Design your own space

It is great to design your own space, to make a space fully functional to suit your lifestyle. Good design starts by thinking how you will function in the space – visually, physically and emotionally. And also think what will not work in the space. Design is a thought process, a skill, a tool to enhance our humanity. It takes time.

If you have a space to design; and this can be a neglected room, a new addition to your house or apartment, a new rental or a newbuilt, whatever the case may be for you, have a look at the ideas I give before you start.

Before you start designing a new space:

Think what the space will be used for. Will it be a guest bedroom, will it be another living space, will it become a study for all those working from home now? Think hard and long how you want the space to work. Good design starts with thinking how we function in our spaces. And take your time.
Think about the principles of design to understand the space: for example the balance, contrast, dominance, proportion, scale and rhythm to help you make the practical decisions. So when thinking of proportion it is important that you have to be aware of the relationship between the elements to each other and also in the room.
There are many different virtual room designers online which you can use, like roomsketcher, and livingspaces.
You can also find inspiration on design on Youtube tutorials and pinterest.
When you’ve made those decisions, decide what is necessary for the space. Does it need furniture, lights, another floor, a fresh coat of paint, soft furnishings or what?
Get the best from materials by using opposites, for example rough material feels more rough when it sits next to something smooth. Don’t be afraid to use colour and pattern in your design.
Now you are ready to put a mood board together.

A mood or concept board are created at the beginning of a design project. This will then in effect express the mood or the concept of a design, an idea or philosophy. This is what I was taught during my studies at the IDAI (Interior Design Academy of Ireland).

To put it into your own words: a mood or concept board does not show specific samples of materials or furniture. It is a very important tool to express the mood, the concept or the feeling on which the proposed design will be based on.

On this board each image must reflect your jumping off point and mood, because you will refer back to it during the entire design process.

Here are a few mood boards I made for clients. This really helped them to see the space visually. I also talk about the use of mood boards in a previous blog.