What do comfort and luxury mean to you? It's an interior designer’s job to find that out and deliver the perfect balance of luxury and comfort for your unique lifestyle, tastes, and interior design preferences.
Interior design professionals do this through a comprehensive information-gathering process, where they learn more about you, your family, your lifestyle, and your needs. Here are our top five interior design tips for assessing the connection between luxury and comfort in your own home.
One of the essential elements of any interior design choice is how durable a particular item must be for your unique needs and comfort. If furnishings and finishes in your home are not durable enough to keep up with daily ordinary use, there will be a lack of comfort in the space.
For example, if you have young children or pets, you might want to go with more high-performing and durable sofa fabrics, such as Crypton upholstery fabrics.
Crypton fabrics are fantastic for families and pet owners because they're easy to clean and disinfect, stain-resistant, and even odor-resistant, making them an excellent choice to ensure your upholstered furnishings last longer.
For countertops, tables, chairs, and any other hard surfaces in your home, interior designers will help you consider different surface finishes for your particular needs and ease of care.
For example, certain countertop materials may not be suitable if you cook all the time, as they stain more easily and are harder to clean, so you might opt for low-maintenance countertop choices.
Or perhaps you'll want a scratch-resistant finish for your tables, knowing your pets might use them as a scratching post!
One interior design tip we offer to increase the longevity of your design pieces is to have a protective finish applied to your textiles. These protective finishes are perfect for rugs, sofas, draperies, and any other textile products. They aren't too expensive and can save you plenty of cleaning headaches and costs down the road.
The protective coating reduces the absorbency levels of the fibers making spills easier to clean and provide an invisible layer of insurance. There are companies that specialize in these textile treatments, so it is an easy process and not a huge undertaking to have this done.
During an interior design consultation, your interior designer will get to know you and those living in your home on a deeper level. They’ll deep dive into your daily habits, behaviors, and lifestyle to understand traffic patterns, how you all use each space, and how you interact with furnishings.
Here are a few examples of ways to approach balancing luxury and comfort in interior design while considering the occupants of the home.
For families with young children or people with pets, your interior designer might recommend high performance fabrics that are durable yet soft and comfortable for the little ones. These days, most furniture manufacturers offer a large selection of beautiful fabrics in a high-performance option.
Interior designers will also consider the size and safety of each furniture piece, making sure it's sensible for young kids and fur babies. When my children were young, I made sure to select pieces without sharp corners and did not select any that were too bulky for them to get around.
Top interior design tip: If you have pets, avoid fabrics that attract pet hair because they’ll make cleaning your sofa more difficult!
If you travel frequently you may want to set up your home differently in terms of fabrics, space planning, and furnishings.
Since you're often away from your home, you may not need as much storage and can go with a more minimalist luxury interior design.
You likely won't need to focus on high-performing fabrics for every piece either, as you won't be home enough to contribute to wear and tear.
Balancing luxury and comfort will look very different for senior clients. While some may love the look of a high-end sectional, it may not be practical for those who need extra support or a higher sitting sofa to make getting in and out of it easier.
Additionally, if a home occupant has trouble bending down, reaching up high, or opening and closing things, this will inform an interior designer on the best ways to design the cabinetry, doors, and fixtures for the space.
Your interior designer may use easier-to-open doorknobs or place certain shelves lower to make things more easily accessible.
Interior design tip: Communicate with your interior designer if anyone in the home has mobility concerns or if anything in the home presents issues for them.
Furnishings have come a long way over the past few years in terms of comfort, function and beauty, BUT ALSO in our ability to maintain them—all at the same time.
However, interior designers must sometimes help their clients determine if they prioritize luxury over maintenance or maintenance over luxury. Not all clients are willing to sacrifice certain luxuries for maintenance and comfort.
I wasn’t willing to sacrifice maintenance over luxury when it came to my kitchen countertops. I had always wanted marble countertops in my kitchen. Knowing they are hard to care for, I had to be okay when the day came that they were etched and a little bit dull from daily use. I do not regret my decision and I still love them even though they are not as shiny and polished as they were the day they were installed.
If you want the highest luxury possible, you might be drawn to marble even though it's notorious for etching. But if it is a longstanding wish, it may be worth the sacrifice of having deal with a bit more maintenance or care.
You can be comforted in the fact that marble countertops can be polished anytime and brought back to their original beauty.
If you are more concerned about choosing low-maintenance countertops in your luxury home, then quartz counters are the way to go. They still offer a high-end, modern look but don't etch and become dull the way marble and other natural stone options do.
Comfort should always be high on the list of priorities when designing your home. Consider how relaxed you feel in every room. What does it feel like to sit on the furniture in your living room, how convenient is it to get ready in your bathroom in the morning or wind down in your bedroom at night? What factors are providing comfort or inhibiting comfort?
Careful consideration of your current home situation will help your interior designer determine the best options for your interior design plan. Choosing soft fabrics for your sofa, low maintenance counters for your bathroom and comfortable bed linens can all contribute to a luxury feel while still being comfortable.
By incorporating plenty of visual and tactile texture with pillows and upholstery fabrics, you can create more interest and make your space feel more custom, luxurious, and "homey."
Interior design tip: Avoid going for all-out luxury without considering the comfort factor of every room.
You'd be surprised how much the placement of furnishings and decór can affect the comfort factor of a space.
There's no point having a modern chair in the corner of a room if nobody ever sits in it, even though it might look beautiful. And placing a pricy glass table in the middle of a room where everyone keeps bumping into it is probably not the best idea, although it may be a beautiful focal point.
Sometimes practicality is necessary when balancing luxury and comfort in interior design. Strategically choosing design elements that give you a high-end luxurious feeling while still providing comfort and ease of care is something that an experienced interior design team can help you do. It is worth the investment when you consider the mistakes they might prevent you from making and the money you could save.
We hope you've picked up some helpful interior design tips for finding that perfect balance between luxury and comfort in your home. If you'd like to learn more, our interior designers can help!
At Bellisa Design, we deliver luxury interior design transformations, managing every stage, from space planning right through to custom furnishings and decór.
We like to think of ourselves as masterful listeners, transforming your needs, wants, and dreams into the perfect high-end home built for life—your life.
Are you ready for your custom home transformation? Schedule your discovery call today!