The 5 Worst Interior Design Mistakes, According To An Expert
Interior designer Thomas Hamel on where it goes wrong in so many homes.
Interior designer Thomas Hamel on where it goes wrong in so many homes.
Specialising in residential design, Thomas Hamel and his eponymous design firm, Thomas Hamel & Associates, has built a heady reputation for blending elements of design to create timeless interiors for modern living.
We recently asked Hamel, what are the biggest design mistakes that you want to avoid when decorating or updating interiors.
Here – 5 mistakes to avoid and rules to live by:
Some houses or rooms have what we call “good bones”. Others, however, do not, and that is when it is important, rather than diving straight in to the fabrics and furnishings, for the interior architecture to be considered as a priority, to give a room a better sense of presence. Heights of door frames can be “tweaked” through window treatments and mouldings/panelling to add scale and “wow” factor to a room. Rooms can be opened up to adjoining rooms or to an outdoor area, doorways enlarged for greater flow, and mouldings and panelling incorporated to give a room more presence. These fairly easy design touches can give a room “good bones” and often without a huge cost outlay. It is a good idea to have your interior designer work in tandem with the architect, as well as the landscape designer in advance of embarking on the more decorative aspect of the project.
At Thomas Hamel & Associates, we prioritise a room’s rugs before moving on to select the fabrics, lighting or decorative pieces. A rug truly anchors a room and informs the overall feel and aesthetic. This important starting point leads to our choices of fabrics, furnishings, and paint colours. The rug is the first port of call. It is essential to choose the correct rug sizing, as this is closely linked to the proportions of the furniture pieces and light fixtures. We often custom design rugs for our clients, with the help of specialist rug dealers like Behruz in Melbourne.
It is important to avoid the ‘everything has to match’ syndrome. No great room ever felt or looked ‘cookie cutter’! We prefer to combine a variety of different styles. Clients may live in a contemporary house, but if they fall in love with an antique piece of furniture or traditional work of art, we say “go for it”. Integrating a range of periods and styles tells the story of who lives there and adds personality to a house. No one wants to live in a design showroom, and nor should they.
The best homes/rooms have a true “ sense of place”, so consider your location before embarking on a design scheme. While Tuscan houses look great in the Italian countryside, they are not so appropriate in Queensland. Likewise, it’s best to leave the “ Hamptons style” in Long Island, rather than trying to recreate it in urban Melbourne, A home should be true to its setting. In Australia, that may mean making the most of our warm climate by incorporating opportunities for indoor/outdoor living. Or in Sydney, playing to the view if you are lucky enough to live on the harbour. In Melbourne, it may be a garden that forms the focus of a room’s outlook.
Memorable rooms are often filled with an owner’s favourite objects, collected over time from travels, a gallery visit, or perhaps passed down through families over generations. Avoid the notion and temptation that everything for your interior should be bought at once, or feel that the house is “done” when the interior design scheme is completed. Collecting is fun and the stories that objects and art tell about the owner are what makes a house truly special.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.
Excluding the Covid-19 pandemic period, annual growth was the lowest since 1992
Australia’s commodity-rich economy recorded its weakest growth momentum since the early 1990s in the second quarter, as consumers and businesses continued to feel the impact of high interest rates, with little expectation of a reprieve from the Reserve Bank of Australia in the near term.
The economy grew 0.2% in the second quarter from the first, with annual growth running at 1.0%, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday. The results were in line with market expectations.
It was the 11th consecutive quarter of growth, although the economy slowed sharply over the year to June 30, the ABS said.
Excluding the Covid-19 pandemic period, annual growth was the lowest since 1992, the year that included a gradual recovery from a recession in 1991.
The economy remained in a deep per capita recession, with gross domestic product per capita falling 0.4% from the previous quarter, a sixth consecutive quarterly fall, the ABS said.
A big area of weakness in the economy was household spending, which fell 0.2% from the first quarter, detracting 0.1 percentage point from GDP growth.
On a yearly basis, consumption growth came in at just 0.5% in the second quarter, well below the 1.1% figure the RBA had expected, and was broad-based.
The soft growth report comes as the RBA continues to warn that inflation remains stubbornly high, ruling out near-term interest-rate cuts.
RBA Gov. Michele Bullock said last month that near-term rate cuts aren’t being considered.
Money markets have priced in a cut at the end of this year, while most economists expect that the RBA will stand pat until early 2025.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned this week that high interest rates are “smashing the economy.”
Still, with income tax cuts delivered at the start of July, there are some expectations that consumers will be in a better position to spend in the third quarter, reviving the economy to some degree.
“Output has now grown at 0.2% for three consecutive quarters now. That leaves little doubt that the economy is growing well below potential,” said Abhijit Surya, economist at Capital Economics.
“But if activity does continue to disappoint, the RBA could well cut interest rates sooner,” Surya added.
Government spending rose 1.4% over the quarter, due in part to strength in social-benefits programs for health services, the ABS said.
This stylish family home combines a classic palette and finishes with a flexible floorplan
Just 55 minutes from Sydney, make this your creative getaway located in the majestic Hawkesbury region.