RENOVATE RIGHT
Spending money on your home is an investment worth making. Here interior designer and Gem Visa brand ambassador Alex Fulton shares her smarts on interior design and savvy budgeting as part of Gem Visa’s expert series on how to make the best money choices
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| WORK OUT A GOOD CIRCULATION PLAN
Good design is achieved through good interior flow. It’s such a vital factor that great hotels base their rooms on this design premise. In a bedroom or living space think about walking paths and furniture placement. Think about exits and entryways and how the room will flow. Connecting areas within a space is just as important as connecting rooms in a home.
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WONDER WALLS
Walls are not reserved exclusively for paint or wallpaper – often they are screaming to showcase existing art collections or decorative pieces. Creating a fabulous but inexpensive display on a wall or two can be a big money saver. If you don’t have an art collection as such, try hanging your favourite scarves, hats, handbags or jewellery in your bedroom. Likewise, use your living-room walls as spaces to hang collections that need to be featured. I have a collection of beautiful plates which for years sat hidden away until I saw some cheap plate holders. Now they grace my wall and make me happy every day!
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| GET SPECIFIC WITH LIGHTING
Lighting can make or break a room. Carefully considered lighting helps to define a space, induce mood and direct the eye to highlighted areas such as an artwork or occasional chair. Updating existing downlights, refreshing wall lights or adding table lamps are easy ways to modernise a space without spending too much. Just make sure all your fittings (especially if secondhand or vintage) comply with New Zealand electrical standards.
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| FOCUS ON A FOCAL POINT
Every room needs a focal point – an area or thing that attracts your interest and gives your eye a starting point in the room.
For a bedroom this might be an interesting headboard; or in the lounge, a special piece of art. On the other hand, too many focal points will end up making a space feel busy and confusing, especially in a room where you want to create a sense of relaxation and comfort.
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| DON’T FORGET THE FLOOR
While budget constraints may encourage you to leave the floor as it is, it’s definitely worth having a peep at what’s hiding underneath that hideous stained and threadbare old carpet. Choose an unobtrusive corner to take a sneak peek. Older houses often have beautiful wooden floorboards which will come to life with a little elbow grease and TLC. Bring back the warmth and add style with rugs in textures and colours that complement your newly styled spaces.
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LAYERS OF COLOUR
Keep your colour palette to two or three colours. If you want more variation, bring in different shades of your main colour choices. If red is one of your colours, look either side of it on the colour wheel for different tints and tones. You might opt for a soft, pale blush and a rich maroon (as pictured right), for instance. This will give depth to your palette, which will make it feel less contrived and more effective. To deepen this further choose different textures such as wool, leather, cotton, linen or velvet in these tones.