An independent reference on designing your own home and garden. We do not sell products or carry out works and are not connected with the previous website on this domain. Leave electrical work, remodeling and complex installation to professionals.
Ideas
Each zone of a home has its own job, and a good idea always grows out of that job, not out of a pretty picture. The living room brings the family together, the kitchen works, the bedroom calms, the entryway welcomes. The deck and the garden carry the house outdoors. Below is one idea for each zone: use them as a starting point and try them against your own plan.
A room works when it is clear what you do there and where your eye goes.
How this section works: we describe ideas by zone in general terms, without brands, models or costs. Check any idea against your own measured plan first.
One calm idea for each part of the house and garden.
Pick the main focal point, such as a window with a view, a wall of books or a fireplace, and turn the sofa toward it. Around it, create a few pools of light: a floor lamp by the armchair, a lamp by the shelf, soft lighting for the evening.
Draw the route from the fridge to the sink and the stove on the plan and make sure it does not cross the walkway into the room. The countertop needs its own light, or you will be cooking in your own shadow.
Keep the fewest things here and the calmest colors. A bed is easier to use when you can reach it from both sides, and the headboard needs its own switch or a reading light.
Plan the room for a growing child: open floor for play, furniture you can rearrange, walls you will not mind repainting. Always anchor tall cabinets and shelving to the wall so they cannot tip over.
This is the first impression of your home. A light wall, a mirror, a comfortable spot to sit down and take off your shoes, and good light by the door are enough. Anything you do not need every day is better kept out of sight.
A deck links the house and the garden, so it is worth continuing the interior materials outside: the same wood tone, similar textiles, soft warm light. Think about where it is shaded on a hot day and where the wind comes from.
Look at the yard from the main living room window and from the kitchen: this is the view you will see every day. A handsome shrub, a bench or a flower bed in your line of sight does more than a far corner nobody looks at.
Light, color, textures, textiles and furniture as the building blocks of a design: what to look for when choosing. The article catalog is here too.
Stages from idea to works: the plan, a rough budget, the order of works and agreements with a contractor.
Archived address: how to plan your own plot, with zones, paths, flower beds, a rock garden and a pond.
The advice in this reference is general and based on material manufacturers' instructions and widely accepted safety rules for the home and garden. Check paint composition, installation methods and work requirements in the instructions for the specific material and with your building management, and leave electrical work, remodeling and complex installation to professionals.