Welcome back to town for the 2006-2007 season in Ixtapa-ihuatanejo. To those of you that are still in the construction process, or close to finishing, I congratulate you. Congratulations on your new investment. Building a home or investment property in Mexico will change your life and hopefully bring you many years of smiles, friends, and adventures.
This month I want to focus on basic interior design. Basic interior design is achieved through the assembly of furniture to create an environment that feels like a personal and perfect space. Interior Design is very much the process of shaping the idea of an interior space through spatial volume, lighting and surface modification.
Seeing an empty space after closing on a house or condo can be mind boggling. You know what you what you like, but how to achieve it is the real question. Do you hire a decorator? Can you design the space yourself?
I believe that designing your own space is very possible. I believe there are very few decorators in the business that can really grasp what a project does and doesn’t need from its conception. I would also argue that decorators are born and not taught. Certain individuals are able to see a space. They can design and decorate a space quickly. These individuals can use any source (estate sales, discounters, markets) to decorate any type of project. If you find someone like that you are fortunate, if not designing your space can be an ongoing process of trail and error.
Keep in mind, decorators, on the first consultation, have a potentially endless budget. They will come up with a few thousand ideas. The process is the same as the process you had with your builder. After looking through the first
numbers, you will always tend to eliminate certain things from the budget.
Here are some questions to ask yourself to help you get an understanding of what to look for when you start furnishing your house:
What do you want to get out of the house?
Who will be using the house?
What has worked for you in the past? What are the things that you really don’t like (colors, styles)?
How do you feel about color?
What kind of function do you want the house to have?
Will the home or condominium be used as a rental?
Will the home’s furnishings be enclosed, with air conditioning, or will the furnishings be exposed to the outside elements?
After answering those questions, you will find that your design search becomes easier. I usually start out looking at the size of the walls. The furnishings should not all be the same height. One piece should be high, the next grouping should be low. A variety of height, width, and texture makes a space more interesting to the eye. The variety can be achieved through the use of tall objects, low tables, plants, rugs, interesting lighting, and massive pieces of furniture. Without variety of texture and objects, your house, your space, will seem smaller and less interesting.
Say you want to furnish a home for comfort and entertaining. For an entertainment Condo, I will put in great dining tables, fabulous sectionals and use some kind of wooden furniture for the walls. I use this concept because these areas are public and really need to make a statement about who you are and what you like.
Next, I would use wooden casing and buffets on my walls and then focus on separating the rooms. A great example of this can be seen in lofts. Separate the rooms by placing the living and dining areas facing opposite directions. A simple rug underneath the table and another underneath the living room will tie your furnishings and your spaces together.
An entertainment condo will need a plush master room and some conservative guest rooms. I like to put a great mattress and a stunning bed set in the master. The night stands don’t have to match. Eclectic, non-matching furniture selections are always in style. Bedrooms need large mirrors, a guest chair, and a dresser. Put in a few pieces of art, lamps, small accessories, and your room will look finished.
Big walls need big pictures. You can get to the size you want by placing smaller pictures together, or by staggering pictures down a wall. Cover the walls you see most with big art and large furniture. Homes in Mexico are very bold. Don’t sell yourself short by buying small furnishings.
So far we have discussed the following:
•New house, now what? Don’t panic.
•High Low – High Low
•Comfy plush common areas
•Great master
•Save on guest rooms
•Art, Art, Art! Super important! Art makes a house a home, shows style, and shows your personality.
Good luck with your new house, hope this helps you get started. We will see you next month!
-Originally published in November 2006
