A WORK in progress in Zenna's home. PHOTO SUPPLIED
CREATING a whole new look in your home doesn’t mean you have to throw everything out and start from scratch.
Grandad’s painting or grandma’s china set can have just as much of an impact as the brand new items you’ve been influenced by social media to purchase – and they’ll be more special too.
Te Kūiti interior designer Zenna Boroevich said people often feel like they can’t use their own things in new builds.
The solid colours of new builds (the classic grey and white we have seen so often recently) can be done well and look amazing, Zenna said, but they can also flip the other way and feel stark and unwelcoming.
“It’s just about having some of your own history to put in it, or gathering things that you can get from thrift shops, Trade Me, Facebook Marketplace, there’s so many places you can get pieces of furniture or knick knacks that have already got a history.”
One way to do neutrals well was to utilise layering.
Even if all the layers were in different neutral shades with one colour that tied it all together, it creates a visual interest that combats our association of flat white with sterile environments.
For example, building a living room centre piece from the ground up: a rug with a slight or bright pattern (depending on the rest of the room), a coffee table whether round, rectangular, square, wooden or glass; and a tray on top creates three layers of visual interest.
Pop a vase on top with flowers or perhaps a pot plant, your favourite book and some candles.
Zenna said she didn’t mind putting some new objects into someone’s home, but she thought the key to having a comfortable home was to have character objects, whether they were something you already owned or something you bought new.
“I just prefer things that have been well-loved, worn, chippy, peeling paint, unusual pieces.
“I also love colour, but you’ve got to be careful about that too; you can go over the top.”
Texture was an important part of styling a home. Beautiful linens, ‘squishy things’ and rugs were top of Zenna’s list.
A rug goes a long way to ground a room and define a space, which is vital in large and open plan rooms.
“Even with open plan, you need to define the space. You’re creating invisible walls around the space, like your dining, lounge and anything else attached to those areas.
“It’s got to flow and make sense, but it’s got to be individual spaces in each one.
“I think if I was doing that, I would have just one colour on the wall, have another colour that grounds it, and then start bringing in elements of texture and colour that marries in with the rest of it.”
Zenna’s key piece of advice for small rooms was not to clutter it with too many small items.
It might sound counterintuitive, but large decorative pieces balance the space better.
“Rather than having a small mirror and lots of little pieces around it, you’d be better to have a big mirror, depending on what’s reflected into it.
“Mirrors can make a space look bigger.”
If you’re dead set on having lots of things hanging on your wall – say an art collection or your family photos – frame them all in the same colour.
“It can be a mixture of stuff, but it’s got to have some structure.”
Picking the right furniture for a small space is important.
Zenna recommended one sofa and an occasional chair or two, a rug and a coffee table.
It’s an easy mistake to buy lots of little things as you find them, without knowing where you’ll put them in your small room.
“Quite often I’ll say pack those things away in a box and then see if you really miss them. And if you completely forget about them, you don’t actually need them.”
Of course, precious items are an exception to that rule.
To get your inherited items out of the cupboard and on display, arrange them in collections.
For example, Zenna has a collection of white Crown Lynn jugs all on display together in one shelving unit.
In another part of her home, she has Russian nesting dolls on display.
“They’re all together so they make sense.”
For those who own their home or have understanding landlords, painting is a cost-effective way of changing and freshening a room.
Most beautifully styled homes have some type of foliage in them, whether that be plants, flowers or branches. They’re what Zenna calls ‘softables.’
Framing your front door with pot plants is a great way to guide people into your home, especially if you don’t have a defined entranceway once you’re inside.
Zenna called the entrance the beginning of your journey into someone’s home and it’s an opportunity to showcase your personal style.
Some rectangular homes don’t have a dedicated entrance, for example, if you step straight into your lounge or kitchen.
In those cases Zenna said it was about making a vista or a visual focus, like a bold light fitting, a piece of art, or interesting furniture that is the first thing you see.
If something isn’t right but you can’t put your finger on it, take a photo of your space and look at it critically.
You’re often so used to seeing it with your own eyes that you can’t see what’s not working.
