KNYSNA NEWS - Here are some tips from Cape interior decorator Kimberley Richmond on making the transition as easy as possible.
Use light and neutral colours
As light colours have a space-enhancing effect, paint dark wooden furniture and dated kitchen cabinets in pale fresh colours. In this kitchen, the wooden cabinets were replaced with those in a mix of white lacquer and frosted glass and white Caesarstone was used for the countertops. This lightened the area immediately.
A glass splashback which reflects the grey and blue shades in the dining and living areas unifies the living areas and the use of yellow as an accent colour was repeated.
Make small structural changes
If you’ve got the budget, it’s worth making minor structural changes to create space. For example, an open-plan kitchen, living and dining area looks bigger than three separate rooms. In this apartment, a counter originally divided the kitchen and living room and access was through the hallway. The opening was bricked, which provided space for the fridge and built-in cabinets, and the counter was replaced with a peninsula so that the kitchen can be accessed from the dining room. This resulted in a much more spacious open-plan living area.
Have enough storage space
To keep the clutter to a minimum, make sure you have enough storage space. To create a place for everything including the TV, a built-in wall unit with soft-touch opening mechanisms was designed.
This makes excellent use of the wall space in the living room and by using the same finishes as in the kitchen it ensures that the look and feel carries through.
Use all the space
Explore the potential of small spaces like niches to serve as an office area or fit them with bookshelves. In the space between this built-in unit and the wall, floating shelves were fitted to display accessories and an ottoman that fits neatly into the space below was added. An identical one sits below the window on the other side of the unit.
