Source: Dot & Bo, Design Milk

Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of working with many newlyweds who are embarking on their exciting journey towards building their new home together. What’s a starter home, you might ask?

noun.
A compact house or flat specifically designed and built to meet the requirements of young people buying their first home

As clients, there will usually be a heap of burning questions that will surround your minds when it boils to a design concept, functionality, space planning, style, furniture etc. But don’t fret! That’s perfectly normal and comes naturally with buying a home and starting from scratch. This is where an Interior Designer comes into the picture and provides that other perspective. We won’t go into the length and dreary details, but here is a summary of what to expect.
Longevity of the Design
It is common desire to want your home to be on-point with the latest interior design trends. But to what extent do you take this mentality without the design going out of trend instead in the next 10 years? As designers, it is our responsibility to advise clients on the latest trends, but also give enough attention to create a space that is beautiful, evergreen and more importantly embraces the identities of its inhabitants and celebrates them. However, aesthetics are not set in stone. With a quality foundation of the space itself, there are a few things you can always change up easily in future to spruce up the home.

Wall Treatment
Paint colour trends – today it’s in, tomorrow it’s out. Colour on the wall plays a critical role in defining the overall mood of the space. From light airy hues of dusty pink to a warm moody blue palette, different colours work effectively in different spatial functions.

Other than paint, you can also consider dressing walls with wallpaper. There are plenty of wallpaper designs to choose from today – from rustic and textural elements, to bold and bright ones, you name it, someone’s got it. You can easily purchase wallpaper online and have it delivered and installed by a trusty wallpaper guy locally.

Furniture, Lighting and Accessories
Whether you want to add a touch of sophisticated elegance, or jazz up your space with funk, you can switch up the vibe in your home with a simple switch in floor or table lamps, rug, and even down to smaller items like trays, cushions, tea towels, vases, and picture frames.

Source: Bloglovin’, Bonnie & Neil

Creatures of Habit
Without a doubt, we are all creatures of habit, and we are unique in our own personal habits from the next person, but sometimes have common habits as a couple.

Room functions
Consider how you plan to use the various spaces in your new home. Do you require a study room or just a small area where you use your laptop occasionally? Are there plans to grow your family? If you do, then it might be wise to plan for a baby room in the future.

Source: Bloglovin’, The Berry
Do you plan to entertain a lot? If so, place a bit more priority in the dining and living space to best maximize the use of space and cater for X number of people at the dining table. TV in the living room or only in the bedroom? That depends on your TV watching habits, if you enjoy binge TV watching or just that occasional movie.

Source: My Domain,

White goods
Do you plan to cook frequently or just the occasional meal couple times a week? It would be good to think about specific appliances you require and the features that meet your requirements. Think energy saving appliances, and also the power output as this might affect your electrical load in the kitchen. For example, some induction stoves (with 3 or more plates) may seem nice to have, but could weigh too much in its power output and is not suitable for HDBs.

Budget
For some people, a renovation budget can be completely different from their furniture budget in terms of the scale of things. Some believe in spending less in renovations but investing more in high quality furniture for their home. There is no right or wrong, but it is something to ponder over. With renovation works, doing one thing may seem straightforward, but it sometimes have an impact on surrounding areas. Hacking a wall for example could mean salvaging or creating new flooring from scratch. Different materials also have different price tags and can have a major impact on overall costs. When it comes to furniture shopping, you could potentially spend less, but it means a possible shorter lifespan of the furniture. Investing more potentially means longevity in your furniture which you can take with you to your next home, but can also seem really outdated 5-10 years from now.

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Happy planning!