Décor and Design Themes
If you are overwhelmed by all the options out there and simply can't make up your mind about a theme or motif for your space, cut out or save images that pique your interest. These images can be taken from your favorite magazines, websites, fashion blogs or sometimes even simply a pattern on the side of a building that struck you on the way home. These can all provide the inspiration necessary for forming a design aesthetic. Inspiration can literally be found from anywhere; just keep your eyes open and as long you've got images that show color, texture, shape, or any design element, these can be used to form the building blocks for a theme for your new home.
An important mantra to repeat is this: Do not be afraid of color. Coming out of a decade of dark wooden floors and cream sofas, a lot of people seem to think of monochrome as the epitome of chic or find bright splashes of colors too daring or extreme. Nothing can be further from the truth! The most modern and well-designed homes we have seen recently all embrace color and prints. One of the hottest combinations right now are red and orange. Together, they evoke a slow siesta spent in the warm sunshine of a Catalan summer; careful use of lighting and fittings will ensure the combination does not remind you of your neighborhood shisha den.
In our sweltering summers, nothing is more relaxing than entering a room decked out in the cooling tones of greens and blues. Combined with neutral tones which encourage a loftiness to any space, it is entirely possible to create an indoor haven. We have enough depressing grays and dark tones from the pollution here in Hong Kong, don't bring it inside our homes, too.
Another leftover from the era of wooden floors and cream sofas are blandly painted walls that never dared to go a shade beyond vanilla. Why surround yourself with such mediocrity? The hottest trend right now in home decor are wallpapers: art-deco metallic prints; fuschia ones stenciled with retro animals; anything goes! Altfield stocks a beautiful range of very much in-vogue printed wallpapers from brands such as Nina Campbell, Maya Romanoff and Manuel Canovas. Or get some inspiration from the Wallpaper Collective (www.wallpapercollective.com), there is no way you will be able to look at a gray painted wall the same way again.
