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SIZE DOES MATTER

For The Average New Zealander, The Pressure To Get Ahead Has Never Been Greater. Over The Past Decade Property Prices Have Been Through An Insane Growth Cycle, And Whilst This May Have Finally Begun To Level Off, If You Are In A Position To Purchase A New Home, Or Are Wanting To Sell, Space Is Everything. 

When Size Matters, What If We Can't Find The Space We Really Want? Or What If The Property We Live In, Or Are Choosing To Sell, Seems Too Small To Be Truly Appealing?

Perception Can Give Great Strength Or Weakness To How We View Everything In Life So If We Apply This To Interior Design, The Human Brain Is An Amazing Thing. The Way Our Eye Picks Up On Features And Colours Within A Space, Can Create Dysfunction Or Harmony. This Means We Have The Opportunity To Manipulate The Space Visually, Through Clever And Considered Interior Design Solutions, To Shift Our Perception To Believe & Feel The Space To Be Larger And More Ideal.

Turn Obstacles Into Opportunities: The Obstacle Of A Small Space Can Be Made Into An Opportunity To Beautify Your Home And Improve The Way You Feel And The Way You Live. Our Surroundings Impact Us Everyday, So Features Such As Ease Of Movement, A Spacious Feel, Good Lighting And Tidiness Improve Our Quality Of Life. There Are Many Ways To Allow A Room Or An Area Of A Home To Look And Feel Larger Than The Technical Dimensions Of The Floor Plan, And Superficial Renovating Is Often The Solution To This Dilemma.

Bathrooms Are One Of The Most Valuable Rooms To A Home. A Bathroom At Its Best, Adds High Value To A House Price, And As Our Daily Retreat, It Really Is Where We Begin And End Our Day. It Is A Place We Plan Our Day Ahead, Or Self Reflect As We Wind Down In The Evening. So Who Wouldn't Want This Space To Be Calming And Comfortable, Not Cluttered And Cramped? If You Are Considering Renovating This Key Room In Your Home, Or Designing A Bathroom For Your New Build, You Should Consider The Following Opportunities That Are Available To You: 

With A Small Or Even Medium Sized Room, It’s Important To Maximise The Surfaces Such As Floor, Walls And Ceiling. This Allows The Eye To Cast Across The Room And See Its True Scale. Fittings And Fixtures That Float Off The Floor, Such As Wall Hung Vanities And Toilets, Are Great Tricks To Make A Room Look More Spacious. In A Similar Manner And Increasingly More Popular Nowadays, Are Free Standing Baths Which Again Provide Less Interruption To The Small Space, And A Nicely Selected Bath Can Make A Huge Difference To How The Space Feels – A Touch Of Luxury.

When It Comes To Tiling, The Larger The Scale Of The Tile The Larger The Space Looks! Thin Grout Lines Allow For Clean Lines, And Reinforce Scale And Space, Just Make Sure Those Tile Joins Line Up! Large Scale Tiles And Continuous Flow Into The Shower Floor Base And Up The Walls, Gives The Smallest Of Rooms A Visual Upgrade Of Space. Try Tiling The Base Of The Shower At The Same Height As Floor Level Or Lower, With Modern Linear Drainage Systems, And Large Glass Shower Walls. It’s Easy To Choose A Shower Floor Tray – That May Be Slightly Cheaper In The Short Term, But To My Mind, Measuring The Value We Put On How We Feel In The Space We Inhabit Every Day, Outweighs A Small Cost Saving Here. 

If You Are Lucky Enough For Your Bathroom To Be Located Directly Under The Roof, You Can Consider Installing A Roof Window To Allow A Flood Of Natural Light Into Your Home. There Are A Number Of Options Available From Fixed Polycarbonate To A Higher Specification Such As Velux Windows – Some Of Them Even Close By Themselves On A Rain Sensor. By Installing One You Can Accentuate The Vertical Aspect Of The Room, And Also Connect The Relationship To The Outdoors. Most Of These Units Come With Retractable Blinds To Manage The Heat Gain On Those Hot Summer Days.

To Compliment The More Major Moves You Can Make In Redesigning Your Dream Bathroom, Consider Simplifying The Fixtures & Finishes. Remember, We Want To Create A Visually Relaxing Space, So Consider Colour Selections That Work Together, Or Classically Juxtapose Each Other. Be Selective About Where Exactly You Position Taps, Power Points, Door Stops And Lights. These Details When Done In A Considered Manner Will Not Distract Your Eye. Even If You Don’t Consider Yourself A Design Guru, I Believe Everyone Perceives Space On A Subconscious Level – And Can Tell When A Room Feels Right Or Wrong. Remember, Our Aim Is To Create A Space That Feels Balanced, Avoids Uncomfortable Junctions Of Materials And Colours, And Flows With A Feeling Of Comfort.

These Principles Can Be Easily Applied To Any Room In The House – Consider The Same Flooring Material Or Floor Colour Translating From The Kitchen Into Living And Onto Outdoor Areas. This In Itself, Tricks The Eye To See A Larger Space Overall. I Will Cover Off Colour Selection In An Upcoming Article, But For Now Have Some Fun, Take A Look Around Your Home And See Where Opportunities Exist To Improve The Space, And How You Live.