Design Trends 2021

Apartment Living Chronicles Part 4

With home now so much more than just our base, we feel the time is ripe for applying some of 2021’s styling trends into the rooms where you are spending the majority of your life. If now isn’t the time to give your home a new lease of life, I don’t know when is. Not only will the addition of some new pieces revitalise your spaces, but the latest trends will create a sense of peaceful harmony that we all need at the moment. 

When choosing something new, focus on instilling balance and calm into your spaces. Almost all the world’s leading styling trendsetters are tending closer to the organic, sculptured and subtle than ever before. Colours are warm, soothing, natural and gentle on the eye – beige and bisque are no longer boring, the softest shell pinks and sage greens make the heart sing and the occasional forest green and charcoal grey can be introduced to create depth. 

Mindful shopping is very much 2021, with designers recommending buying local, organic and sustainable materials where possible. And bring the outside in with indoor plants that will soften and lighten the atmosphere in any room and boost its oxygen content. Even if you don’t have a large budget, it is amazing the difference a few well-placed plants and some new sculptural homewares can make to your space. 

Soft, subtle paint colour is featuring on walls, with skirtings, cornices and door and window frames in a crisp white or exposed timber. Brush Box with its pinkish hue, and the blonde shades of Ash and Oak timber are featuring heavily in the best designers’ repertoires as are natural stone and blown glass. Heavy, natural textures in furnishing are being used to up the organic factor. Wallpaper is making a comeback, especially of the textured, botanical or impressionist varieties. 

Furniture pieces appear sculpted and create incidental works of art in the home. Curved wood is design of the day, along with tan leather and anything that looks as though it could integrate into a landscape with ease. Vintage and antique pieces are being employed to add character, particularly Mid Century Modern. These pieces also avoid the over designed look where everything is new. 

So give your home a warm, soft, relaxing lift by introducing some of these ideas into your space. 

SPRING CLEAN YOUR HOME - AND YOUR HEAD

There’s nothing like spring to motivate us to clean up our act on the domestic front. But why not use the down time provided by human winter social hibernation to get in early and be Spring-prepared. Depending on the state of your domestic affairs, this will either seem like a very doable weekend activity or a task of monumental (and non-achievable) proportions. Either way, you can nail this. No matter how daunting, you can stay positive by thinking in baby steps.

However if you feel like tackling this head on, get out your pen and paper and do a home-wide reconnaissance. Go from room to room, and take note of dusty shelves, desktops etc; grimy marks on walls, doors and cupboards; any mould on walls and ceilings; cluttered drawers, wardrobes and cupboards that need tidying; old dusty, fraying cushions and any sheets or towels that need replacing. Don’t forget to look up high if you want to do an excellent job of this – think tops of doorframes and paintings, ceiling smears and for heaven’s sake, don’t miss the upper areas of your kitchen. Seems like that’s taking it too far, just wait till you get up there and see the s*&t on top of the cupboards and range hood. You’ll want it gone, believe me. And don’t forget windows… clean windows make your house look so much better and have the added benefit of letting in more light.

Are you feeling a bit overwhelmed? Don’t fret, once you actually start to tick off this list, you will find that not only does your house begin to feel miraculously cleaner and clearer, but so does your head. So just tackle what you can, when you can. If you don’t like to work alone, get help. Enlist the help of a friend by trading a yummy home cooked dinner for some elbow grease. Pump up the music and think of it as a workout. It’s amazing how much muscle you can build with hard labour around the house. Finally have a reward in mind for the day you have your house spick and span again.

Maybe an hour massage, movie and dinner, delux mani-pedi – or for those with higher expectations and a bigger budget – a day spa or weekend away. Whatever it is, after your hard work you’ll be able to look forward to some R&R and then return to your pristine home to greet Spring head on.
PS If you can afford it, have your carpet steam cleaned and if you live high up, have professional cleaners come and clean the outside of your windows. You won’t believe the difference.

GREEN THERAPY - THE ART OF APARTMENT GARDENING

Whether your outdoor area consists of a small balcony, a courtyard, a side passageway or no outdoor area whatsoever, you can beautify your world and fill your air with oxygen by creating a garden that’s right for you and your lifestyle. Start with potential spots to place plants and work out whether you require containers. Is the spot sunny or shady, is it outdoors or inside. Don’t overlook windowsills. These make wonderful mini gardens which can serve to enhance an otherwise bland outlook.

For a balcony, you’ll need pots or planter boxes. You may already know you favourite plants and what suits sunny or shady spots, but you may be a gardening novice in which case you need help from the experts if you want to be sure that what you buy actually lives and, even better, thrives. Your local gardening centre will have a great assortment so it can be quite overwhelming. Approach the hopefully friendly staff and let them know your requirements and they will be (almost) sure to point you in the right direction. From there you can choose what appeals to you aesthetically but don’t forget to use your olfactory capabilities and have a good sniff. Beautiful scents can enhance your environment substantially.

Don’t overlook unattractive walls that can be beautified with creepers. Bougainvillea grows brilliantly in direct sunlight and is gorgeous to behold. Chinese Wisteria, White Potato Creeper, Clematis and Madagascar and Star Jasmine are also gorgeous and grow profusely. If you want substantial growth, buy a planter box and insert trellis behind it and with a little care, you will have a verdant vertical garden in no time.

