A house or a home?

The abstract art against the bare white wall; the fine lighting; the Kashmere carpet; the centre piece; the ivy dangling from the stairway…all contribute to add character to the place that you call your home. When it comes to the choice of accessories, the market offers a whole load of options. The hard task is deciding on what’s best for your home.

Interior decorators insist that it’s safest to go by instinct in most cases, and not essentially by trends. The following tips may come in handy while deciding on the right look:

Colour: The colours that adorn your walls lay the foundation for the look of your house. While pastels and shades of white still rule the popularity chart, bright colours, stripes and spray are also being experimented with. For smaller rooms, it’s best to keep the same colour for doors, windows and walls. Contrasting colours for doors and windows highlight the size of the room. The choice of curtains and upholstery should also be made accordingly.

Furniture: The choice of furniture is primarily governed by the kind of space one has. Bulky ornate furniture would be out of place in smaller apartments. The trend of sliding doors and mountable furniture has caught on because it allows optimum utilisation of space. Engineering consultancies and architects these days also talk of larger column spans to enhance moving space within a building. Larger spaces definitely allow more scope to experiment. For smaller rooms, however, it’s best to stick to basic wooden or cane furniture that’s easy to move. For that ethnic look, a thick mattress on the floor with lots of colourful cushions, and possibly an indoor plant placed alongside, has been a well-worn formula.

Lighting: The lighting of the house is eventually what decides on the look and feel of your house. While choosing the lights for your home, it’s important to consider the size of your room, the furniture and the colours. It’s crucial to identify areas that you wish to highlight; and choose accordingly.

Accessories: These lend a fine touch to your home. From the wind chime to the painting on the wall or the terracotta statuette, accessories lend the definitive look. For the earthy appeal, straw mats, a cane stool, handloom upholstery, an ethnic wall-hanging or a jute hammock will do the trick. Similarly, those preferring a more modern appeal could go for matt-finished steel accessories complemented by subtle lighting. Rot iron has also caught the imagination of designers in a big way as they can be used for both the ethnic and the continental look.