Downsize With Style

If you are downsizing, you are moving to a smaller space. A lot of empty nesters find it hard to prioritise what to keep and how to optimise the space in their new home. In episode 15 of the Downsize With Style podcast you will discover five methods to make a space look larger and to make most out of your apartment.

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Coffee table with storage from Apartment Lifestyle.

In this podcast I will share five tips & tricks to make small spaces look larger:

1. Manipulate a space through colour

Tune in and please leave a rating on iTunes to help promote the show! I will be forever grateful!

To get an automatic notification of new episodes, please download a podcast app to your mobile device and search Downsize With Style on iTunes. Then subscribe to the podcast. You will realise that downsizing has never sounded so easy!

Enjoy!

The post DWS 15: How To Make Small Spaces Look Larger appeared first on Bettina Deda.

Small spaces require clever space management and room layouts. Every square metre needs to be used. Another important point to consider is the traffic flow through your apartment. Plan your home’s circulation and your space will work automatically. In episode 13 of the Downsize With Style podcast you will learn about clever apartment room layouts, what to consider in different rooms and where to invest in quality pieces.

Take your floor plan and draw lines on it for the major routes through your apartment. These routes need maximum width, as more people will use them. Make sure that your furniture placement allows for optimised traffic flow and circulation. Don’t block traffic routes with furniture pieces so that people have to walk around them. For less congested routes, provide narrower access.

For more information why space planning is vital for apartment downsizers and how it can help you avoid costly mistakes listen to Episode 12: Epic Formula To Make Your Interior Work.

The post DWS 14: Clever Ideas for Apartment Room Layouts appeared first on Bettina Deda.

Welcome to episode Nr. 13 of the Downsize With Style podcast to help empty nesters overcome procrastination, get rid off their clutter and stuff and eventually achieve a stylish and functional home in a more compact space.

In this week's podcast, I am interviewing interior designer Babette Hayes. We are talking about how to make most out of a smaller space, how to optimise storage and how to quickly spruce up a room.

Babette is celebrating 50 years in Australia this year. She recently crowned her long career in interior design and publishing with the Award of the Order Of The Medal Of Australia – for Service to Interior Design, Australian Cuisine and writing (books and articles).[image_frame style="framed" align="right"]http://www.bdcolourdesign.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/babette-hayes.jpg[/image_frame]

I met Babette in the Colour Society of Australia, and she kindly agreed to contribute to my book Downsize With Style and do the introduction for my book launch earlier this year.

So, tune in to episode 13, and you will discover

or read the transcript of the interview here.

If you could leave a rating on iTunes to help promote the podcast, that would make my day!

To get an automatic notification of new episodes, please download a podcast app to your mobile device and search Downsize With Style on iTunes. Then subscribe to the podcast. You will realise that downsizing has never sounded so easy!

Enjoy!

The post DWS 13: Interview with Babette Hayes appeared first on Bettina Deda.

You have come a long way now and can be proud of your achievements. You have mastered the unpopular task of de-cluttering and have decided what to take to your new home. You also went on a self-discovery journey and immersed yourself in the creative process of visualisation. Once you have decided on the look and feel of your room, it is time to layout the space.

To become crystal clear what will fit in a smaller home, you need to layout your space. Measure the furniture pieces you would like to take with you. If you already have an apartment in mind you would like to buy, take the scale of your floor plan and draw your furniture to the same scale. All you need is a piece of paper and a scale ruler. Then cut out the shapes of your furniture and place them on your floor plan. Move them around to create different looks and see if they will fit. If it does look too big on the paper, it won’t work in the apartment.

If you have not yet decided on a new space, work with your furniture shapes and calculate how big a new home would need to be to fit your pieces. This gives you an indication of what to look for when researching housing options.

[image_frame style="shadow" align="left"]http://www.bdcolourdesign.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Art_Apartment_floor_plan.jpg[/image_frame]

A general rule of thumb is that smaller pieces are much easier to move around and, with some creativity, can be used for different purposes. Consider this when buying new furniture while you are still in your family home.

It is also a wonderful opportunity to redecorate your new space and create a new look combining a couple of feature pieces from your family home with some new pieces. There is a wide range of versatile and stylish furniture available that suits an apartment lifestyle.

Tune in to this week's podcast to get started and discover additional bonus material to make your interior work.

The post DWS 12: Epic Formula To Make Your Interior Work appeared first on Bettina Deda.

Step 3 of the 5-step process to downsize with style is a creative task which will help you visualise your ideas, thoughts, and findings.

To visualise your ideas on a mood board or in a style journal is an important step along the way to create a stylish and functional home — especially if you are not sure that your ideas will work or not yet confident enough to put your interior together.

