Better Homes and Gardens (Australia)
HOME sweet home
ON THE VERGE OF SELLING? A RETHINK AND A REFURB WILL SEE YOU STAYING PUT!
renovating doesn’t always have to involve major building works. It can be as simple as settling on a colour scheme with a few inspired touches that elevate your home from everyday ho-hum to one with your unique brand of style. The fun begins when you realise you need not look past white as your base — it’s fresh and uplifting and, more importantly, you need never worry about whether you are getting it right! Teamed with pale or limewash-eect floorboards and black accents to ground the scheme, you are set to introduce layers of interest with built-ins, textiles, plants and statement art or your equivalent. With your new-found decorating confidence, introduce natural textures (think wicker, rattan and raa) and weave in pops of colour to spread calm and cohesion from room to room.
3 IN YOUR SIGHTS
With a doorway smack bang in the centre of a wall between adjoining rooms, one room may be underutilised, acting as a large hallway. The temptation is to nudge furniture to one side so as not to block the ‘path’ but, as long as there is room to navigate around the furniture, go right ahead. Enjoy the sights!
4 IN THE ZONE
Create distinct islands within large spaces by artfully arranging your furniture. Here, a side table, stool and plants block the family zone from the armchair duo, ideal for a tete-a-tete.
Switch the orientation of your dining table so you can easily navigate between rooms
5 GALLERY WALL
Gather mismatched framed art that shares a common denominator (here it was black) and get ready to fill blank walls above furniture. PS, save yourself the angst of rearranging art again and again. Trace your frames onto paper, label and then cut each shape. Use painter’s tape to try placements before you commit.
6 KITCHEN CAPERS
Look for ways you can give the plainest of kitchens personality. Consider leather handles, as not only will they soen the angular lines of your cabinetry, they will also age beautifully. Try mademeasure.com.
7 CASUAL DINING
Indulge your eclectic self with a mismatched casual dining ‘suite’ — a beach bar-worthy pendant and an odd collection of stools. It shouldn’t work, yet somehow it does.
8 PINK ON PINK
Essentially a hallway, this area takes on sunroom status by virtue of a couple of chairs, a side table and a lamp. By rights, the colourway should be way too sugary sweet, but the muted pink tones and the garden outlook make it a restful spot to take a breather.
9 OFFICE AFFAIRS
You need lile more than a trestle table and an ergonomic chair to set up a workable home office. As for a noticeboard – walls and removable gel sticky dots come in handy.
10 A BEDTIME STORY
Chic as a boutique hotel, this bedroom’s gender-neutral hues will soothe your tired self. The white and tonal grey scheme is serenity itself while the blush linen packs a subtle punch.
11, 12 RENOVATING UP
Why move when you can improve? If there’s sufficient roof space, a master suite with an adjoining luxurious bathroom will max your home’s footprint, potentially increasing its market value. There may be architectural hurdles to overcome, and you may need to learn to live with dormer windows and exposed beams (which you can white out), but soon you’ll come to see these as assets. PS, love a grey basin! For similar, try Studio Bagno’s Tundra Neucrete Concrete Basin in Storm Grey, $849, thebluespace.com.au.