What the interior design of your home say about you

When it comes to residential homes, many people search for cabinets fitting, wall effects and flooring designs. PHOTO| FOTOSEARCH

What you need to know:

  • When Gypsum ceiling and interiors opened its doors seven years ago, gypsum ceilings were the in-thing in Kenya.
  • They continue to be a favourite because of the soothing and luxurious feel that they add to the interior of a room.
  • A standard ceiling installation including lighting costs between Sh2, 500 — Sh3,000 per square meter.

Interior design, like any field, has not remained untouched by advancement in technology. By broadening the cost and options of clients, we now even have online interior design platforms where you can learn and design your own space, to your taste. If in doubt, check out companies like Laurel & Wolf and Red Clay Design.

But certain things remain unchanged, such as the fact that you will need an interior designer per excellence to professionally and smoothly transform your living space to reflect your preferences because the reality is that when it comes to ultimate interior decor, the devil is in the details.

Joshua Kasyoka, an interior designer at Wallpaper Kenya, says that it has become increasingly important that interior designers are involved in construction right from the beginning to ensure that the end result is satisfactory.

“Interior design is an important aspect of defining one’s lifestyle, and from around 2010, we have been experiencing an increase in the number of inquiry for both residential and office owners. The cost of an interior designer depends largely on the size, location, detail and preferences of the property owner. Some people prefer to have the services of interior designers from the flooring right to the ceiling, while some seek out interior designers for specific things within the property,” explains Kasyoka.

When it comes to residential homes, many people Kasyoka has worked with come in search of cabinets fitting, wall effects and flooring designs.

“Areas like kitchens are very sensitive to standards, so fitting cabinets for kitchens is usually done very deliberately,” he explains.

“Interior design is a very broad subject, and now it is becoming a thing for different interior design professionals to choose to specialise in certain niche areas. For example, at Gypsum Ceilings and Interiors, our area of specialisation is installation of gypsum ceilings,” explains Alfayo Muzembi, director of Gypsum ceilings and interiors.

COSY LIVING SPACE

When Gypsum ceiling and interiors opened its doors seven years ago, gypsum ceilings were the in-thing in Kenya. They continue to be a favourite because of the soothing and luxurious feel that they add to the interior of a room.

According to gypsum.org, gypsum board is the generic name for a family of panel products that consist of a non combustible core, composed primarily of gypsum, and a paper surfacing on the face, back and long edges. Gypsum board is one of several building materials covered by the umbrella term “gypsum panel products.”

“Gypsum ceilings are favoured by many of our clients. I can say about 80 per cent of both corporate and residential clients seek gypsum ceilings for their interior finishes. They are durable and versatile and can be combined with lots of factors, such as different colours to bring out the aesthetic quality of the ceiling. These ceilings are also fire resistant and are easier to accessorise with different types of lighting and can blend with anything,” Muzembi explains.

A standard ceiling installation including lighting costs between Sh2, 500 — Sh3,000 per square meter.

Having a cosy living space is an aspiration tucked inside many human beings. And this is perhaps an important aspiration to have because living in a nicely put together living space, psychologists have found, predisposes one to a good mood.

Believe it or not, the choices that you make when deciding how your home will look have a documented effect on your emotions and perceptions. The colour of the walls in your kitchen, for instance, might be contributing to your anxiety, while your brand of couch could lead your visitors to assume that you’re standoffish, argues an article in Freshome, a real- estate specialised publication.