· When you’re looking for a house to buy, there’s quite a lot to consider,
· From budget and square footage to location and accessibility.
· We can help you find the home that meets your requested number of bedrooms and bathrooms,
· or a home that’s in your desired school district
· But today we wanted to discuss specifically home buying from another professionals viewpoint that of —an interior designer— because they can offer a unique perspective on a house for sale as well.
· Admittedly, it’s not realistic to take an interior designer to every home you plan on viewing. So to stand in, today we want to share with you some of the ideas from top interior designers and their insider tips when it comes to seeing what they look for when house hunting.
1. Floor plans
· One of the first things an interior designer notices in a potential home is the layout.
· When entering a home under consideration, scan the structure and analyze the layout of the existing floor plan:
· Does the floor plan allows for traffic to flow easily through the areas or does it create congestion when occupied?
· Does the room sizes and adjacent rooms allow the spaces to function correctly or does the areas feel cramped when filled with furnishings and family?
· Are there public and private spaces?
· Will sight-lines and sound transmission become a problem?
· Is this something that you can change easily if you need to?
2. Scale and proportion
· Another factor to consider is the home is properly sized for the neighborhood?
· You don’t want to live in what appears to be an overbearing “McMansion” on a street showcasing rows of quaint bungalows.
· How does the home integrate into its surroundings?
· Obviously, you can’t shrink an oversized house—but you can use a subtle paint palette to visually reduce the size.
· Well-planned mature landscaping conceals out-of-scale architectural elements.
· Also are interior proportions matching? Does the room dimension size match the ceiling height?
· This creates balance and establish a sense of comfort.
3. Storage
· Ample storage means, first of all, a large entry closet?
· Good kitchen and bedroom storage?
· Quality cabinets are important for several reasons:
· Kitchen cabinets are also essential for a clean look that eliminates clutter.
· If the home doesn’t have enough storage, find a solution before purchasing the home.
· Otherwise you may be forever unhappy because you don’t have a place to put your things.
4. Natural light sources
· Unless you descended from vampires, natural light is a desirable home feature.
· It plays an extremely important role for a human habitat.
· To have main living zones illuminated with natural sources of light can have a resounding effect on the overall quality of our lives.
· The sun affects our moods, energy levels, and our natural circadian rhythms.
· So look for light – natural light most importantly,
· If the home you are looking at doesn’t have much light is there any way you can change it simply to allow for additional natural light?
Keeping in mind what an Interior Designer looks for in a home there are 7 elements of interior design that can really help you to evaluate if the home will be a good fit for you.. and help you to visualize how you can fit your things into the home.
1. First is Light - it is absolutely the key in interior design. Generally speaking, a room needs three types of lighting: Ambient, task, and accent. Ambient lighting illuminates the entire space (think recessed can lighting); task lighting could be a bedside or desk lamp; and accent lighting is the “dazzle” in the room that provides the beauty and character.
2. Space refers to the physical boundaries of a room. The designer must be very aware of the space available, both the two-dimensional floor space, but also the three-dimensional volume in the room.
3. Lines are generally categorized into three types – horizontal, vertical and dynamic. Think table tops, shelves for horizontal lines; windows, doorways and tall fireplace chimneys for vertical lines. Dynamic lines might be an angled ceiling, a curved wall, or an arched doorway.
4. Color has the power to create many desired effects in a space. It can make a small room look larger and a large room look more cozy. It can create a sense of calm, or inject some drama into the space. Colors have values and intensities, and color schemes can be monochromatic, harmonious, or complementary.
5. Texture describes how typical surface looks and feels. Think of polished granite versus concrete; velvet versus silk. Texture adds depth and dimension into a space, and a variety of textures makes a room more interesting.
6. Pattern A room always needs a bit of pattern to add interest. Pattern can be linear/geometric (think about a subway tile backsplash, or a striped wallpaper) or curvy/organic (think paisley or florals, or even animal print). Patterns can be subtle or dramatic, and often a little goes a long way.
Forms- A form can have straight, angular lines, or be more “organic” or curvy. Forms can also be categorized as open (think of a birdcage light fixture that you can see through) or closed (for example, a solid ceramic table lamp base)
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