Darren’s assessment
Franky and Josephine have a spectacular gift in this brand new house because it’s a blank canvas with the opportunity to create something completely new. They’ve picked a lovely neutral palette – the hard flooring with the grey timber tones is very elegant, in particular – which is the perfect backdrop to do anything they want to make it their own. But a blank canvas can also be a little daunting – when faced with myriad choices, ‘analysis paralysis’ can set in. The best thing Josephine and Franky can do now is define a brief on how they want their home to function and feel, who will be using the different spaces and for what, and so on. With a well-planned brief, you don’t have endless choices. Instead, you narrow the field by separating things that don’t fit the mood, style or desired functionality until you’re left with just a handful of choices, and everyone is capable of making good decisions from a handful of choices! Franky and Josephine are a typical couple in that they have their own likes and dislikes. We have two very different styles, preferred eras and takes on colour, so the key is to create spaces to suit different people within the house, where both of them can feel like they belong.