Blinds, Interior Design, Lounge Curtains, Pink Curtains, curtains

Contemporary, Chic and Casual – Part 1 – Lounges

This special feature on interior designing for lounges looks at how you can have the best of both worlds. You love contemporary and chic designs but sometimes the ideals are too modern, too show-room and don’t give you enough in terms of comfort and a homely atmosphere.

What is missing from the mix is some casual style that brings everything down a notch and makes your lounge more welcoming and family-friendly. Read on for some helpful ideas on contemporary, chic and casual designs for your living space.

You can still have clean lines, open spaces and neutral colour palettes – but there is no harm in throwing in some softer forms, defining spaces for function in large open spaces and adding some accent colours for more oomph!

If you love clean lines you can make it more casual and less severe by playing around with different textures and allowing plenty of natural sunlight in to brighten the place up. Make seating arrangements more inviting by using lots of plump cushions in warm tones such as chocolate brown or a rose pink. Take theses colours and add them into accessories around the room to bring everything together.

Too many harsh contemporary lines and neutral colour palettes can be a little ‘clinical’ and in a lounge it can cause difficulties to arrive home and put your feet up – nobody wants to come home and uncomfortably perch themselves on the edge of the sofa in fear of otherwise looking untidy. That is why you need to experiment with different textures and fabrics to give a less unified look. Neutrals such as cream and beige as opposed to white are more casual and relaxing. Jazz up the entire space by having a feature wall with a large print of your favourite art or an attractive décor piece on the coffee table.

Some of you will want to achieve a contemporary look but with elements from a certain era. If you grew up as a hippie in the seventies for example then you might be stubborn on wanting some bright colour in the lounge. This is okay so long as you team it with some clean lines and tone things down a little with white flooring, sofa or walls. Use your eccentric colours in moderation and you have an instantly chic but casual look – good places to add colour could be in lounge curtains, sofa throws or floor rugs.

Feminine colours have a great way of softening a contemporary lounge – use different tones of pink curtains instead of one to keep things interesting. Have the wall of your sofa in a different shade to the rest – a deep rose or magenta and then choose accessories in flamingo or bubblegum pink! At the end of the day, you do want your room to have a personality and that is why in real life – contemporary works best with casual.