Home, Garden & Office: Design Directions

A new breed of laid back modern homes are springing up all over town, and they're pointing the way towards a direction in design style. If you're building or remodeling your own home, get to know these design trends before calling your contractor or your ID specialist.

NATURAL SELECTION

In every aspect of home decor, natural materials - or at least natural-looking materials - are quickly redefining the look of contemporary homes. This is spearheaded by the popularity of wood flooring, which has overtaken the living rooms of countless new houses today. Laminate wood flooring is now available in a huge variety of colours and wood types, and sets the scene for a warmer, more engaging home. It is relatively easy to install, and most varieties are resistant against termites and humidity.

It's really the inherent qualities in them - such as the natural patterns and grains - that give these materials their uniqueness and, ultimately, their worth. For that, they do come with heftier price tags, but you can think of it as upping the value of your property.

Whether it's on your floors or your furniture, wood sets a calming, naturalistic tone to your home

PLAN AHEAD!

Most houses will only afford you one good view of your garden. So if outdoor views are important to you, decide whether you want this room to become your dining or your living room - depending on where you anticipate spending the most time in. This will invariably affect the layout of all your main spaces.

Keeping nature close to the home is one way of creating better views from the indoors

OUTDOORS IN

Natural-inspired spaces are becoming the new standard in urban luxury. And for this, city dwellers are taking extra efforts to bring a little bit of the outdoors in. The look is typically achieved in two ways, the first of which is to erect a semi-outdoor space - such as a patio or a veranda - in order to blur the transition between garden and home.

The second is to minimise the actual distance between the interior and the yard space. This means reducing the amount of tiled floor between your front door and your grass patch. In this sense, plants and water features can actually be brought much closer to your living room, and the two spaces are less delineated when your doors and windows are left open.