Designing your own home can be an exciting endeavour. With the ease of accessibility to online resources, one can easily find plenty of home design ideas. There are many online platforms such as Instagram, YouTube and Facebook featuring designs of professional interior designers eager to showcase their works to the world. In the face of fierce competition in the home design industry, many designers are venturing out of the norm with more adventurous and bold designs to stood up among the crowd.
However, many avant-garde designs may look cool and impressive but they may not be practical or appealing to many. For most of us who are just ordinary folks not living a glamorous lifestyle, we would most probably prefer practicality over aesthetic.
Practicality in home design is even more important for many of us living in the tiny island of Singapore, as we share the common problems of most city-dwellers – small living spaces and a hectic lifestyle. Having said that, it does not mean that we cannot have a beautiful personal sanctuary that we would be proud to call home. As in all things in life, it is all about striking a balance between two extremes.
Hence to help you design a home that is both beautiful and functional, I have gathered some tips from the experts from Interior Design Singapore to help you in balancing between practicality and aesthetics in your home design.
Comfort
A home is a place where one returns to unwind and relax. Comfort should be the priority in designing this space. Take for example your living room, where the sofa is the most important and functional piece of furniture in this space. Thus, it may not be the most prudent to purchase an ultra-modern looking sofa that looks cool to you but it is not comfortable to lounge in. Hence, furniture such as sofa, bed and chairs are key elements in the house where comfort is the priority over aesthetics. Another thing to bear in mind is not to buy these items online as it is better to physically assess the comfort level of these items before making a purchase. However, this is not to say that you have to compromise with sofa that looks drab and boring. With some patience and time invested, you will certainly find plenty of sofa and chairs which are both comfortable and awesome looking
Strike a Balance Throughout the House
When designing a space, it is important to understand the function and the purpose of the space. Factoring this in when designing the space, will allow you to achieve a home design that is both appealing and functional. For example, a study should be bright and allow one to work well in the room. Room colours should be light and the space should be clutter-free as much as possible. To achieve that, opt for light wall colours such as white or pastel. You can go with the style of a minimalistic design as it offers both openness and lightness which are desirable characteristics for a study room. For this style, do bear in mind to have enough storage areas such as shelving options to prevent clutter, which is the main aesthetic goal of this particular design style. Hence, take your time to look for complimentary furniture pieces that will be able to look and function well in the space.
Choose Visual Elements to Infuse Your Style
Although the consensus is that practicality is of more importance for a livable space, this does not mean that you cannot have items just for decorative purposes. Take for instant when designing your own bedroom. First decide on the two most important functional items – bed and wardrobe, after which you can choose complimentary decorative items such as a unique bedside lamp, a beautiful rug, printed curtains or other décor items that allow infusion of your own style and preference to create your very own personal space.
Thus, the trick to balancing practicality and aesthetic in your home design is to prioritize functionality where it matters and the aesthetics can compliment the function pieces, achieving an overall design that is both comfortable to live in and stylish in design.
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