Extra touches that give your home that personal touch.
So, here you are. You have found just the right house or apartment
and are finally living exactly where you want to be and with sunshine
most of the year round. However, unless you've been lucky (or unlucky!)
enough to build your house from the ground up, you will at some
point be stuck with somebody else's ideas of interior decoration.
You may decide to live with the lime green living room and flowery
wallpaper in the kitchen, or you might feel a sudden desire to
paint the whole house magnolia. Neither solution is ideal, as in
neither case are you permitting your own style preferences and
creativity to find expression.
So just how do you pinpoint your style? One way is to turn yourself
into a sponge. Absorb everything you come into contact with even
if it doesn't seem relevant at the time. The fact is that there
is very little modern design which is completely new. Most styles
and changes in fashion are amalgamations, adjustments and improvements
on previous designs and trends. Today's streamlined contemporary
look harks back to 1930's modernism combined with a dash of 1960's
spirit. And yes, today's turquoise, yellow and pink toasters, kettles
and lemon squeezers have the 1950's to thank for their design.
No one should blatantly copy the work of others as this is an empty
exercise, but rather mulch together sights and sounds from your
environment to create the style that suits you.
Perhaps you've been inspired by a holiday somewhere which you
can translate into your own environment, or perhaps by your immediate
environment which is quite possibly near the sea. Then find sofas
and chairs in a relaxed design, upholstered in sandy neutrals,
paint your walls with a creamy wash; let the sun stream into the
room with modern voiles, linen blinds or plantation style shutters,
accent it all with those beautiful sea blues and greens. Keep your
accessories natural - wood, stone, shells and flowers. If you stay
true to those elements you will create a soothing space in your
home which reflects the mood of the beach and sea.
Once you have a store of inspiration, you are then ready to source
materials, chose colours and buy furniture that fits your style.
This means pouring through design magazines, visiting shops and
having a closer look at homes you visit for inspiration.
We are fortunate in Andalucía to have a terrific choice
of interior design shops and showrooms. The range of styles can
seem baffling at first, including classic traditional, Spanish
(or European) antiques, modern streamlined and ad hoc and funky.
When there is this much choice, it is important first to meet
some sort of common ground with your spouse or partner while, if
you live alone, you have the advantage of being able to indulge
yourself totally. The next step is to spend as much time as possible
visiting the shops and showrooms. This will give you a pretty good
idea of which style of furniture and decor you prefer for your
new home. If you can - and can afford it - make several of your
purchases from the same supplier as this will cut down considerably
on the delivery charge.
Aside from straight furniture, there are specific
suppliers for kitchen and bathroom fittings and appliances. Visiting
showrooms,
where possible, is again particularly important here as it allows
you to select a particular integrated 'look' if appropriate. We
are fortunate that Andalucía is home to some of Europe's
most attractive tile work which, once you have decided on your
colour scheme can make such a difference to the overall appearance
of the room.
Whether your appliances and fittings are Spanish or not, it is
essential that you purchase a brand that is well-known locally
in case you need any subsequent maintenance work or repairs.
Aside from the furniture, kitchen appliances, bathrooms (and other)
fittings, there is the actual decoration to consider. These are
all those little extra touches that give your home that personal
touch and reflect your taste and sense of style. For many people,
choosing art work is both enjoyable and frustrating. Ideally, it
is something that you do over a period of time, visiting galleries
and exhibitions. For some new home-owners buying original art work
is prohibitively expensive. The alternative is high quality prints
or, better still, painting your own!
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