When starting a renovation or a build, selecting your materials and finishes is an important process and can sometimes be thrown together without much thought or research gone into how to make the space flow seamlessly. I like to remind my clients when starting the design development stage that a home should reflect your personality and be a collection of curated memories. I bet, if you look at your wardrobe collection and then the interior of your home, the interior will reflect your wardrobe. Eg; if your wardrobe is a collection of neutrals and earthy tones, that your home reflects the same. Thats also goes for if your wardrobe is full of colour and pattern! Am I right?
Don't know where to start?
Let's start with a list of materials and finishes you may require for the main rooms such as a kitchen or bathroom. See below for a general list of products.
Kitchen
Flooring (natural timber, engineered timber, laminate, bamboo or tile)
Bench top (marble, engineered stone, stainless steel, laminate or timber)
Splash back (marble, engineered stone, tile, mirror or glass)
Cabinetry (laminate, melamine or polyurethane)
Tapware and Hardware Finish (stainless steel, brass, nickel, copper)
Bathroom
Flooring (tile, marble or concrete)
Wall tiles (tile, marble or concrete)
Feature Wall tile - if your having one (tile)
Tapware and Hardware Finish (stainless steel, brass, nickel, copper)
Bedrooms and General flooring throughout
Flooring (carpet, natural timber, engineered timber or laminate)
Now with a clear concept or style in mind it's time to start sourcing the materials and finishes on your list for your renovation or build. Look at the scale, size textures and tones of your selections. Also price point.
The "trick" here is to pull all your samples together to see how they sit as a whole. A very important step to visualising your space! By doing this you will be able to see for example, a tile in which you thought was a cool grey in the store actually has a slight warm undertone and when placed side by side to a flooring sample selected, it clashes.
By having a selection of materials that work well together when you move throughout the home from room to room it will have a seamless flow.
Designer tips for getting this right
Have a clear concept in mind! This will help to keep your desired style on track and help to not get overwhelmed when it comes to selecting materials and finishes.
Collect your samples and play around with them, don't rush into a decision. Leave your selections out so that you see them everyday before you decide. In the end it's going to be a space you live in and look at everyday, right!
View your samples in different light. Inside and outside, as some materials and finishes will throw different tones of colour in different settings. Or your current warm toned walls around you make a material look warm when it's actually not!
Don't feel like you need to do it all yourself if you don't have a creative eye for it! Engage with an interior designer, we do this daily and can help to refine your idea's and take the stress out of running around supplier after supplier trying to find the perfect material in which your not exactly sure what that is! We can help to make the process a lot smoother and bring a fresh creative flare to your space.
Contact Henry and Co Interiors for a FREE consultation today https://www.henryandcointeriors.com
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