Many will agree that the home is an extension of ourselves. We come back to it after a long day at work, find comfort in it when we’re stressed and build our lives inside those walls. Therefore, the home needs to be our own personal oasis, where we can rest our mind, body and soul.

Words: Victoria Lim

But a perfect home is the fruit of dedication and commitment, a long-term result of implementing interior design with philosophies and functionality. It takes time, resolution and some knowledge on how to use a space to its maximum potential, in order to achieve harmony and improve the home environment.

However, people often avoid making any changes afraid that they will ruin the space with their lack of knowledge in interior design. The truth of the matter is that you don’t have to be an expert to reorganise your home and turn it into something that will better suit your mood and desires. That’s why we have prepared some ideas for how you can improve your space and turn it into your safe haven.

1.  Try some new trends:
New trends in interior design are always a good start. They will bring a sense of freshness and new identity to your home, and the great thing is that you don’t have to use them absolutely everywhere within your home, but perhaps only apply them to some parts of the décor. One of the popular trends for a while now has been hygge (pronounced hue-guh) which is a Danish philosophy of living with embracing the moment or feeling.

Hygge is more than the design, it is actually the way you understand your space and find enjoyment in the things occupying it. Its simplicity and comfort at the same time created by the arrangement of items in your home, and combination of textures.

Another trend popular right now is wabi-sabi. When it comes to interior design the best way to describe it would be “beauty in imperfection“. This style is all about simplicity and modesty without hiding the normal and visible passing of time like small fractures, cracks and splinters.

The minimalist décor is completely focused on the inhabitants and natural materials. Similar to wabi-sabi is the Scandinavian trend which promotes natural and organic materials with subtle and neutral colours and free of dominating furniture pieces overtaking the whole space.

2.  Update your colours:
Sometimes all your home needs is a new paint job to become a different and revived space. If you’re unsure what combinations would go well together, try some neutral and lighter tones like beige or brighter pastels like green and grey. You can accentuate your playfulness with some flamboyant details, like a vase or lavish rug. Pantone’s 2018 “Colour of the Year” Ultra Violet represents new beginnings so it can be a great addition to your home palette.

Flower designs on the wallpapers, furniture or curtains are also very trendy this season, with roses being the primary decoration and background colours more natural and neutral than plain white. Textures vary from geometrical forms to more free-line shapes, thus contributing to the openness and liberation of space from the constraints of compartmentalisation.

3. Invite the daylight in:
Daylight is not only an excellent way to create a natural and warm atmosphere in your home, but also the perfect mood setter. If you don’t have big windows and don’t plan to change them anytime soon, opt for a curtain made of lighter fabrics which will allow the light to penetrate the room without being too bright. You can illuminate the whole room by placing a mirror right across from the window so it reflects the daylight to most of the corners.

Plenty of daylight will also allow you to use some darker shades or bold textures, and perfectly combine them with the rest of your décor. On the other hand, sometimes too much sunlight can ruin the relaxed ambience you were going for. Anne-Marie Midy and Jorge Almada of Casamidy recommend covering the windows with patterned materials and technological solutions like the ones, for example, Aspect Shade is offering.

4. Use some designer tricks:
If you have a lower ceiling, designer Todd Romano recommends using smaller furniture to fake the height. Also, he recommends “large mirrors, because they add scale to a room”.

When it comes to colour, Ohara Davis-Gaetano says that neutrals can be fun if you add the texture of materials. “…from fine-gauge and open-weave linen, to raw silk and taffeta, to cotton velvet and distressed velvet”, advises this California-based designer.

Designer Amy Meier likes using glass shower doors in her bathroom designs. In this way you will gain more square metres and open up the space. To add to this concept, her colleague Alla Akimova recommends continuing the floor tiles into the shower booth. “If I had changed materials, it would have interrupted the space”, explained Akimova.

5. Create the focal point:
Every home has its centre. For some it’s the TV, for others it’s the flower decoration on the dining table. You can go further than this and use the decorative objects to bring out the sentiment of the place in one central point. You can use some of the art like paintings to make a certain space more interesting, like a hallway for example.

Since it’s usually the most neglected spot, decorating the walls with paintings can be the perfect way to enter your living space. Another option is to be more eccentric and redefine the understanding of the living area with an interior Zen garden, for example, which would have not only a decorative purpose but also a practical one.

Finally, although it’s hard to choose only one trend and blending them all together will be quite a challenge, you can still get what you need from your home by doing it all for yourself and not to impress anyone else. The moment you create your own paradise, you will start feeling the benefits of a nurturing and welcoming environment almost immediately.