Xtraordinary Women Magazine August/September 2015 | Page 42

ask decor diva
On our blog, The Design Tabloid, we have an #AskDecorDiva
column where we invite our readers to send in any query or decor
dilemma that they might have. We in our turn do our utmost to
present a do-able solution using our many years of experience and
skills.

We are hoping that the #AskDecorDiva column will become a regular
feature in the Xtraordinary Women magazine. So please, share your
decor questions with us!
This is an invaluable opportunity to get some awesome (not to
mention FREE) advice from some cool decorators.

BY Rose McClement
Dear Decor Diva,

“I am building and want to combine my kitchen with the lounge. The whole room
is tiny – only 2.5m x 3m. My plan is to have one wall fitted with the kitchen
cabinets, stove and fridge and the other wall will play host to a wall mounted
plasma and floating shelves. I want dark wood cabinets but I am afraid the whole
place will look cramped and dark. Please help!”
Kind regards, Shaidah

Dear Shaidah,
In terms of your plans for your lounge and
kitchen – the area being small really needs to be
kept of light as possible in order to create and
maintain that feeling of space.
I would venture to say that having all the
cabinets in dark wood would be defeating that
objective. I would recommend that you either
consider a light wood finish or white or cream
cabinets with the same colour on the drawers
and door fronts.
White would be your better option, but if you are
keen on a wooden finish, and then ask your
kitchen supplier to show you a few samples
along the lighter wood lines.
If you should go the white or cream route, a
splash of colour can be added into your kitchen
by having one or more of the drawer fronts in

either a colour or wood finish. Alternatively there
could be one or two doors in a contrasting finish
or colour. There is no reason why you cannot
mix in the colours and textures. In fact that is the
trend in kitchens today and it works well.
All the best with your plans.

Love , Rose
PS. Small dual function spaces like Shaidah’s
.
might sound improbable but is actually quite
common especially in Scandinavian or East
Asian countries where properties are either very
expensive or very limited because of overpopulation. It is essential to keep the space light,
minimal and free of clutter. Invest in multifunctional furniture and clever storage solutions.