Imagine you’ve just found your perfect apartment, and it is triple the square footage of your old one.
You move in to your new apartment (which just turns out to be a new property launch in Singapore),and the euphoria of moving into a new large and spacious place is over, done and dusted. The reality now sets in: you have to start decorating your new larger space. You find that the larger space you thought was a boon is now a bane. The cavernous rooms intimidate you, and you wonder how you can give it that wow factor and cohesiveness it deserves while still making the most of your space.
It’s true that decorating large spaces is not easier task than decorating a small space. Rather, it can even prove to be a more daunting task. Because large rooms tend to not have issues with space, you might have the tendency to throw things together haphazardly and simply muddle along.
Worry not. Don’t let the intimidation cause you to make a mistake, and a missed opportunity, to give your new and large space the impact and sense of coziness that it deserves. Don’t feel the need to sing
the blues about your “too-much- space” problem. Just remember to see the silver lining: it is almost always better to have too much space than not enough.
Here are some design tips to help you turn your cavern into a palace.
1. First things first
Before you start your decorating efforts, try first to live in your space for a while. This helps you get to know how the space works for you. It also helps save you some time and effort. Imagine decorating at once on a whim when you move in, only to realize it doesn’t work for you after a few months of living with it.
Don’t be worried about your home being bare for the moment. No one who is newly moved-in will have a perfect-looking living room right at the start. Decorating is a process that takes time and feeling around for, much like how life is meant to be lived. Only after recognizing and identifying how you use your space, can you decorate that extra space to the best advantage.
2. Create coziness
Warm colors, such as red, yellow and orange, add instant fire and warmth to large rooms. You can use color to your advantage by incorporating earthy colors or neutrals with splashes of vibrant warm color to create coziness in your space. You can even experiment with darker colors, as they have a tendency to make spaces feel smaller and more closed in.
Another way to create coziness is through architectural elements. Wall elements such as paneling is a good idea to scale down spaces and draw in large areas of wall, adding visual interest and making them appear less bare and overwhelming. You can also add elements to your ceiling. Beams and rafters (keep it to natural material such as wood) can also add more coziness to your space by lowering the height of the ceilings.
3. Focal points
Focal points, either one or more, help bring balance into big rooms. You can do this in multitude of ways, such as with a favorite piece of furniture or with a dramatic wall hanging. For example, consider getting a large upholstered sofa, or even hanging an ornate mirror above a mantle. This makes for great focal point to pull your eye in from an otherwise cold-looking room.
Don’t be afraid to experiment by using a focal point that may not be wholly in keeping with the room. As long as it is personal and sentimental to you, display it loud and proud. Your room is a reflection of who you are, so don’t be afraid to stand out from the crowd.
Don’t feel that you need to break the bank and purchase wholly new items of furniture that match your larger space better. Smaller pieces can work just as well to create focal points. All you need to do is position them carefully.
4. Accessorize
If your room is one large space and lacks natural divisions, you can consider creating angles and spaces to divide up the rooms synthetically. Create a cozy corner or two for different activities. Think of it as introducing different areas of functionality in different parts of the room. Perhaps you might want a reading nook, an area for work, a formal sitting area or even an impromptu dining area. This enhances the layout of your large room by breaking it up into smaller spaces.
Consider using pieces such as screens or bookcases to divide up your space. This adds character and visual divisions, while still maintaining flow to your space. You can go for a cheap and cheerful room divider, or splurge for an antique foldaway lacquered screen.
5. Location and lighting
The location of your room is almost as important as the size of it. For example, the direction your room is facing can make a big difference to the type of lighting that you will require. Your choice of color scheme will also be influenced by your room’s location, and rightly so, as the direction your room faces dictates the amount of natural light it will get.
If your room faces east, you will enjoy the burst of morning sunshine, and it will look different at night when the only source of light you will have is artificial. Conversely, a west facing room will glow its best during the early evening but may look pallid and dull in the morning. Your lighting thus needs to be placed strategically to compensate for it.
This is why it is important to truly understand your space and layout before selecting and deciding upon your décor and fixtures.
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Catat Ulasan