extra interest

A home that minimises stress is appealing and comfortable for people of all ages and abilities. According to feng shui, the objects in our daily lives are important and the way we choose to arrange them will have an enormous impact or our physical and emotional wellbeing. Each and every house has some nooks and corners. Most of the time they are neglected and we use these places for storing unwanted stuff.

In this feature we will discuss how a few little extras can transform those awkward spaces in your home into eye-catching areas.

Search for a single show-stopping piece that can provide a focal point. A large, lavishly gilded mirror, an ornately carved bed or a wildly oversized printed photograph could be all that an uninteresting room needs to regain a feeling of fun and personality.

One of the photos this week shows a corner in a living room. The traditional practice has been to place sofas in L-shapes or surrounding the room in circular shape, so that one is left with awkward corners. These days, however, people have modified their decorating habits, and abandoned those rigid settings. If the room is large, then grouped settings are ideal for close gatherings.

We placed a two-seater sofa in the corner and also arranged a small table behind it. The corner, intended as a focal point, was designed with care. A triangular false ceiling, which overlaps the main false ceiling, lends visual interest to this area. A hanging light installed in this false ceiling illuminates a marble statue placed on the small table.

'Texture' is another important element when creating a tactile interior. A mixture of old and new, rough and smooth will keep you entertained and stimulated. We used matte-finish burnt-orange limestone in the photo gallery cabinet.

Sometimes we find small spaces between dining and family living or in front of a window. May be the space is too tiny to accommodate any kind of heavy furniture. But sometimes a small unit can attract attention. You can kill two birds with one stone by arranging a reading area here, with a desk, and colourful boxes to contain your paperwork neatly. Just about any corner or a partial wall or unwanted pillar or punch can be turned into a focal point of your home, if you put in some extra care.

If your home fails to give you a warm welcome whenever you return, there is something amiss. Rooms that feel chilly and forbidding are neither relaxing nor comfortable to be in and certainly won't help you wind down properly after a hard day's work. Create warmth with rich colours, sensual textures, soft lighting and a strong focal point.

Treat your corners with extra care, and watch them transform into areas of interest.

By Nazneen Haque Mimi
Interior Consultant
Journeyman
For further details, contact journeym@citechco.net
Photo: Hasan Saifuddin Chandan