliances that also serve a dual purpose such as a washing machine that also has a drying function.
Now you need to audit and edit what you own by creating three categories – ‘keep’, ‘recycle’ and ‘throw’. Sort all the things you own into these three categories. Take photos of all the items you intend to keep and ask your interior designer to find a home for your ‘keep’ items in your new home.
Once you move in, you need to maintain the space by forming a habit of regular de-cluttering, tidying up and putting things away. Enjoy your new home!
Konmari, or Today’s Japanese Art of Decluttering
Now you need to audit and edit what you own by creating three categories – ‘keep’, ‘recycle’ and ‘throw’. Sort all the things you own into these three categories. Take photos of all the items you intend to keep and ask your interior designer to find a home for your ‘keep’ items in your new home.
Once you move in, you need to maintain the space by forming a habit of regular de-cluttering, tidying up and putting things away. Enjoy your new home!
Konmari, or Today’s Japanese Art of Decluttering
Betty Weaver asks:
I am moving into a new home and my boyfriend and I cannot agree on the colour of the floors! I like light but he likes dark. Help!
I am moving into a new home and my boyfriend and I cannot agree on the colour of the floors! I like light but he likes dark. Help!
Unless your home is a studio, there is no rule to limit the colour of the timber flooring to just one colour throughout the home. Cost should also not be a consideration in deciding the colour since many flooring materials come in various colour options in the same price range.
The question to ask is: what ambience and mood do you wish to create in the room? For public areas where you entertain more often, you may wish to consider a darker timber flooring colour for maintenance purposes. This area receives more foot traffic than in private areas such as the bed-rooms. You may choose a lighter colour in the bedrooms to give a sense of serenity.
Having said that, you can also refresh the space in years to come by buying a rug for your living room to give a change of scenery. Hope these design tips get you both back into the agreement zone.
How to Create a Harmoniously Coupled Home
The question to ask is: what ambience and mood do you wish to create in the room? For public areas where you entertain more often, you may wish to consider a darker timber flooring colour for maintenance purposes. This area receives more foot traffic than in private areas such as the bed-rooms. You may choose a lighter colour in the bedrooms to give a sense of serenity.
Having said that, you can also refresh the space in years to come by buying a rug for your living room to give a change of scenery. Hope these design tips get you both back into the agreement zone.
How to Create a Harmoniously Coupled Home
Taneal Barber asks:
Currently sofa shopping for our first home and struggling to choose a colour for a sofa that will match brown carpets and blinds! I’m a lover of the charcoal looks but not sure if I can achieve this with the carpets. Help much appreciated.
Currently sofa shopping for our first home and struggling to choose a colour for a sofa that will match brown carpets and blinds! I’m a lover of the charcoal looks but not sure if I can achieve this with the carpets. Help much appreciated.
If the brown carpet is here to stay, and the sofa is in one tone of colour, then aim to create some ‘movement’ in the room. Consider investing in a rug to anchor the room, re-proportion the space and introduce much needed colour and pattern to give the room ambience and personality.
westysdreamhouse asks:
Hi Everyone,
Installing LED down lights in the dining room, what is best cool white or warm white?
It’s a marital conversation at the moment :)
Hi Everyone,
Installing LED down lights in the dining room, what is best cool white or warm white?
It’s a marital conversation at the moment :)
In almost all interiors, with perhaps hospitals as the exception, warm white is almost always the best for creating a warm, intimate interior. It is also flattering for skin colour, so definitely warm white for the dining room. Choose LED lighting that is warm white measured at 2700K (degrees Kelvin).
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I know my entry is missing something but the broader question I have is what is it that makes an entry inviting? And then, how can I apply that to my entry?