New-build homes are a blank canvas.
It’s something we hear all the time, and it’s absolutely true. But that doesn’t make the task of decorating and designing any less daunting when you’re faced with neutral walls and empty spaces.
So to help, the people at CHAP Homes spoke to interior designer Suzanne Thomas, creative sales director at blocc Interiors, to find out the best way to make a start.
Suzanne and her team worked on the showhomes at the housebuilder’s Crest of Lochter, Inverurie, and Countesswells developments: beautiful homes in well-connected communities with a great specification. And incentives are available too to make your move even easier.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at Suzanne’s top tips for creating that perfect interior.
Source a theme
How do you want your home to look and feel? What décor suits you best?
The great news is that magazines, websites and social media channels like Instagram and Pinterest are just packed full of inspiration and a lot of household name stores like John Lewis, Habitat, Made, and Wayfair, to name a few, are very good at getting the latest trends filtered through quickly.
Have a look and see what styles appeal to you — perhaps you’ll go Scandi, traditional, or maybe soft industrial is more your thing.
Pull everything together on a mood board, and you’re on your way.
And, as with many new builds, depending on what stage the development’s at when you buy, there are options to customise fixtures and fittings in line with your design vision, so it’s best to start early and go for ideas that’ll stand the test of time.
Find your colour focus
Grey’s going nowhere, but there’s so much more available to choose from too. For example, earthy tones as well as blush and dusky pink are still staples in colour palettes, along with deep blues and emerald greens.
It’s a good idea to get a feel for the light in your home, see what works with furniture too, and have a real think about what colours you like.
You could even use something as specific as a particular cushion, your favourite piece of clothing, or a throw as your starting point.
And the colour wheel’s your secret weapon. Choosing colours opposite one another is the secret to complementary schemes. You be amazed how well orange, for example, can warm up a blue palette.
Plus, a feature on a focal wall can completely change the dynamic of a room, and wallpaper panels are a great way of bringing that concept bang up-to-date.
Accessorise, accessorise, accessorise
Don’t underestimate the power of smaller touches on your interior such as artwork, sculpture, plants and rugs. As ever, just keep referring back to your mood board to keep on track to achieve the look you’re going for.
Zoning
Zoning means separating rooms according to function, and it’s gained real traction thanks to the increase in open plan living spaces.
Start by asking yourself what you’re going to use the space for, and what atmosphere you’d like to create. Sometimes that’s easy, a kitchen’s a kitchen after all! But you may use the rest of the open-plan space as a family room, or as a study with floating shelves and artwork creating a focal point for that zone.
Pieces like sofas, console tables and freestanding shelves, along with different lighting, are great ways to sub-divide rooms.
Look ahead
We all want a sneak peek of the next big thing, and here’s a clue: look to the catwalk.
The world of fashion never fails to provide interior design inspiration with stores and designers emulating what they’ve seen over the last couple of seasons. And with social media such an integral part of our lives, it’s never been easier to keep up with these latest trends.
Find more information about CHAP Homes’ developments here.
