Thursday, July 13, 2006
High class interiors at low cost
"When we first moved into our house, we felt out of place, as if we were in somebody else's house," says Swathy Anand, a finance analyst. A few changes were enough to make it attractive enough "even to win admiration from my friends."
She did not enlist the help of any interior designer. "I knew what I needed to do to make my home more appealing. We changed the colour of a few walls and softened the lighting and could see the difference right away," she says.
Low-cost interiors are not just for homes. Even small offices are embracing it. Manjula S., a company secretary, has this to say: "Initially, we wanted to spend a lot on interiors. But we made the place interesting for our customers and investors, spending only a little." She just bought a bunch of chic blinds for the windows and small desktop plants for each cubicle. They did wonders. "We added a few motifs on the wall later on."
V. Vinitha, interior designer, says that people can cut cost by opting for pine wood furniture instead of rose wood or teak wood. "Pine wood furniture is affordable and gives any room the same warmth as expensive varieties of rose wood and teak give."
The trend now is to have less furniture. Vinitha would suggest people to opt for minimal furniture. One could just throw a silk mat on the floor and add some square cushions in contrasting colours.
Flooring also has an important part to play. By opting for terracotta or mosaic, one can again cut down on the cost. Terracotta and mosaic are unique because of their texture. They seem a little unfinished and have a certain rawness that can be appealing to some. Maintenance is also easy.
With regard to furniture, Vinitha says that glass gives interiors a clean yet elegant look and does not cost much.
Anusha G., a housewife, says having low-cost interiors can be a project for the entire family. "When I was designing the interiors of my home, I involved even my children. We had a lot of fun, never mind that it took us more time to achieve the end result. But it was immensely satisfying."
She asked her children, Aakanksha (12) and Bhargav (7), to paint the walls of their rooms. "I gave them freedom to do what they wanted. But only after they understood that there would be no going back after that."
She did not enlist the help of any interior designer. "I knew what I needed to do to make my home more appealing. We changed the colour of a few walls and softened the lighting and could see the difference right away," she says.
Low-cost interiors are not just for homes. Even small offices are embracing it. Manjula S., a company secretary, has this to say: "Initially, we wanted to spend a lot on interiors. But we made the place interesting for our customers and investors, spending only a little." She just bought a bunch of chic blinds for the windows and small desktop plants for each cubicle. They did wonders. "We added a few motifs on the wall later on."
V. Vinitha, interior designer, says that people can cut cost by opting for pine wood furniture instead of rose wood or teak wood. "Pine wood furniture is affordable and gives any room the same warmth as expensive varieties of rose wood and teak give."
The trend now is to have less furniture. Vinitha would suggest people to opt for minimal furniture. One could just throw a silk mat on the floor and add some square cushions in contrasting colours.
Flooring also has an important part to play. By opting for terracotta or mosaic, one can again cut down on the cost. Terracotta and mosaic are unique because of their texture. They seem a little unfinished and have a certain rawness that can be appealing to some. Maintenance is also easy.
With regard to furniture, Vinitha says that glass gives interiors a clean yet elegant look and does not cost much.
Anusha G., a housewife, says having low-cost interiors can be a project for the entire family. "When I was designing the interiors of my home, I involved even my children. We had a lot of fun, never mind that it took us more time to achieve the end result. But it was immensely satisfying."
She asked her children, Aakanksha (12) and Bhargav (7), to paint the walls of their rooms. "I gave them freedom to do what they wanted. But only after they understood that there would be no going back after that."
# posted by mashup @ 12:33 AM 
