Image Source: Louise Walsh Interiors via Homes to Love
“The Interior is the life of the building, but so often it’s just seen as a shopping list” – Ilse Crawford
Building or renovating is a time consuming process that requires many decisions, trips to showrooms, and budgetry trade-offs to be made.
I often see clients who are focused solely on the aesthetic outcomes of their build, and working their way through their list, item by item, rather than the whole space in its entirety and picturing how they will feel and live in it at the end.
It’s not their fault. So much of the focus for the ‘interior design’ label is around how things look. Whether colours work together, or are the selections right proportionally for the space? These are probably the types of things that come to mind when people think about their home interior, and functionality and liveability are not at the forefront of decision making for clients.
However, the way you will ultimately experience your home when the build is done is through more than just your eyes. Your house is the shell that supports your lifestyle. The choices you make will ultimately impact how you live in and use the space. It is therefore important to think beyond the aesthetics alone.
Things like maximising natural light in living spaces, having enough storage where it matters to avoid clutter (and the negative feelings and consequences that come from a disorganized space), achieving a good flow in living zones, and incorporating a family organisation centre are all elements that can really improve and maximise how you live and use your space, but are often neglected or forgotten by home owners in their new build designs.
Then I see my renovations clients where all these things have come to the forefront and people are unhappy – their home doesn’t support their lifestyle and hasn’t been designed optimally for how they want to live. Electricity bills are expensive… they have the lights on through the day with the house being dark with not much natural light and this also leaves them feeling a bit dull so more often than not they rather get out and about than spend time around their home. They are sick of wet towels and poor ventilation in the bathroom. Their kitchen configuration isn’t working well when mum is trying to cook dinner whilst simultaneously helping kids do homework or little people are trying to ‘help’ with prepping meals. They wish they had put more thought into their laundry as while it’s not always on show, it’s an area they spend a lot of time in and it isn’t a room they enjoy.
These are just some of the issues I come across and why it pays to think about the design and functionality of your home, and picture how you will feel in it at the other end, as well as the aesthetics when working on your renovation or new build plans.
Working with an interior designer can help you ensure that you are maximising lifestyle benefits for your budget, as well as having a home that will meet your aesthetic requirements. Because the money you are spending on your new build or renovation is not just about creating a house that looks nice, it’s about an investment into the environment that will support or hinder your desired future lifestyle.
If you are interested to find out more about how I could help you with your renovation or new build please get in touch, I would love to hear more about your project.
Kat x
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