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5 Signs That You Need Help From an Interior Designer

Building and renovating can be fun and exciting, but they can also create a great many challenges. When starting such an involved project, it’s important to collaborate with experts you can trust: builders, architects, tradies, bankers, mortgage specialists, etc. Interior designers are also among this pool of helpful experts, but they’re often considered a luxury and therefore overlooked in an attempt to cut costs. There are, however, a few occasions when an interior designer is crucial for a smoother experience, when they can also help you save money, time, energy and a lot of stress.

1. You are time-poor
Many of us live crazy lives: our time is spent raising families, working one or two jobs, having a social life, spending quality time with loved ones, doing some good in our community, pursuing life goals – and sometimes we do all of that at the same time! What we’re often left with is little time to review plans, to think about the little details and to imagine how the new kitchen design you’re mulling over will impact your daily life.

2. You lack design confidence
You love interesting, bold design and are constantly inspired by what you see around you, on Houzz or in everyday interiors you come across. But somehow, you just can’t seem to choose (and commit to) any colour scheme or new design piece. That’s when you need help.

3. You have too many ideas and feel overwhelmed
We live in a world of constant visual stimulation: magazines, TV shows, Instagram, Houzz, your local cafe, your morning walk, your office – interior design is everywhere! It can be a blessing, and it can be a curse because, while this stimulation can provide plentiful inspiration, it can also result in total design overload. 

If your head is buzzing with hundreds of ideas and you find yourself constantly oscillating between a variety of styles, colours, materials, or even the general feel your aiming for, you might need some help.

4. It’s your forever home
You’re not building a house with the view to sell it at some point. You’re building a house just for you, where your family will grow, your unique needs and wants will be catered for, and your personal history will be made day after day. It’s not a house that’s meant to please the majority of people – it’s your very own indulgence.

We’re so used to thinking in terms of resale value and marketability that it’s sometimes difficult to know what would really work for us.

5. You and your partner just can’t agree
A renovation can be a big cause of stress between couples. The cause of tension is that the couple can’t agree on priorities, and their tastes are incompatible. These tensions can also slow down the renovation or building process, which causes even more tension.  In such relationships, an interior designer often acts as a mediator when it comes to house-related decisions. Because they’re not emotionally involved, they only use their professional knowledge when they make recommendations. 

Credit :   Nelly Reffet

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6 Hottest Home Design Trends of 2019

From Singapore, Madrid to Stockholm and from Milan, we are bringing you the latest trends. What trends are rocking the globe in 2019? What’s on designers’ lips from Copenhagen to Las Vegas? We dive deep into what the global fairs had in common and what we’ve learned about design around the world so far this year. Get ready for bold design, tech innovations and real sustainability.

1. Colour: Warm reds, moody jewel tones, earthy beiges
As our Spanish and Swedish editorial teams pointed out in their coverage of Casa Decor (Madrid) and Formex (Stockholm), respectively2019 is all about duality and opposites coming together.

This year’s popular colours, for example, range from moody blues and blacks to reds and burgundies to earth tones, mustard yellows and forest greens.

The biggest takeaway from 2019’s palettes: We’re seeing a wholesale shift away from the greys of the past few years and toward bolder and richer shades. Notably, this was also the year that our German editorial team declared the end of the grey sofa. Beige upholstery was everywhere at the German fairs in January (Heimtextil, Domotex, and the International Furniture Fair). 

 More, more, more 
Minimalism has had a good run, but this year is about maximalism . In fact, we’ve seen pattern on pattern, colour on colour, texture on texture, and unapologetically bold design at every major fair around the world.

3. Let’s do the time warp
This year, designers are looking to the past for creative ideas. Vintage and retro are being reinvented in modern-day materials and forms and being rethought for 21st-century living. 

Which period is 2019’s design muse, you ask? It seems that no one can agree. But all the eras being channeled have one thing in common: a mixture of elegance and unabashed loudness.

4. Bringing nature home 
This year saw nature continue to be pulled indoors. Botanical inspiration was clear in designs and materials, and plants were even integrated right into the pieces themselves. Floral patterns continue to be prominent. 

5. High tech, high comfort
New gadgets and technological innovations are always one of the main attractions of trade fairs. This year, tech emphasised the human element, with exciting innovations that tailor the experience of space to our desires, habits and bodies –serving up human comfort and ease while adding a touch of luxurious indulgence.

6. Sustainability Is finally here
Perhaps the most exciting trend seen at 2019’s global fairs is that sustainable design is finally here for real. Over the years, we have seen some small manufacturers presenting sustainable approaches. This year, however, there was a flood of new sustainable materials, processes and products, and a new prominence given to sustainable design.

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5 Ways to Bring Good Luck Into Your Home

Ganesh Chaturthi is a festival of making new beginnings, ushering in prosperity and getting rid of obstacles. Why not use this occasion to make your home a hub of positivity and inspiration for lifelong achievements and happiness? To make it in a place that invites good things to happen? Roman philosopher Lucius Seneca is supposed to havesaid, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Even if he didn’t, it’s an excellent description of good luck.

Here are simple ways to create a calming, comforting and an inviting home that will say ‘hello’ when opportunity comes calling.

Reduce clutter
A room full of furniture, decorative objects, accessories, and other knick-knacks can not only look unsightly, but can also create a sense of chaos and clutter. Organised areas that have neatly stacked items are invariably low on maintenance and don’t create too much distraction. Such spaces are easier to clean and navigate through. They give the opportunity to have a more inviting and comfortable room – a space you can enjoy and be happy in. Compound this happiness by creating joyous and light spaces that will not distract you from giving your 100 per cent to the tasks at hand, enabling you to create your own good luck.

Ensure a well-lit interior
Light plays a pivotal role in the decor of a space; it can also affect the mood, look and ambience of a room. What good are well-designed interiors when accents are not highlighted and people are enveloped in gloomy darkness? 

A well-lit interior, be it through ample sunlight or balanced indoor illumination, can influence the mental state of the inhabitant and create a conducive environment to work in. When the ambience inside the home is welcoming and comfortable, it helps people be more cheerful and productive, I think. Good luck is bound to follow, then!

Allow for ample ventilation
The flow of natural, clean air or cross-ventilation through doors and windows can help clear out moisture, smoke and indoor odours and pollutants, thereby improving the quality of the air inside the house. This also aids in regulating indoor temperatures. Fresh air and well-ventilated spaces are good for a healthy body and an alert mind. Definitely the stuff we need to go after our dreams and meet good fortune.

Keep the interiors smelling fresh 
For me, cleanlinesshas a smell of its own and a distinct identity and aura. Think about it, when you enter a space that is sparkling clean and the natural aroma of freshness fills you up, you immediately feel uplifted, don’t you? 

A clean home sets the stage for action without distraction as it frees up one’s mind and energy for important pursuits. More energy and more focus helps one follow a better work ethic. And good luck and fortune favour those who work hard! 

Infuse warmth with togetherness as a family 
While decor changes can help create an interior that can inspire you to achieve more, the bond between its dwellers goes a much longer way in bringing happiness and positivity. 

Create opportunities for the family to come together and spend quality time with each other. Be it dinners, weekend board game nights or just plain chatting sessions, family rituals like these can bring make communications better, resulting in stronger bonds. And isn’t it family that pushes us to give opportunities our best shot?