If you’ve recently purchased a luxury home in Malibu, your next step may be to ensure that the interior design suits your style and taste. You’ll want to keep the characteristic feel of your house consistent while also infusing your personality into the space. It can seem a bit overwhelming to figure out the right balance—but don't stress if you’re not sure where to begin.
Figure out the style you want
The first step when designing your home is to figure out what kind of style you want to embrace. Consider if you want something modern and contemporary or are more into a traditional style. This is an essential first step as it will dictate the pieces, color scheme, and layout to include in your space. If you hire a professional, your interior designer should work with you to determine what exudes your personality. You don’t want the inside of your home to clash with the outside or overall neighborhood. Malibu homes tend to be modern and open with chic casual decor. Thus, incorporating those styles into your home will create a cohesive and luxurious look.
Customize your pieces
Personalized features will make your home feel more original and unique. The knowledge that a particular chair or piece of artwork was designed specifically with you in mind adds an extra air of luxury to your Malibu residence. Most interior designers work with people who can create custom furniture, window treatments, and fixtures, making it easy to acquire that special piece just for you. Since Malibu is located in Los Angeles County, there are countless designers at your disposal to make you the most impressive custom pieces money can buy. You can also choose to incorporate a few designated focal pieces such as a vase or light fixture.
Decrease clutter
Having a clean and organized home is a critical component for making your space feel elegant and sophisticated. If you’re a bit of a collector (aka hoarder), it’s essential to factor pieces into your home to help you keep your belongings organized. This means storage pieces like bookshelves, baskets, and trunks. You’ll also want to find fun and inventive ways to mask TV cables, chargers, and computer wires. Wires look messy and can make your home seem less put together. You should also take some time to go through your belongings and ditch any unnecessary items—minimal clutter will leave your home feeling spacious and organized.
Incorporate color and texture
When you think of luxury homes, you may think of a neutral color palette—but color and texture are back in style, and they can easily enhance your home’s overall aesthetic. You can use pops of color in your cabinetry or create a focal wall to draw the eyeballs of your guests. Different colors evoke different feelings and emotions. Blue, for example, brings calmness and confidence, while yellow brings joy and light. Get some swatches, see what colors speak to you, and begin enhancing your rooms. Texture is another way to diversify your space. You can incorporate many textures, like wood, metal, velvet, and leather in your space easily. A great way to bring texture and color into your home is to mimic the natural surroundings of the Malibu coastline and environment. Being on the beach, stick with lighter sand colored wood tones, incorporate blues, greens, yellows, or even reds and oranges. For texture, you can find exciting art made out of driftwood or some rope baskets to organize your living room. There are many ways to do this; you just have to decide what works for you and your space.
Let there be light
Good lighting can make your home feel warmer and more spacious. Plus, living in Malibu, you always want to maximize those fantastic views right outside your door. Full length windows and floor to ceiling sliding glass doors let abundant natural light into your home and bring the outdoors in. If you have rooms that don’t get direct sunlight, you can invest in skylights. To keep your space illuminated at night, you will want to bring in good secondary lighting to fill the space. You can even incorporate unique light fixtures as focal points in a room. Use strategically placed mirrors to bounce light and ocean views around the room and make it appear even brighter. You can also use spotlights as a way to brighten the space while highlighting some of your more impressive artwork.
Look at current trends
It’s essential to keep current trends in mind when figuring out the design and layout of your home. Right now, open-concept living spaces are in, as well as soaking tubs, ice baths, and saunas. See what works with the style you have created. Most of these features come in various materials and textures that fit into any home or yard design. Don’t just look at what’s on-trend at the moment, though—see if there is anything new that you can incorporate. You don’t want to bother with an installation if it will be replaced with a new trend in just a few months.
Have a functional space
Remember, your home needs to be a functional space for you to live in beyond its looks. You want to keep the overall layout in mind when designing and making changes. If you work from home, you probably want to invest in creating a designated space for you to work and be motivated away from distractions. If you have kids, they need to have a space to hang out to keep them out of trouble and out of the way when you have things to do. You need to think about what you want from each room in your home and incorporate those aspirations into the design. This will make your life easier and allow you to enjoy your space that much more.
Hire an interior designer
An interior designer is there to work with you and help you discover precisely what you are looking for in your space. If you aren’t entirely sure what you want or need, an interior designer will be with you every step of the way to figure it out. They help fuse your personality into your home’s design and create a functional space you can call your own. A good interior designer keeps you involved and collaborates with you to ensure the outcome is precisely what you desire. They will also have connections to get unique art, furniture, fixtures, decor, and references for architects. An interior designer will deal with all negotiations and handle searching for the perfect pieces, so you can sit back, relax, and focus on the other parts of your life. Malibu is chock-full of some of the country’s top interior designers, ensuring you will be able to find the right fit.
Showcase your personality
You can have the most picturesque house inside and out, but if it isn’t suited to your taste, you won’t enjoy living there. Don’t make compromises on the things you really need and want. If you want art pieces or pictures on display, make sure they are front and center. If a particular color speaks to you, or you need to have a specific piece of furniture as a part of the design—speak up. If you’ve found a good interior designer, they will listen to everything you want and ensure it is featured in the design.
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