Lanbury Group’s Ben Kelly, a leading London property developer which prides itself on turning new property into stylish homes, gives us his top 7 tips on interior design for a new build.
Along with his fellow director Ben Gannon, Ben Kelly has developed and designed multiple properties over the last 15 years for London property buyers. And here he gives his 7 tips on interior design for our new build.
Lanbury’s Ben Kelly and Ben Gannon’s Top Interior design tips:
1. Keep to one theme/style and commit to it
The definition of interior design is the art and science of improving the interior of a space to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people who use the space. If you have a design that you think fits perfectly with your personality and budget then focus on that. Never think that applying more than one theme to the interior of your home will work.
2. Mix high priced fittings and fixtures with mid/low priced items for a bespoke look
This ensures that you can give your interior a luxurious feel while saving you money. There are several items that you can buy fairly cheaply without ruining the luxurious feel of your new building. An example is a crystal chandelier. You can combine inexpensive crystal chandeliers with your expensive furniture. Trust me, no one would think they were cheap unless someone decided to take a detailed look.
3. Don’t mix too many different colours in each room
Choosing the right colors will not only make your home look much more yours but also more finished, with harmony, life and personality. Even combining a good color palette can bring you true well-being, generating calm, tranquility, vitality or whatever your home needs right now. A home looks more beautiful and pleasant when its colors combine with each other, but it takes on life and personality when those colors transport you to a state of well-being. But mixing too many colors in one room will neutralize each of them. It will make all the beauty you desire disappear, replaced with abstract nuances that will definitely make anyone who enters the room a headache.
4. Consider using one strong contrasting colour sparingly for maximum effect
It is the first basic lesson of this express course to learn how to combine colors. The 60/30/10 rule will help you get your room decoration right. It’s about choosing a dominant or main color that will tint 60% of the space. A secondary one will occupy 30% of the room and a third will occupy 10%. Only three colors are enough to get it right. It is true that then you must take into account which colors are better with each other.
5. Use lighting to create mood, using a combination of down lighters, uplighters, pendants, track lights, spots, etc.
The choice of color, shape, and size of the lights greatly affects mood. There is an unofficial consensus that for the main room you should install bright lights. As for places like the kitchen and dining room you should choose soft lighting. If you choose the wrong one then you might just mess up your mood. Again, you can use a combination of down lighters, uplighters, pendants, and many more. An accurate combination helps you create good mood.
6. Test your ideas by searching online, using websites like Pinterest
There are so many images and ideas available on Pinterest. You can spend all day there. But make sure you organize your albums appropriately. Create albums based on the types of rooms, or furniture. Then you can create a mood board based on what you’ve created. Use your mood board when you are buying. That’s the fun bit.
7. Order samples
If you are dealing with a professional property developer such as the Lanbury Group then you can request samples of the work that is already being done. This will ensure that you are really dealing with the right party.
Hopefully the 7 tips from Ben Kelly and Ben Gannon of Lanbury can help you design your new build flat or apartment to the standard of a professional.
