Design Tips

LEFT TO RIGHT: JORDIE, KELLY, CAROLINE, LIANA, KATIE, JEN.

WORDS VICKI RAVLICH-HORAN | IMAGES ASHLEE DECAIRES

Building a house can be a daunting project, which is why multi award-winning builders Urban Homes go that extra step and help their clients across the whole journey. Taking up an entire floor of their head office in Hamilton is their state-of-the-art StudioU Design Centre.

StudioU is where you will find Jen Boyles’ team of colour and selection experts work their magic, amongst an extensive range of exterior and interior options from roofing, cladding, flooring, tapware, even down to kitchen sinks. Jen says the process starts with Urban’s New Home Consultants who help clients create the right house design, including things such as the orientation of their house along with other functional decisions “ensuring spaces are designed to fit your lifestyle”. Once all decisions have been made, it’s Jen’s team’s product and interior design knowledge which kicks in to help bring the exterior and interior finishes together. I spent some time with the team at StudioU to pick their brains about what’s on trend, what you need to consider when building and how great colour and selection decisions can really make a difference. Kelly says the trend in tapware right now is brushed brass and gunmetal, they’re even seeing matte white options from suppliers. Like your jewellery, Kelly’s advice when considering these options is to consider the whole outfit, or in this case the rest of your house. “If you choose anything other than traditional chrome,” Kelly says, “consider whether you want that to carry on throughout your house on door handles, kitchen cabinetry and so on.”

In the bathroom, Katie says, “Ambient lighting is just as important as task lighting.” While in functional spaces, like the bathroom and kitchen, task lighting is essential, adding dimmers and LED strip lighting are great ways to add interest and mood.

In terms of flooring trends, Jordie says timber look flooring continues to be popular, and more organic midtones are being selected over very light Scandi look tones. These tones are generally more forgiving when trying to match furniture. With hard flooring and open plan spaces, Jordie’s advice is to use rugs, which define spaces while adding texture and colour as well as reducing noise.

In the kitchen, Liana says black appliances are very popular. “With open plan kitchens still on trend, your appliance choice and the look of these is important.” Liana also says creating beautiful and practical laundry spaces is another key area she is seeing more clients do. “It’s amazing what you can do, from pull out ironing boards, in built laundry hampers, to cabinetry that matches the kitchen.”

Adding texture is Caroline’s tip. “There is a move away from a pop of colour on a feature wall and instead, adding texture with the use of paneling.” Products like Hardigroove or Surround by Laminex provide heaps of options to get creative with features such as walls, ceilings, kitchen islands and even chimney breasts!

When designing your ultimate home, the team are unanimous in the need to optimise storage, from utilising space in the attic or under the stairs, to taking the kitchen cupboards to the ceiling. And for the ultimate in luxury, the team says a walk-in linen cupboard is the dream!

To book your exclusive StudioU experience email sales@urban.co.nz

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