My Solutions to five of Your Inside Design Questions

Earlier this month on Instagram Tales, I requested you to submit any and all inside design questions you had for me. I answered a number of questions on Instagram and wished to share my responses to 5 extra in right this moment’s weblog put up.

In right this moment’s put up, I’m sharing my solutions to your inside design questions, together with easy methods to add coloration to a impartial residence, easy methods to prioritize desires vs. wants, easy methods to make open areas really feel cozy, and extra.

I’m additionally providing one-on-one consulting classes, must you be excited about discussing your private inside design questions with me. You could find extra information and schedule a session through Calendly.

1. I’ve a small residence with white partitions and impartial furnishings. How do I add coloration in a considerate manner?

That is when textiles are your greatest pal. I’d first contemplate taking a look at rugs, to floor a impartial room with coloration. My favourite choices are Swedish kilim rugs. (I shared twelve of my favourite locations to buy rugs on this weblog put up, for those who’re inquisitive about the place to begin your search!) I additionally like to take a block-printed quilt or throw and drape it over the again of a impartial couch. It creates a beautiful layered look. 

Moreover, I’d contemplate bringing in coloration by way of a lighting choice like a lamp. You may even check the waters in a small manner by swapping out a lampshade you have already got for a colourful model. In case your type is extra conventional, contemplate making an attempt a patterned pleated lampshade. If it’s extra trendy, contemplate a colourful glass lampshade. 

Lastly, I’d suggest bringing in a chunk of artwork in a coloration palette you’re keen on. There are lots of enjoyable prints on websites like Society6, which can also be an inexpensive strategy to experiment with bringing colourful artwork into your own home. 

There are such a lot of great methods so as to add coloration to a impartial house. Attempt one or two out for your self and have enjoyable with the method!

2. When is it a good suggestion to color the ceiling the identical coloration because the partitions? We’re redoing our small however pure light-filled kitchen.

There’s no proper or fallacious reply on this situation. It’s extra about the way you personally need the house to really feel. Would you like it to really feel extra intimate, cozy, and separate from the remainder of the home, or would you like it to really feel tall and expansive? If the previous, paint the ceiling! If the latter, go away it as is.

Must you wish to outline an area in a manner that’s completely different from the remainder of the rooms in your house, portray a ceiling can do that. Plus, if the colour you’re utilizing is extra of a medium hue (slightly than a very darkish coloration), it’ll nonetheless really feel like a vivid house, notably if it’s full of pure mild. 

3. How do you prioritize desires vs. wants when spending cash on a house?

Deciding easy methods to prioritize residence purchases is private to each particular person. It’s about realizing what you worth most, understanding the lifespan of any given piece or materials, and making selections that construct upon your private inside design type.

If there are lots of belongings you wish to buy or tasks you wish to sort out, it could be troublesome to prioritize every part in precise order. If so, I discover it useful to give attention to one factor at a time. Ask your self, What issues most to me to replace proper now? What change can have the largest impression on my life at residence proper now? Let that factor be the precedence; whenever you test that off the listing and have the price range for one thing else, you possibly can determine on the subsequent precedence. 

It’s about realizing what you worth most, understanding the lifespan of any given piece or materials, and making selections that construct upon your private inside design type.

When you determine in your present precedence and are attempting to find out how a lot you wish to spend, I believe that is the place it’s useful to think about longevity. In case you’re contemplating a kitchen transform and are questioning whether or not you need to begin with a brief makeover (e.g., portray the cupboards or switching out the {hardware}), contemplate the prices and timeline. If the price of the momentary makeover isn’t very excessive and it might assist you to save up for the kitchen transform you actually wish to do in a number of years, it could be price ready and doing the momentary makeover first.

In the case of smaller purchases like decor, it may also be useful to have a basic understanding of the place you personally wish to spend extra money and the place you wish to spend much less. I wish to spend cash on issues I do know I’ll have for a very long time, like rugs and artwork, and fewer on issues I could wish to swap out with extra regularity, like lamps and throw pillows.

4. What are your suggestions for designing a room round low, angled attic ceilings?

I like the concept of utilizing the shorter areas in these sorts of rooms (the place you’re not capable of stand) as alternatives for storage. It might be as elaborate as hiring somebody to put in customized built-ins or it might be so simple as placing collectively cupboards from IKEA. If there’s room between the highest of the cupboards and the angled ceiling, use it as a possibility to show lovely espresso desk books or trinkets that talk to your character. 

I additionally love the concept of portray the partitions, trim, and ceiling the identical coloration in a room like this (or masking the partitions and ceiling in the identical small print wallpaper). I believe this may make the house really feel so cozy and welcoming. 

5. How do you make open areas with excessive ceilings really feel cozy? I dwell in a house constructed within the ‘90s with tan partitions in all places.

I’d first contemplate the lighting in these areas. When you’ve got hanging lighting fixtures, I’d suggest hanging them at a decrease peak than you would possibly initially suppose to do. This could even be an awesome alternative to usher in a fixture in a bigger scale with a heat texture or form (e.g., a globe mild or a light-weight with a rattan shade) that emits a softer glow. And don’t neglect about lamps and job lighting to essentially up the comfy issue!

Subsequent, I’d take into consideration format. If the footprint of every house is massive, contemplate methods to create smaller nooks inside every room. Dividing up the house into a number of zones is one strategy to obtain a cozier ambiance. In a household room, for example, there might be a possibility to create two or three particular person nooks. Listed here are a number of choices: a sitting space, a studying nook with a luxurious chair and an ottoman, or a nook with a small cafe desk and chairs.

Kate is at the moment studying to play the Ukulele, a lot to the despair of her husband, children, and canine. Comply with her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.