5 Simple Interior Design Tactics for Your Family Home

The interior of your home makes a statement to all who pass through it; a statement about the people who live inside, the way the space is utilized, the love for the home it’s adorning, and the memories that are contained within its walls. Embarking upon an interior design project within your own home is to make a statement about all these things.

Your interior design project should be easy and hassle-free, leaving more room for creative expression, so to help you streamline the process we’ve put together our top five interior design tactics.

Get Inspired

Before you start, you should have a clear and solid vision of what you want your home space to look like. The best way to go about forming this vision is to collect as much inspiration as possible – the more you see, the more you can choose from. Start spending your spare time looking through magazines, home design blogs, product catalogues and online image collections (like Pinterest). You can even find a wealth of helpful mobile apps to help you get organised and inspired.

By reading about what works and surrounding yourself with images of interiors that you like, you’ll be able to choose what aesthetic you want to go for and get a good understanding of what will work best in your space.

Using Mirrors

Mirrors are often used by interior designers to make the most of a space in a few different ways. Firstly, they light up the room by reflecting light – this is a great tactic to use in rooms that don’t let in much natural light or that haven’t been equipped with light fittings that adequately illuminate the space.

Secondly, they open up smaller spaces and give the room a feeling of having more space than it actually does – they make a room seem bigger. This is a great tactic to use in smaller spaces that have a cramped or closed-in feeling, especially rooms with few windows and/or only one door.

Lose the Clutter

Include lots and lots of storage space in your designs. For the best visual impact, you don’t want your furniture, decor and floor space to be obscured by unsightly objects with no place to hide.

You’ve got to make sure your space is practical, so rather than doing away with all your necessary day-to-day objects, make sure there’s plenty of space for them to be stored out of sight but somewhere easily accessible. Ideally, your storage space will match with your colour palettes and other decor and will actually emphasize the visual effect that you’re going for.

Using Colour

Keep in mind that lighter colours tend to open a room up and make it feel more spacious, while darker colours do the opposite, making rooms appear smaller. Also choose colours for your paint and decor that are appropriate for the mood of the room – rooms meant for relaxation and calm should use cooler, more subtle tones, while high-energy rooms meant for activity and socialising can be adorned with brighter, vibrant colours.

Using Lighting

With the right lighting in the right positions you can highlight parts of your room you wish to draw attention to (like an artwork or a feature item of furniture) and draw attention away from areas you wish to mask (like bins or stains). Make use of lamps, up lights, down lights, vertical lights and subtle, less bright lighting options (lower wattage bulbs or adjustable dimming lights) to create a space this is inviting and highlights all the best of the rooms features. Stay away from low-hanging lights, fluorescent bulbs and bright lights that over-saturate the room.

Just remember: it’s important to create a space that you feel proud of and that you can identify with, but it’s also important to make your space comfortable and practical. If you can get all of these elements working together, you’re on the right track to creating a room that ticks all the boxes and is sure to impress.

Guest Post by Rodney Muller, a professional Interior Designer from the Gold Coast in Australia. A lot of his latest work can be seen at Maddison Estate and he provides these tips for families looking to give their home a facelift. Visit maddisonestate.com.au for more information.