Design Around Your Signature Piece

Signature pieces are the best way to interpret your personality in your space. They are pieces that reflect who you are and should make anyone that knows you smile because they understand exactly why you have it. A signature piece can be art, furniture, wallpaper, an accessory… anything . They are amazing but they can also be very tricky if you don’t understand how to work with it. The first thing to understand or accept is that your space will belong to your signature piece but if you pick the right piece that interprets your personality then that should not be a problem. The signature piece defines the colours that you can use, it may even pick the theme of your space for you and also the layout of the space.

Source- Matteo Nunziati

Many people believe that a signature piece either jumps at you or you spend time struggling to find the piece (or pieces) that is (are) right for you. I think your signature piece should jump at your from across the store or gallery. I don’t think you should go looking for it, I think you just spot it and it makes a statement immediately. That “you had me at hello” type of situation.

Source- Live Stylish Daily

Once you find your piece, you should see it as a guide to help you design your space. Whether you are moving into a new home and designing from scratch or you simply want to redecorate. A signature piece will help you streamline the colours that you can use in your space as not all colours would go with your piece except your signature piece is white, black, grey or any other neutral colour. My advice is that you should go bold with your signature piece except you choose to have more than one signature piece in your space. Yes, you can have more than one signature piece. The main piece needs to find you first and the you can go in search of more pieces that compliment it. Make sure all your signature pieces compliment each other so you don’t have too many pieces fighting for attention .

Source- Wall Art Prints Australia

When you’re designing around your signature piece, size matters. If your signature piece is a small item, you should place it where it will always be seen so that it doesn’t get lost and if your signature piece is a big piece, you should give it its own breathing space, don’t crowd it with too many things because that will cause clutter.

Source- Best Interior Designers

There are so many design ides you will get when designing or redecorating your space. Sometimes, all you need is a signature piece to guide you in you design process and finish up your space perfectly.

 

Free your Space!!!

Clutter is possibly Interior Design’s biggest enemy. It goes against everything Interior Design believes in. It hurts the eyes, it affects the circulation and it affects your design pieces.

Often times, when people think they need a complete facelift, all they really need is to declutter and rearrange their space. This can change the look of a room significantly. The things you add to your space have a very strong impact on the final look of the space even if its just a table top accessory. Its like if you wear 5 necklaces and 6 bangles on a pretty dress, you completely ruin the whole outfit.

Designing your space without clutter or even decluttering your space starts and ends in your head. Its important to have the end result in mind from the beginning of the process. First of all, do not over-furnish your space. You shouldn’t be thinking of the additional sitting space you will need when you are having parties or hosting at the beginning of your design process. If you are not an event panner, then you definitely won’t be hosting everyday so you shouldn’t clutter your space with furniture that you have to live with daily. The days or times that you will need them are one-offs and when you do need them, you can get what you need and send it away when you’re done.

Source- Elevation Interior

Secondly, you must realise that not everything can fit. Some things may hold special value but if it does not fit your space, you should not force your space to live with it. Think of your space as a human being, You probably had your favourite shoes when you were 6 but now you are older and it no longer fits. You have to let it go.

If you don’t use it, then there is no need for it. This is a problem that we all have. Now that bread maker in your kitchen, you bought it 3 years ago, its still in the box, its never been plugged, you have never turned it on, you don’t even know how to turn it on, you’ve never made bread and you’ll probably never make bread. You don’t need to keep anything because you feel its going to come in handy one day. If that day hasn’t come by now, it’s not going to come.

Source- KG Showroom

Ensure that everything has its own place in your space. I always talk about storage so I’m not going to go into that again today. You probably have your bookshelf, shoerack, wardrobe and all other types of necessary storage but those its not the items that belong there that I am talking about today. You need to create a space for your daily essentials that don’t need to get stowed away but just need to be put aside tidily and temporarily. This is as simple as a console by your entrance or floating shelves or even just wall hooks to serve as a place for your bags, phones, keys, remote controls and other daily essentials.

Source- Memorable Decor

Finally, you need to Budget. Your space is not a one off event (and even those you have to budget for) it will always be there. If you’re moving into a new office or a new home or whatever space and you don’t set a budget and allocate your budget, you will keep on buying things you don’t need.

I wouldn’t do that if I were you… (Part 2)

Lets talk about overplaying themes. This is a very common one that you see in many spaces, especially homes today. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with having an inspiration or a theme for your design, its all about how that theme is translated  and this can be done in many ways; patterns, colours, materials and many others.

Source-stylebyemilyhenderson.com

Lets take colour for example; it has the power to affect the size of a space. Darker colours will make your space look smaller while lighter colours will make your space look bigger. If you have a theme colour that’s dark, it’s better to use it on a feature wall or on your furniture. It will be a huge blunder to use Navy blue paint on all your walls and have Navy blue sofa with gray pillows. The room loses balance.

Source- thebloggerbusinessassociation.com

Patterns are another great way to interpret your theme. They can help give your space a new look without having to change your whole interior design but can also be overplayed. A patterned pillow on a patterned sofa in a living room with patterned wallpaper and a patterned rug… I wouldn’t do that if I were you.

Source- skydesigns.us

All you need to remember when designing with a theme is balance. Do not allow your space get to drowned by overplayed themes.

I wouldn’t do that if I were you… (Part1)

Interior Design mistakes are very common today and it is important to note that a high budget doesn’t necessarily mean your space will be well designed and decorated. Its so painful to look at a room you have spent so much money on and then you wonder “where did I go wrong” and this is one of the many reasons why Interior Designers are needed.

Source- Unboxedwriters.com

Interior Designers take out time to acquire knowledge of how to manage spaces, proportions, colours, lighting, patterns and many other factors that could affect a space.

Over the next week, I will be discussing some common Interior Design mistakes and their solutions. I don’t expect this post to turn you to Interior Designers overnight but I know it will definitely help you correct the mistakes you’ve made and make your space look much better.

The first and most common mistake is Poor Space Management. There are so many factors that can affect the management of your space but here is a simple way to put it. When designing and decorating, you must remember that; apart form the furniture, accessories and accents, a person or even more will still have to make use of the space. I will highlight some of the factors that could affect the management of your space.

Source- createdhouse.com

Do not put two sofas across from each other. Once you do that, you automatically make that the only path in that area. Once you have two sofas are facing each other, what you have done is you have created an alleyway and there is no freedom of movement. The space for feet then doubles as the (only) path in your space.

Source- Interiordesigninspiration.net

Another thing I wouldn’t do is over crowd my space. You really should not have to do a pillow ritual before you can sit on your sofa, or move a whole bunch of frames and vases and ornaments before you can place something on your table or console or not be able to see your walls because you have it all covered with art, photos or mirrors. Every item of furniture should have its functional space before being decorated with accessories. Remember that every colour, pattern, furniture, tile and light in your space is there to decorate the space and should be allowed to do just that without being crowded.

Source- popartdecorations.com

Clutter is another problem and I doesn’t necessarily mean being messy or untidy. Sometimes, clutter could simply mean that there is no space for an item. Storage units are decorative and also very useful. They keep unnecessary items out of sight so they do not take the beauty away from a perfectly decorated room.

Source- hgtv.com

Try out these tricks at home, in your office or any space and I hope you see a difference 🙂