Designing luxury, living in luxury

Dispose all useless clutter and knick knacks. —CONTRIBUTED

Luxury by definition (Merriam Webster) is having the state of great comfort and condition of abundance.

With that in mind, comfort is quite attainable for a lot of us. We have ways of applying little luxuries into our own homes and apartments. Comfort deals with the physical, the emotional, and our mental state of mind so having an organized, practical and spacious dwelling has a lot to do with luxury as well.

An opulent space can be created to suit your needs and tastes. Luxurious details can take many forms—furniture, artwork, lighting, color schemes, textures, fabrics, and finishes. It can also be as simple as a nice furniture layout, which allows good human movement around the place.

Here are some design tips and principles to elevate our spaces.

Get rid of clutter

Dispose all useless clutter and knick knacks. Try to avoid hoarding items you do not need.

Take advantage of natural light

Get some sun in the room. Lighten your curtains. Allow natural light to brighten your space. This will make your space look more spacious, airy and pleasant.

Allow natural light to brighten your space. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

Invest in good light fixtures

It’s good to have quality fixtures that emit ambient lighting. Always consider the sustainable option as these can go a long way in terms of safety and can really make a difference in setting the mood of the interiors.

Also, when there is more budget, go for accent pieces for the dining area or the living area or both! These create the centerpieces in your home. Try to see them as earrings to put together your whole outfit.

Whichever color tone you go for, make sure it would last a few years.

Stick to color coordinates that work

Some can carry an all-white motif from the flooring all the way to the walls. If this can be maintained, why not? Having everything in white is a luxury in itself, given the high level of maintenance required to keep all the finishes clean.

Personally, I would go for dark finishes such as carbon gray, ebony wood mixed with jewel tones in burgundy, teal, and violet. Whichever color tone you go for, make sure it would last a few years.

Add texture

Brass, silver, rose gold, champagne, velvet, silk, crystal, marble, wood veneer, marquetry, and feathers are some materials associated with luxurious furniture and finishes.

You don’t have to add everything in but you may use these as accent pieces—whether as trays, pillows, bowls, vases, padded walls, lampshades, wall trims, baseboards, mouldings, chair rails, furniture, light fixtures, or tableware.

Situate artwork strategically on areas where they are seen focal points.

Skin

To make it even more luxurious, some may use skin to add luster to the space such as zebra rugs or furniture, crocodile rugs or furniture, shagreen cabinet doors, snakeskin furniture, leather panels, or mother of pearl doors.

Art

Situate artwork strategically on areas where they are seen as focal points. When you have a lot small ones, cluster them together.

When there is more budget, go for accent pieces for the dining area or the living area or both.

Good layout

There is nothing better than a good and spacious layout. Whether or not you have a lot of pieces, space layouts should matter more. Efficiency of space is the primary concern when designing a space.

Quick fix up

There are a number of ways you can do a quick fix up. You can change your walls by getting decorative paint like Oikos Paints. You can simulate new texture like sandstone or travertine on your walls. These are sustainable and have no smell at all.

Have a sofa seat pad done by quilting. This covers just the seat and arms of the sofa, and provides a totally new look without changing the furniture. (Call Mang Genir at (0999) 3481667)

Make new pillows in different shapes and different fabrics. Add an area rug—but nothing too busy. Just get something that ties your room together.

If you don’t like paint, try getting a nice wallpaper—something with metallic touches that’s not so busy would be nice (apply tip no. 5). Rearrange your coffee table. Apply different levels on your decor by adding a stone tray, a crystal vase, or some coffee table books to elevate a vase.

You can also add a beautiful tall plant or two, while an accent floor lamp can do wonders. I would also throw in a leather arm chair. The last piece to add in would be a funky ottoman—that would be my preference!

The author is the founder of Chat Fores Design Studio, an executive director at the Philippine Institute of Interior Designers (PIID), and a member of the Advisory Board of the College of Architecture and Design of Enderun College