Guest Blogger: Chris Balme
It is often the culmination of hard work, perseverance and dreams coming true; the holiday home represents an opportunity to relax and expand the family’s leisure time. The holiday seldom comes cheap, whether you are investing at overseas or closer to home, and can represent a significant chunk of savings. So the necessity to then furnish the home in a cost effective manner is often prevalent. Fortunately, style does not have to be compromised when costs are cut, here are a few steps to decorating the family home.
Understand your Surroundings
In terms of both aesthetics and practicality, it is important to fully understand the area in which your holiday home is situated, especially when positioned in a culture significantly different from your first home. A home that is decorated with Black Forest style adornments in a fishing village in Sicily may be considered something of an eyesore and immediately alienate you from neighbors. Finding a balance between representing your personality and your new surroundings is important. This can be achieved by aiming for a 75/25 split in favor of local style furnishings against your own personal tastes. Intersperse large local fixtures with small personal ornaments.
Furthermore, certain textures and materials are unsuitable for different climates. Certain plastics and polymers are ill-suited to warm weather and may morph when subjected to such climates over an extended period of time.
Consider your Activities
When on holiday, most people are less inclined to sit for hours in front of the television that they are at home due to the extra activities that are available to them. As such, a high quality sofa is of less importance than at home, meaning money can be saved here and spent elsewhere in the home. A the other end of the scale, if the holiday home is based in warmer climes then patio furniture may see a lot more action than at home so it may be prudent to invest more money into such fixtures.
Adapt to the Space
In many cases, the holiday home will be smaller than the original home, so storage may become an issue. Smaller box bedrooms may not be able to house its’ own wardrobes so alternatives need to be sought. An ottoman bed can work as an effective storage advice without using up excessive space. Fittings that double up in purpose at twice as effective and desirable in smaller properties.
Large cumbersome wooden wardrobes may look attractive but are often inefficient in terms of space saving, making a high gloss wardrobe more desirable for many holiday home owners. Furthermore, high gloss exteriors are incredibly easy to maintain and clean, which is ideal for fixtures that may be sat unused for hours on end.
The most important thing to remember is to not create a version of your home away from home, you’re on holiday after all!
