This is the final episode of the series City Life/ Island Style home tours. I’m very excited to share this last home with you guys. It was such a great pleasure entering these homes and get the insights how they managed to create each space to their liking and how they curated everything.
Today we enter the home of Chantelle, a back office commercial assistant and part-time interior stylist. She shares this home with her husband and two daughters.
They bought the house a few years back and since then it’s an ongoing process to perfect their home. With her sense of great style and a diy-er of a husband, they created this place to match every bit to their own liking.
Let’s take a peek into this home where color isn’t a taboo.
LAYOUT
The house has three bedrooms, a separate walk in closet, bathroom, kitchen, dining room, living room and foyer.
The house is a monument, so there’s a lot to think about and consider. For example, everything that is on the outside of the house, you are not allowed to change. You have to keep the architecture aspect intact. New paintjob is okay to change and fixing the windows & doors are must if needed to but building an extension might be a no no.
What are some ways to still create an extension to your monument home?
Firstly, do check what is permitted at your local conservation of monuments authority, before you start hacking around.
Extending or better said creating more space in a monumental home is to go with in. Most of those houses have a water-well underneath their house. Nowadays those are not used anymore with the same intention. That space (if with the right height and structure) can be turned in a studio, home office or even an entertainment room.
EMBRACE THE HERITAGE OF THE HOUSE
What I really love is that they kept the original tile work of the house. People tent to go the ‘modern’ route and demolish those tiles with colorless tiles. By doing so, they take away the character of the house. Also if you would like to put tiles like these nowadays, it’s going to cost you a fortune.
The house has a mix of colorful floor tiles and hard wooden floor, which brings a balance.
If you have a floor tiles like these, don’t be afraid to embrace them.
How, you mind think?
- Look at complementary colors to go with it for the walls and décor.
- Keep your base color neutral so it wouldn’t be too overwhelming. Think about colors like white, beige, light grey.
ADD THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF SMALL DÉCOR
Chantelle added in different corners of the house small decors. It might be a small statue or a painting. It fills up the space just right, without going overboard that it might give clutter appearance.
Accessories and décor will pull the room together and make very interesting conversation topics.
Here are some do’s:
- Think about the power of three. Three is most definitely a magic number when it comes to design – as are odd numbers in general. Grouping odd numbers of items – be it cushions, vases, pictures or candles – forces the eye to move around the display, creating a level of visual interest that symmetrical, even-numbered arrangements simply can’t compete with.
- Group smaller décor/accessories together. By scattering them around your space you might water down their visual impact and become less significant.
- Tell your story. Like pieces you have brought back from an amazing trip or something meaningful that you have gotten from a family friend or member.
- Mix them up. By combining small with large pieces or with different shapes, you’ll create a more visual atmosphere in your space.
I hope you enjoyed episode 04 of this home tours series ‘City Life, Island Style’. You’ve got tips shared from the homeowner in the video and got extra advice from me on how to style your space.
Feel free go to the YOUTUBE channel and rewatched all the episodes again (and some vlogs if you’re interested). It has been quite exciting and hoping to create more content for you soon again.
And if you are struggling with your space and need a helping hand, you can book a one-on-one consultation with me.
Thanks for reading!
