So, you’re embarking on the exciting journey of a new build and you want a house that flows. It should bring beauty and purpose together. You want a house that entices your brain into firing all sorts of happy neurons when you look at it. A home that’s beautiful but not functional gives you an ornamental house. You can’t use it. or truly live in it.
Your architect brings your new build good, solid design.
Designers? We work with the architect so that the house plans create a beautiful, functional home that flows. ??So, how do you find a good balance between form and function so that your house doesn’t become a gift shop? There are three important basic commands of good design. You can use them, lose them, learn them and then toss them, use some of them, none of them…the choice is yours.
The first design commandment in your new build: Space
It’s important to know exactly where your family spends most of its time, first. Do that before you start dishing out space to certain areas of the house and skimping on others. This is why an interior designer plays such an important role.
If you spend lots of time preparing meals as a family, a large kitchen makes more sense. You can then have a dining room fitted to host the occasional dinner with visitors. If you often work late and find you have no time to eat let alone cook, a smaller kitchen will add a practical advantage. Large families need a laundry room that can house the following a washing machine, laundry folding space, a tumble dryer, more folding space, and enough hanging room to accommodate the laundry of a small army.
Before you let your head go nuts with ‘this colour’, ‘that sofa’, ‘the perfect curtains’, or ‘the next time you’re going to have a snack’, make sure your new build is going to provide the right space to accommodate what you potentially want to bring in. Remember, furniture, shelves and ornaments add a third dimension to the room, which gives them the power to make or break the space. Also consider how they will work in relation to the windows, the doorways, and the plug points?
Oooooh yes, design is far more technical than you thought. Dun dun dunnnnnn…!
The second design commandment in your new build: Flow
The uncertainty experienced by visitors will be a good guideline for you to gauge how well your home flows. Picture being a first-time visitor somewhere, walking down a dimly lit hallway, uncertain of where you are going but knowing where you want to be. At the end of the hallway you arrive somewhere strange. You’re left wondering if you’re being a rude visitor by accidentally exploring the house of your host. Tut tut tut.
Your building should guide you to specific places, happy functional places. Furniture jutting out into walking space; fabulous hallways leading nowhere and glorious windows looking at nothing, all equal great anticlimaxes.
How well does each room speak to the next? Do they lead towards each other well? Are there odd doors that lead to awkward spaces? Do you have areas in your home you avoid like kale on a hot sidewalk? Avoid the kale. Pay attention to the flow in your space.
The third design commandment in your new build: Function
If you ever studied art and design, the phrase ‘form follows function’ might give you strong flashbacks of long essays about Bauhaus and Art Deco. For us, it means there is purpose to the beauty we make for our clients. It means beauty is simpler and easier. Thanks to the awesome dose of functionality we’ve dolloped on like clotted cream.
For example: Living a very outdoorsy life in a country setting, you’re going to need an outdoor wash basin for muddy boots. Having a room built with an area for the TV already in mind, means we have the plug points handy. No nasty cords and cables hanging across the room like strands of spaghetti. It means “Let there be light” doesn’t mean let it be all over the TV screen. It means…well, you get the point.
The same goes for ornaments. If you find yourself tempted to rescue a menagerie of gorgeous collectibles, edit your choices. If the pieces you’re bringing in don’t directly help to set the tone or serve another specific function, it needs to go (clutter is not a good tone).
Home-sweet-harmony – Your new build
The goal is to come home, kick off your shoes, connect to the wifi and exhale as you look around you. You feel like you belong exactly where you are, whether you’re slumped on the couch or pouring yourself a drink. You want to feel happy at home, knowing exactly what your decor says about you. After all, this is the message you will receive every day for as long as you live in it, so make it good.
To bring that quirky, fun person you are deep down inside out again, call Redesign Interiors. We want to connect with you and reawaken that sense of wonder that lives within you!
