5 MISTAKES YOU SHOULD AVOID WHEN DESIGNING YOUR FIRST HOME
So I heard that you are getting your first home, congratulations! But let me tell you this, this is just the beginning. What awaits you next is a lot of challenges, especially throughout the design process. Poor design not only makes your home so much less comfortable, it also downgrades your living quality, putting your health at risk. Imagine coming back to your home and instantly feeling relaxed after a long day of work. It sounds really good, doesn’t it? So here are the TOP 5 common mistakes people make when designing their first home. Of course I will share some secret tips and tricks too! Let's get started!
I also discuss these 5 mistakes in this Youtube video here.
Mistakes NO. 1 : Aesthetic over practicality
Have you ever seen one of those viral interior design posts on facebook? Well, who doesn’t fancy a marble white kitchen top, plain white ceiling and walls. They just look so bright and spacious from the photos. Often when people design their first home, they want everything to look good, and neglect the practicality of it. Think about it, you are going to live in the house every single day, it is very important that your house not only look good, but also practical and requires low maintenance.
Other than aesthetics, you must be realistic. An all white palette throughout the house might look good, but it’s actually really hard to maintain over time. You will find the walls and countertop get yellowish, with stains and scratches all over, sometimes even mold growing on it.
Fact is they only look good for the first year if you’re not ready to pour in the effort to maintain them. So try to go for off-white colors, like grey or beige. Complement them with some earthy finishes like pale woods or cement screed. Also, you must take into consideration the weather at the site, the humidity etc and how difficult it is to keep clean, is the material easy to get stained or break? Make sure the design lasts as long as possible with low maintenance.
Mistakes NO. 2 : Neglecting the flow
Flow? What do you even mean? You might ask. Well, before we architects position the rooms, and define the spaces, we will first think of the routes. Meaning how the client is going to walk through the house, does this route fit his lifestyle? Flow is incredibly important especially in an open floor plan, where the position of the furniture can interrupt the flow too. Imagine carrying heavy grocery bags both hands and having to walk towards the end of the corridor to put everything in the kitchen. Or you will knock on the sofa legs every time you try to go through the door. How frustrating it is! This is why before you design your first home, make sure to walk through the spaces, and include your daily routine. Ideally, the kitchen should be placed near your garage or entrance. And big furniture like cabinets or sofas should not stand in your way, try to minimize the need to change directions when walking around the house and leave a clear walking path. It’d be better to move in and live for a few weeks before making any big renovation.
Mistakes NO 3 : Push everything against the wall
Most people are used to pushing sofas and cabinets against the wall, leaving a big space in the center. Where to place this furniture? Ah… just push it against the wall. Now look at this photo, where the sofa is pushed against the wall, the space shrinks and it feels so much smaller right?
But if you just pull the sofa slightly away from the wall, instantly the room looks like there is space to breathe, like what you see in this photo. Leaving gaps between furniture and walls makes the room feel airy and light, even in a small room, you can give your furnishing some space. There are many ways to position your furniture. It’s fun seeing how a slight switch can make the room have a totally different look.
Mistakes NO 4 : Overloading the space
When we step into a new space, most people instinctively think of filling every inch of the space with furniture. But sometimes it is better to leave some empty space, because too many furniture and decorative pieces can make the space feel suffocating and relatively small. You don’t need a wall full of picture frames or a space full of cabinets to make the space feel “finished”. As Mies van der Rohe once said, less is more. Figure out what’s necessary and what’s not. When we design our first home, we often get blinded by excitement, which leads to splurging on items that we do not find useful after a month or two. Remember, you can always add on the furniture after you move in the house. That way you will only buy what you really need. There’s absolutely no rush to buy all the furniture at once before moving in.
Mistakes NO 5 : Wasted rooms
The idea of having a game room, or a home gym might sound really exciting. However, the rooms often end up being the dumping ground, where all the unwanted stuff is stored. There were a few times when I visited my friend’s home gym, and saw they literally hung clothes on the treadmill! So here’s a tip, if you are planning to design a “fun” room, make sure that the room can be easily transitioned from one type to the next. For example, home cinema may get neglected over time. But if you can add a cozy sofa-bed and make the room double as a guest room will be a better use of space.
Deep down, we all crave a space where it feels cozy and safe. This is why a good design is so so so important, believe it or not, it makes a whole lot of difference! You will find yourself having a hard time relaxing if the space feels overwhelming, but in another space which is beautifully crafted, you feel calm and peaceful the moment you enter the zone.