Business

  • Blogging, Business

    How we create timeless interiors combining elegance and practicality

    Have you ever walked into a furniture showroom that displays beautiful pieces only to think they don’t tick your practical needs which are unique to your family? Or maybe you are catching a glimpse of the current trends but have a niggling feeling in a year or two they will look dated? 

    Here’s 5 ways we ensure our designs are timeless, elegant and practical all at the same time, standing the test of time. 

    Efficient space planning: We create layouts that utilises the structure of your rooms effectively using our extensive knowledge on the furniture sizes and types available on the market. Designating zones for different activities, if you need your rooms to be multifunctional, ensures that the space is practical for various purposes, maintaining both practicality and aesthetics.

    Streamlined design elements: Focusing on clean lines, clutter-free design and cohesive colour palettes will create an elegant and pleasant environment ensuring timeless rooms you’ll carry on loving. We incorporate smart storage solutions that keep essential items organised and out of sight, preserving the visual serenity of the space without compromising on your daily needs. 

    Purposeful furniture selection: We select furniture pieces that not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of the space but also serve a functional purpose after speaking to you about your current and future needs. Incorporating multifunctional furniture, such as storage ottomans or bedside tables with storage for example helps maximise utility without compromising on elegance.

    High-quality materials: We look high and low among online and high-street retailers for durable and high-quality products that offer both a luxurious feel and longevity without compromising on the design. We propose items that are not only visually appealing but also easy to maintain, aligned with your practical needs and within your budget. 

    Lighting harmony: We design with a thoughtful lighting scheme that balances ambient, tasks, and accent lighting. Proper lighting enhances the functionality of the space while also highlighting design elements that contribute to the overall elegance. This will support you in setting the mood you want to achieve throughout the day and evening. We do this with flexibility so you can have full control over the tone you want to set for different occasions and use of your rooms. By incorporating these concepts into the design process, we can create interiors that resonate with your sophisticated tastes while also catering to your practical needs, resulting in spaces that effortlessly blend elegance and functionality in a timeless manner. Rooms you will keep falling in love with for the years to come. 

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  • Blogging, Business

    Designing multifunctional spaces for families to balance work and life at home

    Given that work-life balance has become an integral part of our lives in recent years, it is fair to say our homes have a harder job to do in supporting us balance seamlessly whilst providing comfort. 

    Here’s how we create versatile and multipurpose rooms that cater to both work and relaxation, addressing the needs of working families.

    Efficiency in space utilisation: With demanding careers and busy family schedules, everyone needs spaces that can effectively transition between work and personal time with your loved ones. A well-designed multifunctional room optimises every part of the space, ensuring that both work-related tasks and family activities can coexist harmoniously whenever you switch between the two. 

    Maximising productivity: With a somewhat blurred line between working from home and living at home, we now require a dedicated workspace that fosters concentration and productivity. A thoughtfully designed multipurpose room ensures a dedicated area for focused work that’s equipped with the right furniture, storage and lighting to set the work tone, so your efficiency and environment aren’t compromised. 

    Flexible work-life balance: Between juggling meetings, deadlines, and family commitments, you need a thought-through space that can transform to suit your day, evening and weekend needs. A versatile design will allow this to switch from a professional setting for video calls to a cosy atmosphere for spending quality time with family, all within the same room.

    Stress reduction: A carefully crafted design will support a multipurpose room in reducing stress and forging a clear separation between work and relaxation. Having designated zones within the same space will help you mentally shift gears, allowing you to unwind after a demanding day without the constant reminder of pending tasks. 

    Enhancing family togetherness: When you cherish quality time with family, it’s important to get the multifunctional room just right. This can be done by accommodating individual and shared activity needs. Whether it’s a place to read, practice hobbies, or engage in family games, a well-designed space promotes bonding time and enriches the memories you create. The key to designing successful multipurpose spaces lies in understanding your unique needs, the lifestyle you wish to forge and creating an environment that seamlessly supports this, enabling you to balance work, family, and relaxation effortlessly.

