Transform Your Home with Milray Park, Australia’s Home of eDecorating
If you’ve ever built, renovated or even just moved into a new home, you’ll know that blank canvas feeling. Finally, the builders leave the house, the dust is swept away and that fresh-paint smell beckons your finishing touches – it’s all very exciting!
With so many options out there, however, the idea of decorating an entire home can be a little overwhelming and, and you may not know where to start. To help you add these oh-so-important finishing touches to your new space, we’ve asked a couple of interior designers from Milray Park, Australia’s Home of eDecorating, to share their best interior design tips. With the ideas below, your revamp will be completed in no time.
Feature Walls
“Colour and pattern add an instant wow factor to any interior,” says Julianne Bull, Milray Park interior designer. “Wallpaper is a great way to achieve this, whether it’s textured, bright or a sophisticated subdued print. There’s a huge range on the market and it’s much easier to apply than the days of old. I particularly like using wallpaper behind a bedhead.”
Don’t forget that space above a bedhead can make the perfect hanging spot for some art! Design: Milray Park Designer Julianne Bull. Photo: Suzi Appel Photography.
Soft Furnishing
According to Jessica Franklin, another Milray Park Designer, “Soft furnishings are a lovely way of bringing personality into your home, and should be carefully considered. When it comes to cushions and linen, always purchase the best quality you can afford; a beautiful grouping of two or three cushions on your lounge can often be more impactful than five or six cheaper looking cushions. Using feather inserts in your cushions will also take your home to that next level – it may not seem like a ground breaking design tip but it certainly does make a difference in the overall look of your home! Using European sized cushions on your bed adds a sense of luxury and can help to soften the wall around your bed if you choose not to use a headboard.”
Luxurious soft touches and the right selection of cushions can make a world of difference! Design: Jessica Franklin.
Rugs
“Rugs help complete a room by tying all the different pieces together,” continues Jessica. “They are also a great way of incorporating texture and balancing your space. When choosing a rug, opt for something practical that will suit your lifestyle – a cream rug in a house full of toddlers is realistically not going to last more than a few months. Also, when using rugs in your lounge room, size is everything! Your rug should ideally sit out roughly 20-30cm either side of your lounge. A rug that’s too small for the space will make the area seem cluttered and much smaller than it is.”
Rug expanses should feel generous and rug edges should extend beyond at least the inside base of furniture. Design: Milray Park Designer Julianne Bull. Photo: Suzi Appel Photography.
Artwork
Of course, here at Bluethumb we’re big fans of #nonudewalls. According to Jessica, “Taking the time to select the right pieces of art for your home is so important! You will be looking at it every single day, so it needs to be a piece you absolutely love. Choosing artwork that is ‘in fashion’ may seem like a good idea at the time, but will the space then seem ‘outdated’ next season?”
“Artwork is a lovely way to add colour and personality to a space, and can often be a great source of inspiration for the design of the rest of the room,” she adds. “I always recommend starting off with a beautiful piece of art, and then selecting soft furnishings to compliment the piece.”
“When using art in bedrooms, a framed piece can provide the room with a more luxurious look, whereas I feel like that canvas’ are much more suited to foyers or hallways. Think about the scale of the artwork in the space it will be hung, art that is too small can end up looking cheap and less impactful than the correctly sized piece. If in doubt, always go bigger! Finally, when hanging art, always employ the skills of a professional if you aren’t confident doing so yourself. The center of the artwork should sit roughly at eye level.”
Artwork truly completes a space. Can you spot George Hall‘s Movers and Peninsula in the background? Design: Milray Park Designer Julianne Bull. Photo: Suzi Appel Photography.
Indoor Plants
“There’s no denying that plants add life to a space,” says Julianne, who places them high on the priority list in any new home. “The colour of the foliage can be varied and you can add scale and height with different varieties. Fill empty spaces with a few plants grouped in similar pots or baskets. Small succulents look great in bathrooms and delicate cascading varieties work well perched on shelves.”
Whether you have a garden space or not, indoor plants can really breathe life into any interior. Design: Milray Park Designer Julianne Bull. Photo: Suzi Appel Photography. Styling: Michelle Hart from Bask Interiors.
Window Coverings
“Window coverings are one part of decorating where a bit of professional help can make a real difference,” says Jessica. “Think about the space and what you use it for. If it’s a bedroom, would curtains soften the look more than blinds? In your lounge room, are you overlooked by neighbours or do you have sun beaming in throughout the afternoon? If so, perhaps a sheer curtain would provide some privacy. Sheer curtains are also great for softening large areas of glass, such as floor to ceiling windows or doors.”
“While choosing the correct window covering for the space is essential in ensuring the practicality and comfort of your home, we also want it to look beautiful! Incorrectly measured curtains can look cheap and can make windows seem small. Just a little tip such as hanging the curtains as close to the ceiling as possible can change the whole look of the room by making the windows seem larger and creating the illusion of more space. Blinds are a quick and easy option, and work particularly well in bathrooms and children’s rooms. Go for fabrics and prints that will stand the test of time, and that could potentially work with an array of colours, should you choose to repaint a room in the future.”
These plantation shutters certainly hit the mark! Design: Milray Park Designer Julianne Bull. Photo: Suzi Appel Photography.
Looking for more interior design tips and advice?
For more fantastic tips, head over to our friends at Milray Park. They give all Australians online access to personalised interior design from over 50+ top interior designers for one simple flat-fee price.
Whether you’re looking to pull together the look with just a few finishing touches, or getting started on a full-on transformation, their helpful short quiz is a great place to start.
Special Offer: Start your design project today on the Milray Park eDecorating platform and get $50 credit* to use on Bluethumb artwork with the promo code: BLUETHUMB50.
*Terms & Conditions apply.
