Home Design Hurdles Part 3: How To Make The Most Out Of Difficult Spaces?

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It’s amazing how many homes are built with challenging spaces. Whether laid out in strange configurations or using materials you wouldn’t have chosen, many homes can be difficult to make sense of without blowing the budget to renovate and start fresh. As our final question in our home design hurdles series (a series based on questions asked by you all through our blog content questionnaire!! Check out part 1 and 2 HERE), the issue of how to make the most out of difficult spaces really comes down to two directions: challenges with finishes and challenges with layouts. While finishes might seem easier to address than layouts, I want to share some key elements to keep in mind as well as basic interior design principles that will make all the difference for finding the right solution for your home!

Difficult Spaces Due To Finishes

We have all seen it. On Zillow or Pinterest or house hunting, we have stumbled across that home that is covered in all of the 1970’s glory of wall paneling, shag carpet, popcorn ceilings and pastel tile covered bathrooms. While challenging, the finish issues of these difficult spaces are actually much easier to solve than the spatial layouts themselves. If you have a difficult space finish wise and don’t want to budget for an entire bathroom renovation or new drywall installation, here are a couple of tips.

Consider Paint

While simple, considering new paint can be so transformative for a space. For a fairly inexpensive price, you can totally change the aesthetics and mood of a space with a little painting TLC. When considering painting, keep in mind these finish selections and a few key painting concepts:

WHAT FINISH SHOULD YOU PAINT TRIM?

Semi-gloss! Baseboards, moldings, built-ins and doors should be in a semi-gloss finish unless you are looking for the dramatic statement effect of a high gloss room. Semi-gloss helps with durability and is much easier to clean and wipe down over time.

WHAT FINISH SHOULD YOU PAINT WALLS?

Eggshell! Unless you are looking to achieve the statement high gloss effect I mentioned above, the recommended finish for walls is eggshell. This finish is fairly forgiving and much easier to maintain than a matte or flat finish.

HOW SHOULD YOU PAINT BUILT IN SHELVING?

Frequently in older homes, built-ins or shelving units are included around the fireplace. For a higher end look, avoid painting the back of the shelving the same color as the wall and the shelves the color of the trim, but instead paint the entire built in shelving unit the same color, whether that be the trim color or an accent color.

CAN YOU PAINT GRASS CLOTH WALLPAPER OR WOOD PANELING?

Yes! Frequently paneling or grass cloth can be very dark or stained over the years, so painting it is a great way to reuse what you have while capitalizing on the interesting texture and maintaining a lighter aesthetic. For paneling, lightly sand off any sheen and use an oil-based primer before painting over it with at least two coats of an eggshell or satin finish paint. Similarly for grass cloth, be sure to use at least one coat of an oil-based primer before painting it to help with sealing the paper and to prevent intense paint absorption. For best coverage, finish with at least two coats of a flat finish paint.

Home Design Hurdles Part 3: How To Make The Most Out Of Difficult Spaces? — Image

Rethink Tiled Bathrooms

Many homes built in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s come complete with tiled bathrooms in various shades of blue, pink, green, yellow and white. While many people instantly want to gut these bathrooms and start over, sometimes a budget might not accommodate that dramatic change right away or you might even like the color but are hesitant to leave it out of fear of looking dated. If the tile is in good shape and you are on the fence of leaving it (or are trying to love your space until you can renovate it down the road), here are a few options to update your challenging space without a total reno.

REFINISH IT

If your tile or tub is in good shape but is in a color you just can’t stand, there are a variety of methods to deep clean and refinish your tile or tub in another color! On a similar note, if you are interested in renovating, but are trying to keep things more budget friendly, finding and/or refinishing an antique or repurposed cast iron tub is a much more cost effective route than purchasing a new one.

ACCENT WITH WALLPAPER

Finding a wallpaper to compliment and repurpose the colors within your bathroom tile can be a wonderful solution for giving a totally different aesthetic to the space. While some wallpapers are a bit of an investment, they typically are a fraction of the cost of an entire bathroom renovation and can even create a design style that you love so much, you don’t want to change at all!

Difficult Spaces Due To Layouts

While finishes can make a space feel challenging, on the whole, they are much easier to rectify than intrinsic difficulties with layouts and flow. That being said, there are a variety of tricks to help odd layouts feel maximized.

Create Zones

If your space is an open concept, there are strange jut outs or circulation patterns cut oddly through the room, try to create different zones. Perhaps instead of trying to create one large living space that people are constantly walking through, create a smaller living space on one side and a separate reading nook on the other, with a circulation path between the two of them. By floating furniture and using rugs, you can help to define the different areas of the room, even if they aren’t technically divided by walls.