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  • Blogging, Business

    3 essential ingredients that are vital for crafting functional and stunning spaces

    For every project we work on, there are 3 essential ingredients that take us to outstanding results, bespoke to our clients and their home. That’s the layout, colour scheme and lighting and last but not least the furniture and décor. We work through these in this particular order so we can lay the foundations that takes our clients to the final and desired results.  

    Layout

    The right layout is crucial for any room because it directly impacts its functionality, aesthetics, flow and overall experience as you use the room on a daily basis. Here are some key reasons why:

     

      1. Optimal space usage: A well-planned layout ensures effective usage of the available space. It considers factors such as the room’s size, shape, and foot traffic flow, allowing for an arrangement that maximises functionality and minimises wasted space. No dead space, no over crowed areas.

      1. Functionality: The layout determines how easily people can move within the room and access its various elements. A thoughtful arrangement takes into account the room’s purpose, the members of the family and their abilities and the activities that will take place within it, ensuring that furniture, lighting, appliances, and other elements are positioned to facilitate a good flow, accessibility, and usability.

      1. Visual balance: The layout plays an important role in achieving visual balance within a room. It considers the placement of furniture, decor, and architectural features to create a pleasing composition. A well-balanced layout can enhance the overall aesthetics of the room, making it appealing, welcoming and cosy.


      1. Mood and atmosphere: The layout influences the mood and atmosphere of a room. By carefully arranging furniture, lighting, and other design elements, a well-designed layout can create a desired ambience, whether it’s cosy and intimate, open and airy, or functional and productive.

      1. Furniture size: The layout will help determine the correct size of furniture you will need for the room so you don’t have to make mistakes in purchasing pieces that are too big or too small. This will save you from regrets and cut back on the overwhelm when looking at all the choices. It will help narrow down the options quickly.   

    Colour scheme and lighting

    Deciding on a colour scheme and the types of lighting you need will help hone into a style that’s cohesive and well brought together. Here are some key aspects as to how:

     

      1. Establishes mood and atmosphere: Colours have the power to evoke emotions and set the mood within a room. They can create various atmospheres, such as calm and serene, vibrant and energetic, or sophisticated and elegant. By carefully selecting a colour scheme that aligns with the desired mood and atmosphere as well as how you want to feel in each space, you can create spaces that evoke specific emotions and enhances the overall experience for you and your guests.

      1. The right lighting for your use: Observing how much natural light you are receiving, and when you are using a room will allow you to decide whether you need additional lighting and most importantly, the type of lighting you’ll need. Think about what’s lacking in order to decide on what needs to be brought in newly. Do you need soft and low lighting for your evening reads? Do you need bright and flooding lighting for craft?

      1. Brings everything together with cohesiveness: A well-thought-out colour scheme helps to create visual cohesion and unity within a space. By coordinating colours throughout different elements such as walls, furniture, window dressings, flooring, and accessories, you can achieve a harmonious and balanced look. A cohesive scheme ties the design elements together creating a well-designed interior.


      1. Defines style and/or themes: Colours play a crucial role in defining the style and theme of an interior design. Whether you aim for a modern, traditional, minimalist, or eclectic style, the colour scheme can reinforce and accentuate that particular aesthetic.

      1. Impacts perception of a space: Colours can visually alter the perception of a space. Lighter colours tend to make a room feel more spacious and airier, while darker colours can create a more intimate and a cosy atmosphere. By understanding the principles of colour psychology and applying them to your scheme, you can manipulate the perception of space and create the desired effect.


      1. Highlights architectural features: A well-chosen scheme can emphasize and enhance the architectural features of a space. By using contrasting or complementary colours, you can draw attention to focal points, highlight interesting details, or create visual depth and dimension.


      1. Personal expression: Your colour scheme can reflect your taste and personality. Colours can communicate specific messages and create a distinct identity for a space or a business premises. Whether it’s a residential project or a commercial space, the scheme can be used to express personality and purpose.

