Scandinavian, minimalist and contemporary themes often pop up in home décor manuals. Here’s why they are so popular and how you can incorporate it into your homes too.
Scouring interior design manuals or catalogues for inspiration to create your dream home can be a chore. The countless themes that will surface is enough to make us confused. While we often veer towards designs that look good on paper, they are not necessarily practical to adopt.
Having created a handy-dandy guide on loan alternatives to help you afford your furniture comfortably, we think it’s high time to create an interior design guide of sorts to introduce some themes for you to consider.
Here are three classic approaches that could never go wrong for your dream home.
1) Scandinavian
A widely popular choice amongst families from across the world, Scandinavian design today is all about homes with clean and simple aesthetic awash with plenty of neutral tones and materials. It is a form of minimalism, but what truly defines it is how its interior design often incorporates nature — wooden accents and vegetation — too.
Material
Furniture and tiles often emphasise wood accents, with light-coloured wood, such as beech, ash and pine, being the hallmark. A hint of green from potable plants or faux floral can help to attain a zen state of mind too.
Clean Design
No-fuss layout, clean window treatments and an absence of heavy carpets all coalesce to emphasise the simplicity of the theme. Wide-windowed homes make for the best option to go for to embrace natural light, while white walls can be used to emphasise the brightness and lightness mood of the room.
Colours
Neutral colour palette forms the core of the Scandinavian designs, but feel free to experiment with colours. Do remember to balance the softness of colours and not over-emphasise on the colour contrasts. Adding some grey splashes (from stone or cement-based furniture) can evoke an air of elegance too.
2) Minimalist
The ethos, “Less is More”, sums up the minimalist theme. Rightly put, it is a simple way of life that is freed of clutters (and possibly waste litters too). Spaciousness is achieved from the possession of few (but practical) furniture, while zen-style art décor makes for a good complement to homes with minimalist-inspired design.
Of course, unique details — often from tiny trinkets and vintage collections — are adopted to showcase a certain personality or mood.
Material
Glass, metal, concrete, and wood are often the best combinations to fall back onto while creating the minimalist-inspired home. Furniture that boasts curvatures can evoke a sprightly energy, while those that are edgy and streamlined reflect a sense of conventionality.
Clutter-free and clean design
Furniture and decor are kept to the minimum; you focus only on the essentials.
Wide spaces paired with bright, natural light can create a spirited and airy feel. Clean cabinetry, stair (if any), pared-down furniture designs and clean lines are often the key considerations. But should you want to warm things up, a honey-toned wood or other woody accents can be an appealing too.
Colours
Again, a neutral colour palette (beige, brown, ivory, taupe, black, grey and varying shades of white) for that subtlety vibe. Unifying the walls of all rooms to be of a single colour can create harmony too.
3) Contemporary
There is something liberating about living in the moment. And in the realm of interior design, contemporary styles dictate just that.
Drawing inspiration from today’s trends (which may dissipate and become vintage designs with time), contemporary design involves a generous use of metallic elements, contrasting elements, and an eclectic mix of sophistication and subtlety.
Fabrics and Patterns
Texture plays an important role in contemporary design. The use of fabric, often the natural ones (such as silk, wool, linen and cotton), is rampant here. Geometric patterns are often incorporated with metallic elements for hint of sophistication. Then again, these geometrical patterns can be used on pillowcases, rugs and table mats.
Sleek Lines and Contrast
Very rarely are elaborate carvings on any furniture find placement in contemporary design. Sleek and simple lines, or hard-edged and curvaceous furniture are all hallmarks of elegant contemporary design. Luxury materials can also be mixed with synthetic ones — say, fine grain-leather draped around a small mirror — to show contrast and opulence.
Colour
Bold and bright colours ever so often contrast against the backdrop of a neutral palette. Lacquered and mirrored surfaces make for the best way to also showcase a shine between the accented spots of colours too. Colour blocking can be opted to add a whimsical and affable personality onto furniture — say, rustic wooden table ends in a block stripe of white.
At the end of the day, there is no right or wrong styles of designing. It all boils down to finding out what your preferences are. And for the newly-weds, the very act of designing your dream home together is a romantic affair. Savor every moment of it.
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