If you’ve ever flipped through the pages of a glossy home magazine or Ikea catalogue, chances are you’d be met with images of glamorous living rooms, open plan kitchens and trendy bedrooms helping you to find inspiration for decorating your own living spaces.
What you don’t see within the images however, is the time and effort taken to meticulously place furniture, develop a layout and the smaller details to complete the bigger picture.
The people behind achieving these beautiful scenes in homes are interior designers who know how to take into account design elements and principles like colour, texture, balance and movement.
Data from Oneflare, the online marketplace connecting Australians with trade and services professionals has revealed an increase in the number of people hiring interior designers in the past year.
Rosanne Spagnolo lists her interior design business, Shift in Design, on Oneflare and believes that interior designers know how to best interpret your ideal style and help bring it to life while taking into account your environment, lifestyle and family needs. Here are some of her tips:
Start with scale
Understand the scale of your room. For example, do you have high ceilings, or small windows? This will help you determine the parts of the room that you want to emphasise or balance out.
Use colours
Start with a colour that you like and one that makes you feel easy. You can incorporate different shades throughout the space and don't be afraid to use contrasting colours for a touch of drama.
Don’t be afraid of patterns
Use pattern or texture to emphasise a bare area. This can be done through artwork, rugs, wallpaper and furniture.
Minimal features work best
Take care not to overcrowd your room with features. Choose a feature that you love (whether it be an artwork, an heirloom piece or even a colour you love) and reflect that in other elements in the space to help support your main feature, not compete with it. Soft furnishings, rugs, decorative pieces can be used as supports.
(Oneflare is a joint venture of Fairfax Media).
