Want to achieve a beautifully crafted feel in your home, but worried the kids will stain the sofas and break the tables? Considering mustard colours in your living room, but unsure how to skilfully employ it in designing your home? These two home designs show a similar interior, with kids both in and out of mind. Similar in their usage of mustard lounges, pastel hues and Scandinavian touches, they offer design guides to keep simplicity in your home, and wrecked masterpieces out. Sophisticated, full of character and exceedingly modern, take a gander if your home life is about to house children.
Our first space, for a couple with children, sits at a mere 180sqm. Located in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine, it was briefed to create a total of nine living spaces with an airy, light feel. Situating three living spaces within the one room, each area is spatially designated through colour and feel. The living room makes a stand with a wooden feel, where low wooden cabinetry, floors and wooden wall panels add a simplistic backdrop. Mustard chairs sing next to a light-grey L-sofa, while yellow patterns in the rug rush to greet it. LED strip and box lighting keep it modern, while a bamboo plant in the corner introduces nature. A marble TV cabinet and living room table add a touch of class unbreakable by the kids.
Just beside the living room, the dining room presents a different feel. Divided by an illustrated wall motif atop a simple white shelf, a simple wooden table with linen chairing presents a classic twist on the traditional family table. While drop lights hang at different lengths, a row of bamboo sprouts out of a planter box. Whether looking to or from the kitchen, the dining room seems separate, with only one wall illustration marking its territory.
The kitchen’s clean yet traditional look holds an old-school romance. Wooden cupboards and shelving are interspersed with classic white cabinetry and plates. White chiffon floats behind a white stencilled kitchen panel, bringing the design into modernity. Stool chairs resemble those in the dining room, while an LED-lit marble splashback harks to the lounge. Chrome and white tree lights add a finishing touch.
The master bedroom uses details to vamp up simplicity. Shaded using an opaque dividing wall, its lines reflect those in simple white cabinetry and bookshelf squares. Curtains from the kitchen frame a taupe-and-teal quilted headboard that acts as a feature wall. Golden vases and jewellery boxes add a touch of luxury, as reflected in the dining room’s hanging lights. A subtle beige rug means bedtime.
The nursery plays with pastel and quirky prints, achieving a cute simplicity. Billowing white chiffon backgrounds a white filigree hanging chair and hexagonal Chinese lighting. A spotted wall in muted colouring acts the same as the woolly beige rug, adding softness. Light wood and LED lights alternate in dolls houses, clothing railings, a baby table and chairs, skirting and feature ladybirds. Pastels pop everywhere in-between in baby pink, mint, light lemon yellow and lounge-reminiscent mustard. Cute characters fill in the blanks.
The bathroom uses the LED-lighting theme to its advantage, making speckled marble shiny white. Crossing through unexpected borders, it matches with a grey shagpile before contrasting with simple white porcelain. Dark wooden flooring and chrome towel railing tie in the rest.
Our second space uses many of the same ideas – without children in mind. Requiring less space sans nursery, spaces are more spacious and monotone, stretching into blank canvasses for statement pieces. In the lounge, a mustard six-seater bends around a corner, cradling an ottoman. Tossing cushions to the side, the grey expanse behind evokes a feeling of calm. A large dome light beams copper lights over a white dining table, which is joined by white standing lamps and opaque block windows. Storage is subtly achieved through a light-wood and beige fabric box blending into the wall. Light grey complements cameraman dining chairs and a small wooden floor.
The space transitions freely into different moods. From one side of the lounge, a glass fireplace cooks the area before the kitchen. Looking towards the dining area, a white bookcase and alcohol cabinet appear. Juxtaposed against one another as respectively minimal and ornate, they each express a strong character. A rock sculpture brings peace from the East.
A minimalistic kitchen is perfect for entertaining. Alternating wooden floors lead up to a matte expanse of taupe, broken only by chrome fixtures and soft inlet lighting. As a hanging light glows on stool-sitters, earthenware decorates the bench.
The bedroom says rest and relaxation – without the kids. Large imperfect wooden trunks ground the bed, draped in soft greys and white. A fabric headboard says comfort, and another glass fireplace modern pampering. An enamel autumn tree vase, rustic standing light and matching ottomans add character.
The study brings bedroom themes one step away from relaxation. Using the same standing light and ottomans, Venetian blinds structure incoming light. A chair, clothed in charcoal and light wood, stands out against a white table. Light wooden flooring and a copper desk light unite the dining room.
The bathroom is a honeycomb hive, with mustard hexagons peppering its space. Letting large white porcelain take centre stage, the bath wows as little grey spokes hold it up. Cylindrical washbasins add comfort in shape, while eggshell wall fixtures hold amenities with sophistication. Simple round ceiling lights work with mirrors to add light, while honeycomb covers the space. A wooden trunk in the shower offers a simple place to rest.
