About to embark on your renovation? We know how daunting that can be. Here’s some advice from interior designers to help address your most pressing renovation concerns.
Kitchen
Design: Distinct Identity
What is the key to a well-designed kitchen?
It’s all about balance. A well-designed kitchen contains a good mix of storage spaces and worktop spaces. In addition, the kitchen should have a well-organised spatial relationship between the cooking, washing and prepping zones, so that the space does not feel cramped. – Lee Chi Ho, Director, The Orange Cube
What considerations should I take if I want an open kitchen?
First, ask yourself if you love cooking often. Are you a heavy user for instance, full meals and dishes or pastries and light snacks? Should you be cooking full dishes, there may be heavy smokes and oil stains and this would directly affect your other living spaces, a light cook would have an easier time to manage the overall cleanliness. – Design team, Distinct Identity
Bathroom
Image credit: IKEA
What should I look out for when choosing floor and wall tiles for the bathroom?
Matte finish non-slip floor tiles are best in the bathroom as a safety issue. You can get creative with wall tiles with grain effects and patterns. However, if it’s a small area try not to have too much grain effects as it will make to area look cluttered and messy, but if you have a big panel wall this patterns or grind can be a accent wall to the bathrooms. – Aclester Lim, owner, Hue Concept
How can I make my bathroom room appear larger?
Use mirrors. Big and huge mirrors will give the effect of a spacious bathroom. The right kind of lighting is also a key factor to user experience in the bathroom. Bright lighting can actually make a small bathroom feel more spacious. – Trina Lim, Designer-Project Consultant, Darwin Interior
Living room
Design: Free Space Intent
What are some tricks I can use to make my living space seem larger?
Less built-in fixtures will make a small space look uncluttered, making it seem larger. But that that’s not mean you can’t have built-in storage in the living room. With a clever design, you can create some storage space in the room and have the best of both worlds. – Aclester
What are some tips for combining the living and dining rooms in one space?
With a combined living room and dining room, you still want to create distinct spaces within the whole. You can consider grouping some of the furniture in the center of the space without all of it being lined up against the wall. Keep all of the furniture on the same scale or you’ll create a lopsided effect and the rooms won’t flow into each other.
Painting all the walls the same color so the space flows together may be another easy alternative. Or choose two colors and use both of them in different quantities in each space. The whole space should have the same type of flooring. Decorate with accessories in similar colors and use the same design style. – Distinct Identity team
Bedroom
Image credit: The Secret Linen Store
What is the best way to keep a walk-in wardrobe organized?
Use hooks on the inside of cupboard doors to store accessories such as bags, ties, belts and scarves. Also, divide your drawers into segments to get so much more in them. If you have limited cupboard space but quite high walls, adjustable rods are a great idea. Simply move and slot in depending on what you’re hanging (and its height). This ensures you are using the entire space of the wall or cupboard. – Distinct Identity team
How do I make the most of a small bedroom if I want more storage space?
For children’s rooms, how about using a bunk bed? It takes up less space. You can also custom-build a bed frame with hidden storage underneath. Or buy drawers with casters to slide under a store-bought bed frame. If you have a bay window, you can also consider constructing a bed over the bay window, which helps you save on floor space. – Chi Ho
This was adapted from an article that appeared in the October 2015 issue of SquareRooms
