• How do I plan where my furniture should go?
• How do I create a cohesive color palette?
• What should I consider to choose the right-sized furniture for my room?
• How do I zone different areas in an open-plan living space?
• How do I create a focal point in my room?

To address these questions and more, I’ll guide you through a design process that anyone undertaking a home décor project should follow. This approach will boost your confidence in decision-making, help avoid costly mistakes, and result in a room that others will envy.

Step 1: Planning is Key

Begin by gathering inspiration from magazines, online interior design blogs, websites, or anything around you that sparks creativity. Collect items that catch your eye due to their color or texture, and create a file or pinboard for these finds. Arranging these images and items will help shape your design concept and color palette. Trust your intuition to remove anything that feels out of place—after all, this is your home. Fix the selected items and images to a mood board and keep it in a visible spot to guide your decisions and stay true to your original vision.

Step 2: Focus on the Details

Consider how you’ll use the space; functionality is as crucial as aesthetics. Evaluate the items currently in the room and determine what aligns with your mood board and intended use. You might repurpose some pieces by painting furniture or reupholstering a chair or sofa.

Next, establish a focal point to anchor the room’s design. Without one, the space may feel scattered or incomplete. A focal point creates visual interest and could be a striking piece of artwork, a decorative rug, or a feature wall with beautiful wallpaper. This element serves as the foundation, and all other design choices should tie back to it.

Step 3: Fitting It All Together

Floor planning is essential for selecting appropriately sized furniture, optimizing placement, and zoning open-plan spaces. Measure the room’s dimensions and note them on a rough plan, including window and door locations, electrical outlets, and radiators. This will guide your furniture purchases. Experiment with different furniture arrangements to assess flow and functionality before committing to large pieces. If visualizing from a floor plan is challenging, cut out life-sized newspaper templates to represent furniture and place them in the room to gauge scale and spacing. Use large rugs, the back of a sofa, a console, or a shelving unit to create zones and define separate areas in open-plan spaces.

Step 4: Managing Costs

Create a list of tasks and items needed for the project, then obtain quotes for the work and research item costs to establish a budget. If expenses exceed your budget, consider phasing the work or purchases, or identify tasks you can handle yourself, such as painting. Include a contingency of 5–10% of the total budget. Track all quotes and expenses meticulously to stay within budget. While it may be tempting to choose the cheapest quote, this isn’t always wise, as lower costs may reflect lower quality. Aim for a mid-range quote and seek at least three quotes for each task.

You’re now ready to start planning, designing, and budgeting. Take your time during this phase, as careful planning will pay off. Seek recommendations for reliable trades and services to complete your project, and most importantly, enjoy the process!

Summary Checklist to Get Started:

• Collect inspiration and ideas.
• Determine the focal point and functionality.
• Create a floor plan, including zoning ideas if needed.
• Establish a budget and track it carefully.
• Seek recommendations for trades and services.
• Refer to your mood board regularly to stay on track.

If you’ve successfully designed a room you’re proud of, we’d love to hear your story. Feel free to share it with us!

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With the way many Australians utilize their outdoor areas, you might mistake them for extensions of the indoors, often designed with indoor design principles. Many homes feature a second cooking area outdoors, fully equipped with gas cooking appliances, food and drink preparation spaces, and refrigeration. The flow between these spaces is so seamless that there is effectively no boundary, merging them into a single living area. Design trends in Australia include the use of natural timbers, bamboo, and sustainable materials, all of which are highly popular for furniture and decking. Depending on the region, large indigenous tropical plants can also be a feature, displayed using interior design principles but with a distinct sense of scale.

Trending Outdoor Design Elements

This season, vibrant, durable fabrics that withstand the intense Australian sun are being used for luxurious loungers, sofas, outdoor dining sets, and smaller pieces like scatter cushions and chair seat cushions. These are excellent ways to add color and pattern that beautifully contrast with nature’s hues. Bright yellows, kelly greens, and sea blues are the colors of the season—the bolder, the better. My personal favorite is the Bondi range from Warwick Fabric, with standout colors in stripes, geometrics, and bright block patterns that evoke the vibrant energy of summer.

Another strong trend this season is external lighting with a Moroccan twist, such as chrome lanterns. These can be hung from balconies, staked in the ground, or clustered on a dining table, creating a wonderful ambiance for outdoor dining at night.

To achieve a seamless indoor-to-outdoor flow, consider these design principles:

• Use as much glass as your home and budget allow. Bi-fold doors that fully open to the outdoors are ideal, but sliding doors are a budget-friendly alternative. The goal is to maximize open access.
• Keep doors and windows free of treatments. Avoiding blinds or curtains maintains a constant connection with the outdoors. If privacy is a concern, use discreet options like roller blinds or sliding panel blinds that remain hidden when open.
• Choose flooring that flows between indoor and outdoor areas for an instant connection. Floorboards transitioning to timber decking is the easiest way to achieve this.
• Connect your interiors to the outdoors through design. Incorporate colors and materials found in nature, such as indoor plants, timbers, and decorative items in natural hues, to create a cohesive energy flow.
• Plan for protection from the elements with roof extensions, awnings, or sun shields. This ensures comfort, not just from rain but also for sun safety.