Optimize Nooks

Frequently in older homes, odd little nooks can make a space charming, but difficult for space planning. Even though our German apartment has been recently renovated, it still has many old characteristics and small nooks, including one next to a column. While at first glance this space might seem unusable and strange, the addition of a bookcase or shelving in the nook can add to both visual interest and additional storage!

Implement The 7 Elements & Principles Of Interior Design

One of the most challenging aspects that I find when designing difficult spaces is that frequently they are not like spaces you have worked with before. Perhaps the windows or doors are configured differently or the circulation patterns are off or the ceiling heights throw a wrench in your plans. Whatever the case, your space is suddenly unlike any that you can find pictures of online and you are struggling to determine how to move forward.

While I can’t write to address every difficult case (although I would be happy to help with your specific case through our E Design Consultation Services!), I want to touch on the basic design principles that are crucial when tackling difficult spaces effectively. As the foundational building blocks of interior design, these next 7 elements and principles are pieces that designers are coached in and have studied extensively throughout interior design school, but likely are not concepts that most people from other backgrounds are familiar with, at least in a mindful sense. Whether addressing a bathroom, bedroom, living space or kitchen, implementing these elements and principles will help to determine the first steps of making the most out of your difficult spaces, however different they might be from someone else’s.

BALANCE

The first principle to keep in mind is balance. Each kind of balance provides a slightly different mood to your space with varying amounts of formality. With three different kinds of balance, you can implement:

Symmetrical Balance promotes internal calmness and a formal atmosphere (think of the symmetry of a butterfly – shown through identical chests with mirrors above flanking either side of a fireplace or identical lamps on duplicate side tables next to a sofa etc.)
Asymmetrical Balance gives a more collected and informal aesthetic using objects that are not the same, but are similar in shape, size or visual weight (think of a sofa across from two chairs instead of two flanking sofas or a console with art above and a lamp on one side and a branching plant on the other, instead of just two lamps etc.)
Radial Balance provides a central point that everything stems from (think of a round dining table with chairs surrounding it or a central fireplace that everything faces etc.)

UNITY & HARMONY

The next principle is one of unity and harmony. Unity and harmony is very important for maintaining continuity throughout your home. While each space can be distinct, having a color palette, texture or style that is implemented throughout is foundational to ensuring that your details create a cohesive whole.

RHYTHM & REPETITION

While we normally associate rhythm with music, it is vital to interior design as well. Much like unity, creating rhythm comes through repeating elements in a certain progression. For instance, rhythm could be created by hanging a series of art pieces all the same size hung in a gallery wall or even having a series of windows down a corridor.

Asymmetrical balance vs symmetrical balance

Rattan Console | White Transitional Lamp | Abstract Seascape Painting

SCALE & PROPORTION

While all the design principles are important, implementing the correct scale and proportion is perhaps one of the most crucial to achieving a well designed interior. For instance when considering scale, if you have a space with low ceilings, try to stay away from heavy, bulky furniture as it will overwhelm the balance. Proportion on the other hand identifies how items relate to one another. As I mentioned last week, two thirds is often a good proportion to go for when deciding on the size of your sofa in a room, of artwork / mirror over a sofa / console, or of a coffee table in front of a sofa.

EMPHASIS

Another critical element of design is emphasis! If you have a room with a difficult layout, creating a focal point will instantly draw the eye by highlighting something intentional. Without a focal point, the eye continues to wander without something to capture attention, so your focal piece should instantly stand out and then allow for everything else to flow from it. This emphasis could be created by establishing a fireplace, piece of furniture, art or mirror to be the center of your design.

CONTRAST

Contrast is a great way to help achieve a few of the other design principles and can be used in a variety of ways. Add a strong pop of color and soon your contrast element can also help achieve emphasis above, while adding in a variety of contrast in chunky textures vs soft textures can help provide unity and harmony. When done well, it can be the perfect way to play with colors, textures or patterns.

DETAILS

Lastly, but certainly not least, add details! I am sure you have heard it said that “design is in the details” and this could not be more true! Details are a great way to make the space feel personal, collected and distinctly you.

Final Thoughts

While there are so many ways to most out of difficult spaces, I hope that these tips and hints for both spatial and aesthetic changes can help you to create a space that you love. By working with an existing element that might be challenging and adding in key design principles, you can start to bring your space from draining to dreamy! What space in your home do you find the most challenging to make the most of? I would love to know your thoughts in the comment section below!

Happy designing!