How to give your house a fresh breath of life
Feb 03, 2014
To add sparkle to your house, you need to view it as a human being. Just like you look at yourself in the mirror, so you should with each room, says Romina Kohler, an interior designer with Wasanii Living, based in Bukoto, a Kampala suburb.
By Harriet Birungi
To add sparkle to your house, you need to view it as a human being. Just like you look at yourself in the mirror, so you should with each room, says Romina Kohler, an interior designer with Wasanii Living, based in Bukoto, a Kampala suburb.
Living room
Kohler says you can start by adding cushions to the seats. The living room already has furniture, but an addition of cushions to the sofas will make them more inviting and will change the room’s appearance.
If your finances allow, you can opt for change of chair fabric and you will have a new sofa without emptying your savings.
Another quick fix are the curtains. These can change the room from a simple to an elegant, spacious, colour area. Just pick one item whose colour you want reflected in the whole room and have your curtains in that colour.
The corridor
This is an area often neglected. But it is the most used and can provide an extra decorative area to the house. The corridor can be sparkled by adding a dressing mirror. Everyone in the home will use it for a last-minute check before dashing out of the house.
Pick a few pictures from the albums, have them laminated or framed and hang on the corridor walls. The pictures will only be seen if the walls are painted in an attractive colour.
The other effortless addition is a console table, which can be placed opposite a mirror and every once in a while, a vase with a bouquet of flowers is placed on it.
Bedrooms
Architect Idris Muhammad Nsereko, the managing director of 3M Design and Construction Company, says Ugandans are hierarchy people.
“This is depicted in how bedrooms are furnished. The master bedroom will be self-contained, while other rooms may not be. Owing to this, focus is often placed on the master bedroom, but that can change. Start with a layer of paint in all rooms. New paint brightens a room.”
Harmony in the bedroom can be enhanced with a change in beddings. A floral or multi-coloured bedcover, duvet/quilt can be added to the bed and one of the colours used to choose curtains for the windows.
A portable wardrobe can be placed in a bedroom, in case there is none. Nothing adds neatness to a bedroom like a wardrobe with well-pressed and hanged clothes.
Bedside lamps are a beautiful addition that will instantly transform the mood in the bedroom, when soft pools of light are cast,” adds Kohler.
Bathroom
Without disrupting the plumbing system, a layer of paint is a quick fix for the bathroom. Change the wash basin/sink to improve the look. Add a set of bathroom mats to brighten the floor without crowding it.
Kitchen
The kitchen is the heart of the home. Add work-tops which can make it easy for food preparation. Include shelves for storage; these can be placed either under or above the work-top.
Furnish the work-top with material which can withstand heat, like granite, marble or terrazzo.