    Furniture and décor

    Last but not least, the furniture and décor. This is what’s going to complete your interiors and give you that sense of home, cosiness and comfort. Here’s how it helps to select the right ones:

     

      1. Functionality and comfort: The right furniture ensures the room serves its purpose effectively and brings great comfort. By selecting furniture that works hand in hand with your layout and scheme, you’ll enhance the usability of the space. Comfortable seating, properly sized tables, and functional storage solutions contribute to a comfortable and inviting environment.

      1. Visual Appeal: Furniture and decor significantly impact the overall aesthetics of a room. The style, design, and materials of furniture and decorative elements can create a specific look and make the space homely making it visually pleasing. They serve as key elements that add character to the space.

      1. Space optimisation: The right furniture and decor choices ensure efficient use of the available space. By selecting appropriately sized furniture and decor items, you can prevent overcrowding or wasted areas. Well-planned placement and arrangement of furniture can create a harmonious flow and make the room feel spacious, open, and inviting all while addressing your practical needs.

      1. Coherence and unity: Good selection of furniture and decor helps establish coherence and unity within the room. By considering the overall design concept, colour palette and style, you can ensure furniture and decor pieces will complement each other, creating a cohesive visual composition. This coherence contributes to a well-designed and harmonious environment.

      1. Personalisation and expression: Furniture and decor choices allow for self-expression. They offer an opportunity to showcase individual style, preferences, and interests. Selecting items that resonate with you and your taste helps create a space that feels uniquely yours and reflects your identity.

      1. Quality and durability: Investing in quality furniture and decor ensures their longevity and durability. Choosing items made from durable materials from reputable retailers means they will withstand daily use and maintain their functionality and aesthetic appeal over time. This will saves money in the long run by avoiding frequent replacements or repairs.

    These really are the fundamental ingredients to a well-designed home that supports your home life. 

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  • Business

    Why I started KaVaRa Interior Design

    Unlike many in my industry, I didn’t have a background in interiors. In fact, I was working in the city for a tech company within the media and marketing field. 

    My husband and I bought a family home that was a project. We spent more or less a year with the renovations. Once the builders were finished and the dust settled, we realised we had another large task at hand before we could enjoy our home, which was to furnish our place. It looked nice but empty, bland and boring. We were both working full time and had two children by then with a busy life so you can imagine the sigh at the thought of more house related work.  

    We wanted to make our place special. After all, this is where we wanted to raise our children. I knew we didn’t have have so much time in our hands to create something unique and comfortable. We were overwhelmed by the choices we saw. I knew we would run into several disagreements making the process lengthy and more painful. And let’s face it, we had spent a year moving in, not settling in properly due to the renovating and welcomed our second child in the middle of chaos, so thinking about adding more to our to-do list after the renovations were complete, was not easy.  

    My solution to this was to contact a few interior designers but we were met with disappointment. They all wanted budgets that were eye watering, none wanted to know our preferences and needs so it was apparent they were going to put their stamp in our home and no one could tell us how much their fee would be as they would charge hourly or a percentage of our total spend. 

    So, we created our own interiors very slowly, with pain and frustration. It took so long but we did it and were met with compliments. 

    That’s when the penny dropped. It was unfair that we needed the help of a professional designer but no service was available for our specific needs. I would have loved for an interior designer to be all ears about our aspirations and needs so they could use their expertise to meet our requirements. I would have appreciated an interior designer who could create a stunning and comfortable home for us, sourcing from places you and I know rather wanting to custom-make everything. I would have valued an interior designer who could tell me how much they would charge from the get-go so it’s easier to envisage the total investment of the project. I would have loved to be part of the creation process rather than have someone impose things on us and our home. So, I took the leap to give other families what we didn’t have. 

    Since launching KaVaRa Interior Design, we have remained true to these needs and we stand strong that a wide range of people can enjoy the benefits of a professional interior designer without compromises or walking into the unknown. We also believe in keeping our clients in the driving seat in the process of creating their dream interiors because after all, this is your home and we want you to feel welcome with open arms every time you walk through the door. For now, and the years to come. We want you to feel centered and proud of your home and what you have achieved. 

    If you wish to have interiors that lift your soul, book a discovery call today here so you can tell me about your aspirations, and I can tell how we can help you.

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