When we were deciding whether or not to buy a house, my husband and I came to the conclusion that renting was the better financial option. It left us with our savings intact, giving us many more lucrative investment opportunities. But ultimately, we knew we had to have a place we could make our own; a home we could decorate with out own individual design inspirations.
The reason? We wanted a home not just to live in but to build. An endless project in which we could express ourselves through interior design creations. A home that we owned provided a canvas with unlimited potential.
Buying a home was not easy. We had to spend most of our savings on a deposit and transfer costs. There was also the complicated matter of homeowners insurance. Insurance in this country is a basic necessity but always seems to be too complex. Fortunately, there are now some great resources online.
You can learn more about your insurance needs on Lemonade homeowners declaration page. It is also a useful way to find out exactly what you are paying for when buying a home; and what needs protection.
But once we had done all the necessary paperwork and payments, we had a beautiful home ready for our organised chaos.
One of the questions we constantly asked ourselves was how long it would take for a design style to reach its expiration date. We didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on an idea only for it to look anachronistic a year later.
If you’re looking for timeless design inspirations, here are three key directions to turn.
Photo, Mike Von.
1. Pop Art
Pop art is both representative of a very particular time in American history, while remaining timeless and placeless. This is because the point of pop art was to exist outside of the conventional artistic lineage. Pop art styles use pop culture, colours, and the mundane to create a look that stands out no matter its context.
The idea of using pop art as an interior design inspiration is not to place prints of Marilyn Monroe on your wall. Rather, use the boldness of the colours and textures to turn a wall into a statement piece. The use of a number of prints of the same image in different inversions of colours is a particularly effective way to get the design to stand out.
2. Natural Materials
On the other extreme of the spectrum, natural materials are timeless for the opposite reason. They have always been used as both practical and beautiful pieces. Wood is the star of every home that uses it, whether for flooring, furniture, artwork, or all of the above.
The best types of wood can get expensive, which is one of the few reasons people decide to go in a different direction. Why else would you get a desk made of laminate instead of solid wood?
If you don’t have the funds to spend on wooden furniture and decor, try and find space for some wooden accents. These will stand out and add timeless class to any home.
Photo, Roam In Color.
3. Look to the Functional
Form and function often clash, and when speaking about design inspiration, we usually place the priority on form. However, function can actually contribute greatly to form. Take a look at an iPhone, for example. The sleekness and simplicity is extremely attractive because of its functionality. It looks like something that works effortlessly.
This is why clean designs are becoming popular. They may seem modern, but only because they are far more achievable than they once were. While the extent of functionality increases over time, this happens incrementally in home design terms. As long as you keep up, the functional look of your home will stay modern with only occasional small changes.
You’ll also reap the benefits of functional style because of how, well, functional it is. Your home can be design-forward and great to live in at the same time.
True timelessness is not possible, but it is not necessary either. What you are hoping for is that your design style will last a good few years and that you can build upon it. Fly-by-night trends leave your home looking outdated within a year or so, but the above design inspirations will keep your home chic and modern for years on end.
