Life Style | January 13, 2022

10 key Interior Design problems & solutions you need to know

Interior Design problems & solutions

Meta Description: How do you know that you nailed your home interiors? Is there a certain rule involved? Or is it just intuition? Or maybe both? Let’s find out.

Introduction

“Great” interior design is a ‘feeling’ involving a myriad of principles! It may be subjective, but all great designs share one common trait: they all triumph in effectively balancing and incorporating the various key principle factors that affect interior design, such as balance, rhythm, harmony, emphasis, proportion and scale.

Is it too overwhelming? Let’s look at interior design problems and solutions.

Whether you’re finding your signature style or contemplating a top-to-bottom home makeover, try to align all 6 elements in your design.

For a full run-down, check out our article explaining the 10 common challenges of interior design.

1. Compact Chaos – Working With Small Spaces

The Challenge: Faced with a small space but wished it could be bigger? Fret not, it can be achieved with a few adjustments.

The Solution: If you are not considering an expansion then your main focus should be to create illusions to make the space appear larger. You can accomplish this by –

  • Using light and pastel colours.
  • Installing glossy textures that can reflect lighting.
  • Using all-in-one storage systems and multifunctional furniture – such as desks with layers of drawers.
  • Optimising your space through cleverly placed cupboards, foldaway tables and chairs.
  • Try to allow as much natural light as possible, in addition to fixing some accent lighting around the room.

2. Renovation – Outdated Features

The Challenge: Your home has some features that look like they are still trapped in the 1950s. How can you revamp and give your home a more chic and modish feel?

The Solution: If you do not have the liberty to remove the features entirely, you will have to find ways to include modern statements seamlessly. Like –

  • Add reflective and smart-looking wardrobe.
  • Instal stylish pendant lights.
  • Place nested coffee tables for the edge.
  • Add biophilic design elements.
  • Mount your TV.
  • Bespoke built-ins and furniture tailored to your exact needs can justify every valuable square footage.
  • Add eclectic artwork in small spaces to add heaps of personality.

3. Low Ceilings – Yay or Nay?

The Challenge: If you are stuck with low-ceiling rooms and feel like they are cramping the style altogether, here are few ways to make your walls appear taller and more expansive.

The Solution:

  • Use vertical patterns – Elongated squiggles or painted stripe motif on the walls work every single time.
  • All white from flooring to ceiling – Nothing quite opens up a space like white! By adding white colour, you instantly create an illusion of height that’s not actually present.
  • Add a life-size lavish mirror – The power of a large mirror is absolutely stunning! This feature allows the light to reflect and bounce around the space, creating an illusion of an enlarged room.

4. Clunky Accessories – Quality Over Quantity

The Challenge: Your decor just feels so cluttered or disjointed with the rest of the room. How do you streamline the space?

The Solution: Accessories create the first impression, so make it count! Without accessories, your space will be left looking dull and staid. However, if you hoard your home with a ton of accessories the visual aesthetics will be a gimcrack!

The Do’s

  • Mix bright pops of colour to an all-white wall.
  • Blending up old elements with new ones makes for an interesting space.
  • Add textures with the help of cushions, rugs, table centrepieces, and plants to visually lift the space.
  • Explore shapes and scales – Different scaled artwork with funky frames adds life to the space.

The Dont’s

  • Try not to jumble your spaces with meaningless objects.
  • Do not choose garish colours and patterns otherwise, you will end up with tacky decor.
  • Try not to spread out too many accessories within a small space as it will water down the visual impact and make your room look cramped.

5. Exposed Pipes And Panels

The Challenge: Pipes and panels aren’t going anywhere! So how do you hide them seamlessly without breaking the functionality?

The Solution: Instead of trying to block the feature, accentuate them to your favour!

  • Make the pipes stand out in a chic manner by painting them, copper. This has been a trendsetter for quite some time.
  • Use Decorative pipe covers like ropes or fake foliage.

6. Storage Concerns – Maskup The Mess

The Challenge: You need a large storage compartment without it being awkwardly exposed.

The Solution: Rather than choosing conventional floor-to-ceiling cabinets, you can go horizontal. One interesting way to do this is by raising the entire floor to build a storage platform. You can use this space for stacking bulky items. Another way is to conceal the built-in cupboards or nooks with decorative panels so they can look like a feature wall.

7. Improper Furniture Placement

The Challenge: Out-of-scale furniture is creating an unattractive and overcrowded feel in your house.

The Solution: The dimensions of your furniture should relate to the size of your room. Trying to cram too many furnishings can easily overwhelm the space. To avoid this, pick a handful of quality, less cumbersome and low-profile pieces that fill the area while leaving plenty of open space.

8. Poorly Matched Color-Scheme

The Challenge: Which colour suits your home interior the best?

The Solution: Colours can make or break the entire ambience of the room. Before committing to a colour keep these points in view.

  • Never paint your walls first and then try to add furnishings and fabrics. This may fail miserably as they do not end up matching.
  • Always think in colour families, ie., have a fixed colour palette and a theme.
  • When in doubt, choose white as a filler!

9. Tiny Picture Windows

The Challenge: A clumsy picture window is placed in the centre of the wall.

The Solution: Here are some quick fixes:

  • Treat the window with bigger curtains that almost reach the floor.
  • You can experiment with frosted glass films or textured materials.
  • Layer it with a valance for a grand look.

10. Empty Walls

The Challenge: Blank stares at blank walls!

The Solution:

  • Textured treatment – Add hand-moulded plaster on the wall.
  • Tile up – Place vintage custom tiles to prove that your walls can be anything you want them to be.
  • Play with proportions – Frames of various shapes and sizes.
  • Add a workspace – Make your empty wall a WFH office by installing a wall-mounted desk.
  • A black-and-white photograph bores none!

Irrespective of what sort of design challenges you face, we have our expert designers at Aertsen to help you out with utmost patience!