Visualising and translating your ideas on a mood board will

• spark your creativity

In this week's podcast I am going to show you step-by-step how to develop a mood board and how to translate your ideas into your space. Designers of all genres use this method to visualise their design concepts to their clients. ‘A mood board is a type of poster design that may consist of images, text, and samples of objects in a composition of the choice of the mood board creator.’ (Wikipedia)

The post DWS 11: Visualise Your Ideas appeared first on Bettina Deda.

Today I would like to invite you to learn more about Step 2 of the 5-step process to downsize with style.

Now that you have de-cluttered, tidied up and created your lists of what you want and need, it is time to go on a self-discovery journey and find your personal decorating style. As American fashion icon Iris Apfel says: you have to learn who you are first. So put your thinking hat on and reflect what you love in life. Go on a self-discovery journey!

If you are not sure what you like, or not confident enough to buy the pieces you really love, the following exercises are for you. Even if you think, ‘that sounds silly’ or ‘it is too much effort’, trust me and try it. Step out of your comfort zone and choose a different path! This is something I learned in my yoga classes: only by stepping out of our comfort zone are we able to experience something new and make room for new things to happen. If you follow my advice you will decorate your new home with ease, create a personal and stylish interior and eventually refine your apartment lifestyle.

This episode of the Downsize With Style podcast suggests three exercises to find out what you love and what inspires you. So, click on the link below and get started!

And, please leave a rating on iTunes to help promote the podcast to even more people as downsizing has never sounded so easy!

The post DWS 10: Find Your Personal Decorating Style appeared first on Bettina Deda.

I am not a big gardener I have to admit. I know, however, that many empty nesters had big gardens and find it very hard to let go of them. In this week's podcast I am talking to Nadia Pomare, landscape designer and owner of Stylish Gardens, how to set up a garden on a balcony.

While researching for my book Downsize With Style I also found some great websites with a myriad of tips how to create a gorgeous garden on an apartment balcony. It can be as simple and as complicated as you like. It can be a very expensive exercise or you can do it for little money. Again, creativity is the key!

According to the experts there are a few things you should take into consideration before starting to shop and plant. Assess your outdoor space and write down answers to the following questions:

• How big is your outdoor area?

Listen to our podcast to hear some expert advice!

The post DWS 09: Essential Things For Balcony Gardens appeared first on Bettina Deda.

In this podcast we are focussing on the most important pieces of furniture to start a new chapter of your life in a smaller space. But don’t worry, I encourage you to dream big and to add the icing on the cake later. We all have to work to a budget, and therefore it is vital to concentrate on the essentials first. You will find out that in order to create a home with heart and personality, you do not have to invest in designer pieces only. The trick is to be creative and courageous and to mix and match different price points, styles and textures, and, most importantly, to add your personality to your space.

Every home needs some basic pieces of furniture as a solid foundation to build on. As empty nesters you are going to start a new chapter of your life so you need to prioritise and decide which pieces are the most important to keep. And, what is missing. To know what you need to simplify your life and to create a happy home at the same time, you need to know what the basics are.

In this episode I am introducing a list of essential pieces to start decorating, the foundation on which you add your personal touches to create a cosy and happy home. I will also provide tips how to stay organised in style and in control of your project.

The post DWS 08: Decorating Essentials & Wish List appeared first on Bettina Deda.

Have you heard of Feng Shui but don't know how to incorporate it in your home?

Feng Shui is the study of time and space and seeks to harmonise nature’s forces within your living or working environment. Feng Shui is 3000 years old and originated in China. It has been practised with a lot of success and is starting to gain in popularity in Australia. Feng Shui helps people increase their prosperity, abundance and improve their overall wellbeing.

Using Feng Shui can benefit you in many ways from improving your health and wellbeing to increasing academic achievement, minimising the chance of theft, gossip, conflict, lawsuits and financial loss to having more financial stability, retaining savings and making more money generally.

As empty nesters often start from scratch when downsizing to a smaller home why not incorporating some Feng Shui priniciples into your new space and improve your health and wellbeing?

If you have no idea how that works – don’t worry we are here to help. I have spoken with a Feng Shui specialist to shed light on this topic.

To learn more, listen to episode 7 of the Downsize With Style podcast.

The post DWS 07: Key Benefits Of Feng Shui Interiors appeared first on Bettina Deda.

You are planning to move to a smaller home or are in the process of downsizing already. Even if you are super-tidy and organised, you may face some de-cluttering challenges. For most of us, de-cluttering is not a favourite task and therefore frequently postponed.

Do you wake up in the middle of the night, wondering how you can possibly manage to tidy up all your storage areas with everything else you are currently juggling?

Does this sound familiar? Well, relax and breathe deeply. Clutter builds up due to unresolved issues and unmade decisions. You are not alone, and your procrastination can be overcome by working with a plan and a strategy.

Listen to this week's podcast - the ultimate guide to de-cluttering!

The post DWS 06: The Ultimate Decluttering Guide appeared first on Bettina Deda.