WITH THESE 5 SIMPLE AND AFFORDABLE WAYS!!

Salma Bin Breik  (@designwithsal) is an interior designer and stylist based in Hyderabad and undertakes projects from concept to completion as well as styling projects. With an experience in residential projects in Dubai,Uae and Hyderabad, India she loves bringing  changes to spaces to create a functional and aesthetic abode for its dwellers. For digital consultations or any interior queries email at ask.decoden@gmail.com.  Happy Home Styling!

The past few months, a majority of us have spent the most amount of time at home as never before. With the increasing demand for work from home and spending more amount of time indoors, you need to feel at ease while staying at home. This calls for some changes that might change the whole look and feel of your home that make you feel more refreshed, motivated and most importantly the ‘’there’s no place like home’’ vibe!

Interior designer and stylist, Salma has worked with modern home designing in the UAE and no doubt that luxury design calls for a big budget. However, it’s not feasible to achieve the modern style interiors at a low budget but following these simple steps, you might accomplish a welcoming and modern touch to your home without having a big toll on your wallet.

Fortunately, with the accessibility to online shopping, you can get these purchases by being at home and it’s safe and just a click away!  The following article will guide you to bring the much needed refreshing look to your home in simple ways.

1. CUSHION TRANSFORMATION

The overall look of the sofa can be changed by adding (or) changing the existing cushions. Cushions can make a basic sofa look more luxurious and voluminous. Once you have initially invested in good cushion fillers, then only the cushion covers need to be replaced for creating a fresher look and feel to your space.  Changing the soft furnishings is an easy way to add glamour to the home and is an economical means as well. Play with different patterns, textures, materials and colors.

Break the pattern by adding plain cushions alternatively. In order to make the design of the cushion stand out, use cushion covers with a velvet piping of a different color. This makes the cushion appear bold and attracts the attention of viewers. Additionally, to achieve a  more dramatic look, silk or suede cushions can be used.

In case of neutral interiors, go bold with the cushions to inject the pop of color in the interiors. To achieve a symmetrical look, the number of cushions are preferred to be even. In the case of modern interior style, one can opt for an odd number of cushions.  Moreover, a sofa can be styled by placing a throw on the side of handrest to add that extra texture and to create more dimension.

PRO TIP:  Style cushions of varying shapes and sizes to create an informal and welcoming look.

2. ADD RUGS

Rugs are one of the main purchases that are required to bring out character and theme of a space. While designing a home or re-styling a home, the color ,shape and size of the rugs plays an important part.

Thecolor should generally match the hues used in the overall space. The size iof the carpet depends upon the space available. Round carpets are preferred in small spaces while rectangular carpets are the most preferred with a comparative larger furniture layout.

Place your rug under the coffee table while the front legs of your furniture are placed on top of it. Also, its important to consider atleast a 60 cm distance between the sofa and the table to ensure comfortable circulation space. Geometric patterned rugs are in trend lately  as they give a bold statement and provide the much needed contrast to the space .

To add on, they have atleast two accent colors which go well with the entire color scheme. Proper maintenance and regular vacuuming  of rugs and carpets is necessary to avoid accumulation of dust which causes allergies.

To achieve a more modern look, go with playful prints. Modern carpets have abstract prints with a small splash of colours. They are often considered as an art on its own and is treated as a masterpiece having its own personality. 

PRO TIP : Purchase a rug that matches the hue of the color of the sofa  to have a perfect color balance (with atleast two accent colors).

3. Display Art

In interior designingand styling – details matter a lot and makes a big difference . Choosing the right artwork and frame is important and requires attention to detail. The paintings, art, installations and sculptures must showcase your personal identity and needs to be of the right colors to complement the space.

Artworks create a strong focal point and instantly bring the viewrs attention and thus needs to be cohesive and not appear as though they are not meant for the space.

Wall arts, sculptures and décor completes the interior while giving personality and color effortlessly. They bring the whole space together and give your home the desired finished look, without art there would be a sense of emptiness in the space.

An ideal way to find the right size of art is to measure the distance between the ceiling and the furniture and should not be placed more than 6 inch above the sofa.

Depending upon the size of the wall and the style of interiors, one can choose between a big oversized artwork or use use frames of varying sizes for creating a perfect gallery wall. Selecting arts with smoother textures will create a sleek finish.

Artworks are also used to add visual weight to the space hence making them more aesthetic and unique.  Check out the art frames and posters at ikeaindia for a variety which covers every style- be it formal,chic,minimal or eclectic.

PRO TIP : Keep the maximum distance between two frames  between 3-6 inch based on ur eye level.

4. ACCESSORI-ZE YOUR SPACE

One of the most overlooked  aspect of design detailing is investing in interior accessories. Accessories don’t just add aesthetics and texture but provide functionality as well. For example, décor trays can be used for decoration as well as can be used on coffee tables to place coasters,candles,remotes or can simply be used for serving!

On the other hand, using elegant book-ends adds magic to shelf styling while placing books between them. If you want your living room to appear bigger and more spacious, you can place full length wide mirrors on the walls so that they give a feeling of a bigger space by reflection.

Chinese jars are also a good decoarative investment that adds luxury and richness to the space. Some of my favourite and to-go accessories includes Books, candles, trays, florals and ceramic vases.

Always keep in mind not to place accessories distantly in a wide place as they lose their character and seem lost and unnoticed and secondly, never keep monotonous accessories together; always mix different textures and patterns and heights.

For coffe table styling, you can stackup a couple of coffee table books to create a formal and modern  setting. These books are overszied, represents luxury, entertains guests and acts as a level to display or to group your accessories.

PRO TIP : Display accessories in organised manner. Group accessories of varied shapes and heights (with commonness among them) to create a focal point.

5. INFUSE GREENERY

Floor plants are an addition to the interiors to fill out the empty corners of the home. Using beautiful planters as the base can make the plants stand out and bring the extra wow factor in the existing décor. Stunning planters can integrate design and functionality as well.

Apart from aesthetic benefits, plants provide health benefits too as they clean the air and provides calmness and  helps in increasing productivity. They also enhance height of a space. Its one way to bring outdoors indoors and connect with nature. Apart from floor plants, one can also add hanging plants, florals and succulents on coffee table to add that green factor.

Succulents are relatively  easier to maintain and very small. ‘Paudhe Se Yaari’ is a specialised store for all kinds of succulents and small planters situated at Sarath Capital City Mall which sells a variety of succulents that would bring joy to plant lovers. However, in case you are using real plants, maintaining them also needs to considered for them to have a longer life. Water your plants as required and take necessary steps to ensure their proper growth.

If you find it difficult to maintain real plants, artificial potted plants can also be added to interiors for bringing life to the space. Some of the popular artificial plants for décor includes snake plant, bamboo palm, areca palm and peace lily. Thus, adding plants can inject life into the space and create a stress free and happy environment.

PRO TIP : Use plants to cover the blemishes and spots on the walls to achieve a cleaner look.