COVER STORY //
With guest editor Adrian Ramsay, interior designer. ardesignhouse.com
CREATING THE PERFECT HOME
T
here is a definite distinction between a house and a home. To successfully make your house into a home, the place to start is to tell the story of you. What kind of journey do you want to have when you walk through the front door? What type of journey do you want people who visit your home to have? When I am decoding someone’s wants and needs – I go fishing. I throw out ideas like bait and see which ones they latch onto. I then find out why they latched onto it. Here are some key things to think about, and focus on, when you are wanting to turn your house into a home that not only looks good, but feels great too. When buying a house or land the first point of need that people are going to want to satisfy is location. Do you dream of being by the beach, having horse stables, a home with a view? Maybe rural property is your dream, or perhaps living isolated in the bush? The location is going to play a massive part of that dream. After your location wants and needs
are met, the next point of need is the requirements of the home. This is how many bedrooms there are, how many bathrooms or carparking spaces it has, as well as if there is an outside area for dogs, the kids, gardening. Meeting your first and second points of need will determine how you can turn your house into a home that looks and feels great for you. When designing your own style, remember that there are multiple areas and zones to consider. It is important to keep in mind that different zones within a home require different moods. Creating mood shifts within the home is what will make it feel like your own. For many people, maintaining a similar colour pallet through the home makes it calmer to live in. For some however, they don’t want to live in a calm space. Different things appeal to different people, so don’t be afraid to make your house your own and share your style and your stories within you home. Every house has private spaces and public areas. Know the difference
“If you’re coupled, work with your partner to create a joined journey that tells your individual stories as well as your collective story” between where you want to be able to retreat to and where you want people to feel invited into. We can define public areas as ‘workspaces’ within the home. This is your kitchen, bathroom, garage, office and laundry combined with your entertaining areas such as the dining, living, decks, and pools. Private areas are those places where you can relax and turn off – some of these spaces may be suited for just you, and some may be designed for more than one person. These are areas such as a parent retreat, library, reading nook, window seat, music rooms, balcony, private deck,
family room and bedrooms. To create a difference between public and private areas, identify your stories, know what colours you love and what areas those colours work in. Investigate textures and lighting that you can add to the space to help tell your story for that room.
KNOW YOUR LAYOUT Whether you are drawn to open-plan living or all separate rooms, it reflects pieces of your heritage – what you grew up in (and whether you enjoyed the spaces within your home as a child) – and how well it will suit the life that you want to live now and in the future.
6 My Renovation | October, 2018
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21/09/2018 9:38:44 AM