From the colours of the season to the charms, and challenges, of small spaces, take your home from average to stunning with a few tips from design professionals
Multi taskers
The open-plan interiors of today's homes, attached and detached, tear down the whole notion of separate formal and informal living spaces and elevate the need for multi-purpose furniture, says furniture designer Erik Lauzon.
"People living in smaller spaces look for multi-functional furniture such as hydraulic tables that go from coffee table to kitchen table," he says.
Whether you have outgrown your space or you are living in a shoebox, you'll be amazed at how much your home opens up and becomes more livable when you properly store all your possessions, says Lauzon.
He says three principles guide furnishing a small space: accessible storage located in the vicinity of the items to be stored; dual-function furniture, and verticality.
Autumn warmth
Fall is in the air, and introducing items with those warm earthy tones will turn your home into a cozy retreat. "The warm fall colours are a great start to base your colour scheme on," says the American television-show host, Ty Pennington.
"The pop comes from those brilliant oranges, greens, reds and yellows." There are also textures that evoke the fall feeling: anything fleecy, woolly, or cable knit. (Think throws that you can wrap around your body for warmth from the chilly evening air.)
Using these fall colours and textures around your home will give a change of setting to bring your home into the right season, adds Pennington. "When the leaves have fallen on the ground and the trees lay bare, bringing colour inside instantly brightens, not only your space, but your mood as well."
Repurpose, repurpose
Pennington is a huge proponent of recycling old products and giving them new designs and uses. Before you throw out that old door or those worn shutters, breathe new life into them, rather than taking them to the dump.
"A porch rail can find new life as a picture frame, an old door becomes a fabulous tabletop and old shutters become a stunning headboard," says Pennington. "I've even made candle holders from old piano keys."
Pennington collects musical instruments and has found a way to incorporate them into the design of his home. "Both my parents were musicians and over the years they gave me many instruments, which I now have on my walls," he says. "Not only is there a very personal element to my decor, but I have personalized my space. . . . Great design isn't about spending lots of money, it's about letting your own personality shine through."
Lauzon also supports the recycling movement. "I used reclaimed fir from Stanley Park to create character floor planks in random lengths. . . . I then stained them and it produced a fantastic visual effect," he says.
Clean, plain trim
Read enough interior design magazines and you know that a home can go from average to stunning with the simple addition of wider casings, deeper baseboards, crowns and railings.
The trend is to contemporary, cleaner, plainer lines in crown moulding.
with more ornate styles are a thing of the past.
Neutrality's benefits
If you choose furniture, flooring and main wall colours in neutral tones, it's easier to change the look of your room with accessories and bold patterns and textures. For example, a few tossed cushions in bold, mitxed patterns such as retro, floral and geometric on a neutral grey sofa adds a wow factor.
Blending modern with traditional is also easy. Take a traditional item such as a French sideboard and add a high gloss white bowl and you create a contemporary look that is classic.
Pennington agrees. "Go minimal on trends and go for pieces that are timeless, ones that have clean, simple lines, and you will never go wrong."
-- Canwest News Service