Planting is also key to effective outdoor design. Wall gardens are increasingly popular for those with limited space, using native plants and hardy succulents vertically to mimic the effect of a larger garden without sacrificing seating area. Asian-style gardens remain on trend, incorporating Feng Shui principles to create balance and symmetry through planting, sculptural placement, and water features.

Finally, artwork isn’t limited to interiors. External wall art and sculptures are more popular than ever. Many Australian artists create weather-resistant pieces, from colorful abstract works painted on durable acrylic to brass sculptures that evolve over time, adding depth and interest. One such artist is Mary Rafter, who produces stunning original artworks for outdoor spaces. You can choose from her ready-made pieces or commission a custom work by providing a color palette or a meaningful piece of inspiration.

Don’t overlook your outdoor spaces—they offer an opportunity to expand your living area by creating an inviting entertaining space right in your backyard. In warmer climates, this can also significantly increase your property’s value.

If you have a garden or balcony you’re proud of, please share your story with us.

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Side Tables

Side tables are a must-have for any living room. Unlike larger coffee tables, side tables are extremely flexible in terms of placement, enabling you to reposition them depending on how you are using the space at any given time. Additionally, many side tables can double as stools, creating extra seating for when you have more guests than usual. If you don’t have room for a large coffee table, why not cluster two or three small side tables together in front of your sofa or chairs? This will give you the same effect and functionality as a coffee table, but also offers the flexibility to move the tables when needed.

Rugs

Rugs bring many facets to a space. They can pull furniture placement together, define a space, and add color, pattern, and texture to an otherwise bland room. They can also cover up existing flooring that has seen better days. When choosing a rug, consider its shape, size, material, and style. You can’t go wrong with a rectangular rug, as most spaces support this shape. However, don’t discount square or round rugs if the room can accommodate them. When defining a seating area, it’s ideal to have at least the front legs of the sofa and chairs on the rug, as this will make the rug feel generous and ground the room. If you dislike your flooring, go for an oversized rug that extends up to a foot from the wall.

If you already have a lot of pattern and color in your room, choose a rug that’s more textural with a neutral color. If your room is fairly neutral, go bold with color and pattern.

Flat weaves and intricate designs are ideal for high-traffic areas and homes with pets, as they hide dirt. On the other hand, shag, cut pile, and loop piles are better suited for low-traffic areas and feel especially comfy underfoot.

Occasional Chairs

Occasional chairs are a large accent piece and can be used to create a focal point or make a statement in the room. Again, this piece should be light enough to offer flexibility and easy repositioning when needed (for instance, during social gatherings). If your room is spacious enough for two occasional chairs, this is ideal. Placing two chairs into your seating configuration helps balance your layout. You can position them opposite your sofa or place both on one side of the sofa to encourage conversation. If you only have room for one chair, that’s fine too. Make it a statement piece by choosing a patterned fabric with a defined style, such as a contemporary wing chair accented with a bright scatter cushion.

Floor and Table Lamps

For a harmonious lighting scheme, you need a mixture of light sources. Accent lighting, such as floor and table lamps, is fantastic for brightening up a darker corner in a room, or by strategically placing a couple around the space, you can create enough light to illuminate the entire room.

Placing a pair of matching table lamps at either end of a console creates a classic, structured feel. Splitting the lamps by placing one on a side table and the other on a console will give the room a more relaxed, less structured look. Add a separate floor lamp in a different style, and you’ll achieve an even distribution of light while introducing more interest to your design.

Ottomans

Personally, I love using ottomans in a living room, often replacing a coffee table with a round ottoman covered in beautiful fabric. This is a simple and easy way to continue your color and pattern theme into other pieces in the room. To enable items to be placed on the cushioned top, add one or two wooden trays to create a more even surface. You can then place decorative pieces on the trays. Smaller ottomans can also serve as seating or be placed in front of your occasional chair as a footstool. For maximum storage potential, choose one that opens up to reveal storage inside.

When combining all of the above pieces into your design, try mixing and matching a couple of different styles and materials. Using pieces that are the same style and made from similar materials can feel uninteresting and lack impact. For example, mixing a distressed tan leather chair, a timber side table, a modern sectional sofa, and a chrome floor lamp — essentially combining earthy and urban elements — instantly creates a design that’s eye-catching and dynamic.

Now you’re ready to accent your living room! Be brave, push the boundaries, and try something new to see the difference it can make.

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