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By Mel Hoekstra
As we move into our third year of Covid, it is interesting to reflect on the way our lives have been impacted. We have spent more time at home and less in the work environment or travelling. Our home has become our domain for work, schooling and isolating and in some cases, we’ve needed to modify, decorate, or renovate to accommodate these changes. Or perhaps we have looked at the lacklustre walls and furniture for too long and become desperate for a fresh injection of new life!
The pandemic has given us a moment to pause and consider the important things in life; our social relationships with family and friends, health, and connections with nature. We have craved a slower home life; one where we can savour a slow cooked lamb roast in the oven, harvest our own home-grown vegetables and enjoy the company of family and friends in comfortable indoor and outdoor living spaces. We want to create havens in our homes to provide comfort, security, and a place to connect with people we care for deeply.
The changes in the way we use and think about our home has led to a need for an intensive interior design experience. Whilst there will always be a demand for a full interior service, for those who don’t have the interest, confidence, or time to undertake designing their own home, there are people who have embarked on the journey themselves and find they’re in need of some expert advice.
It seems not uncommon for homeowners to be kept awake throughout the night feeling overwhelmed with the number of decisions and selections, leading to their project coming to an abrupt halt. That’s where two-hour video or in-home consultations have become more popular. It gives the homeowner the opportunity to lead the conversation around their unique set of stumbling blocks, ask questions, bounce ideas around and make decisions; gaining the clarity and confidence to move forward and complete their design project.
Designers often get questions about how to establish a vision. Clients have saved an abundance of images on sites such as Pinterest but they have liked a mix of different styles, so we help find a common thread and narrow it down to a cohesive style which suits their lifestyle, home and connects with them on a personal level. Through an intensive consultation we get them on the right track and make brand and colour suggestions to get them started.
Intensive consults can be anything design related: floor plan layout (especially in tricky shaped rooms), selecting the right style, size and material to suit their lifestyle, colours (that’s a big one as the number of whites alone is mindblowing!), wall and window treatments, lighting, artwork, the list goes on!
In my business, we ask plenty of questions to prepare for our consult and make the best use of their time, then follow up with a summary of our conversation as it can be quite a bit to take in.
Interior designers love to create beautiful cohesive spaces which improve our clients’ lifestyle, make them feel great and eliminate those pain points that exist in every home. Whether we are handling the entire project throughout all stages or offering our advice, experience and guidance along the way, we gain great pleasure from improving the lives of those around us and helping dreams become a reality.
The pandemic, with all its heartache, has also guided us to reconnect with our ourselves, our homes, nature and those we love.
-Mel Hoekstra is an interior designer and owner of MH Interior Design, a Gold Coast based boutique interior design and decorating studio offering a full service professional solution for your residential new build, renovation or decoration project. MH Interior Design work with clients Australia-wide.
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