Edible gardens are very motivating. If you can look forward to adding fresh, home-grown produce to your meals, you will be likely to want to care for them to reap the rewards. Generally speaking, a sunny spot is required. If you have a courtyard or exposed ground area in your apartment, you can go to town with this. Balconies and window sills also yield great results. Herbs are so easy to grow and tend to just keep on keeping on. My favourites are parsley, mint, rosemary, basil, coriander, dill and chives. Certain fruits and vegetables are also hardy and grow pretty easily – tomatoes and peas (again have a bit of trellis for these), lettuce, strawberries, raspberries, spring onions and garlic.

Purely indoor gardens are possible no matter how much sun you get. They add colour, scent and oxygen and make you and your home healthier. Potted plants can be placed on floors, window sills, shelves or pot plant stands, or suspended from a ceiling hook in pot plant holders. Always make sure you have a ceramic pot plant saucers or sandstone with a cork bottom under the pot to avoid staining surfaces. Cyclamens, African violets, polyanthus and orchids are gorgeous things and bloom beautifully. If you prefer to stick to green, Madonna lilies love the indoors and bless you with the occasional white flower, then Devil’s ivy, Philodendrum, succulents and rubber plant also grow fantastically well indoors. So get out your gardening gloves and head to your closest nursery and let the fun begin!

Images sourced on Pinterest

SHORT ON SPACE?

Just think smart and you’ll feel like you’re living large.

Studio living is an increasingly growing prospect for people who are needing to scale down their living space size to accommodate the increasing cost of real estate in Sydney. But there are studios and there are studios. Just like any property, the variation in size and layout is extensive. Ideally, a studio has a large main room, a balcony, separate kitchen and bathroom, and a car space if you are very very lucky.

White always makes a space seem larger, so paint walls white throughout to create a clear canvas to work with. Use bold colours to brighten and liven the space. Ideally you will have lots of light in your apartment, and this also creates a greater sense of space. Having a balcony off the main room really extends the living area. Take advantage of the extra floor space and place a table and chairs out there so you can dine al fresco whenever weather permits. Place plants on planter racks on the wall to maximise floor area. A pot plant in the corner is fine as this is usually dead space anyway and it is important to bring life to your living.

There are ingenious ways to deal with transforming the space from living to bedroom. Try getting a couch that has moveable sections so you can create a couch by day and a bed by night. Consider a fold out table attached to the wall and wall mounted hooks for chairs, so when you want to dine or work on a computer, you can set everything up simply and easily, then when you don’t need a table, you have an open floor space.

If there are window sills, take advantage of them to put on potted plants. Also an indoor plant in a floor pot is a great idea to beautify your home and create more oxygen, just make sure you have a waterproof mat under it if you are placing it on carpet. With bathrooms and kitchens, again, white and bright is the way to go. If you have windows in both, you are really in luck as this creates more of an open feel. Cupboard space is often limited so think attractive and practical storage units from Ikea or Howards. So with close attention to detail and thinking outside the square, a studio can feel spacious.

Images sourced via Pinterest

GET COZY FOR WINTER

With winter upon us, now is the time to prepare your home (and mind) for the chilly months ahead. Many of us are not great fans of this cold season and just want it to pass as quickly as it comes upon us. But getting winter-ready allows you to make the most of the shorter days and actually start to look forward to them.

Firstly, think cosy. Look at your stock of blankets and throws and if they just don’t seem up to another stint, then out with the old, in with the new, I say! Check out the gorgeously sumptuous new ranges of snuggly blankies at your local homeware stores and chose your favourite colour. Now is not the time to hold back in the colour department. Winter is dull in itself, so brighten your world. If some of your old blankets are salvageable, then wash them according to instructions with Eucalyptus oil and they will be dust-mite free and literally ready to roll. A word to the allergy-prone, though… avoid wool like the plague as this is one of the rare occasions where synthetic is better, for your breathing anyway.

If you’re feeling particularly decadent, go for fur. Personally I only go for fake, but I won’t preach, it’s up to you. Having said that, check out the faux fur rugs at Temple & Webster. Then building on the decadent theme, imagine cosy nights to come, cuddled up in your throw, curled on the rug with beautiful scented candles and the odd ambient lamp light glowing tranquilly. Then add to this a partner, or a book, or a glass of glühwein (or all three if you are greedy) and Bob will most certainly be your uncle. (By the way, that is honestly how you spell gluevine – the German spiced wine that was made for winter nights.)

On a more practical note, (sorry to drag you away from the previous mental picture) check your windows and doorways for draughts. So much of the heat in a home is lost through tiny cracks and crevices. In the case of windows, rolling self-adhesive weather-stripping (felt, vinyl, rubber or silicone) down the side of a window works wonders. Where gaps are around non-moveable places, window and door frames for example, use some gap filler (caulk) and a caulking gun. And for under draughty doorways, you can’t go past a good door snake. Again venture into colourful territory here. Please note, if renting, you’ll need permission to put on the weather stripping and gap filler, so be safe, not sorry, and ask first.

Back to beautification, make sure you have a few indoor plants that will add colour and oxygen. Cyclamens, African violets, polyanthus and orchids are gorgeous things and bloom beautifully throughout winter. If you prefer to stick to green, Madonna lilies love the indoors and bless you with the occasional white flower, then Devil’s ivy, Philodendrum and rubber plant grow fantastically well indoors. Also many herbs will grow on a sunny window sill and can be added to your hearty winter dishes. For walls, search on-line for an uplifting print (try The Print Emporium for heavenly pieces.) All you need now is some great food and wine – non-alcoholic cocktails even better – and you’ll be wishing winter would never end.

Images sourced on Pinterest