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James Treble’s tips for maximising your rental floor space

September 12, 2014

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When you live in a rental property, there is only so much you can do to alter the space and make it suit your needs. When it comes to adding space, you can’t renovate by moving a wall, repainting or adding on a room. But don’t give up! One sure-fire way to provide a feeling of space and make your inner designer’s mark is to make the right selections with your choice of furniture.

Below are James Treble’s top 10 tips to help you select the right furniture pieces, that are guaranteed to visually add square metres to any rental property and to guide you as you create your very own personal style.

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1. Console

A console may be the first furniture piece you see when you enter your home, but it is not only the style of furniture that can make it work in your space. Whether it’s a wrought iron and marble-topped piece or a timber console with lots of drawers, you should consider a couple of points. The first is the depth of the piece — about 400mm deep will work as it’s more for somewhere to drop your keys and phone, or place some flowers and personal objects. I also suggest thin legs or having it raised off the ground, so you can see under it and have a feeling of space which will make your entry foyer feel larger.

2. Lounge

A lounge should always be comfortable and inviting and many are not! When selecting your lounge, don’t fall for the oversized lounge with the thick round arms. The seats and back must be good quality, with covers that can be removed to wash. But look to a design with thin arms to create a more open space in the room and raised legs instead of a more solid design, as this will let you see the floor, making your room feel larger.

3. Arm chair

A good armchair is as much a destination as it is a piece of furniture. It should be somewhere you can escape to with a book and a wine, so it should be comfy and inviting. Depending upon your interior style it can also be a focal point and statement piece in your room. As it’s not as large as a lounge, it can be a more solid design. But instead of having a solid base, consider a higher back than your lounge, which will make it feel important, as going up instead of out will not use up valuable floor space.

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4. Coffee table 

A coffee table should be a practical decision with its width and depth relating to the size of the lounge and the room dimensions. A great choice to add an open feeling is to have a glass top, whether it’s a smoked glass or clear, as being able to see through it will make the room feel larger. In addition, a metal finish can work like glass and let light bounce around. Another consideration is thin legs or an open design, again to add a feeling of openness.

5. Shelving

Storage is always an important asset in any home, but for a rental property the right shelving can make the space, and it’s important to make it easy to be relocated if you ever need to move. For this reason, it should be a light frame instead of a heavy structure, this also means it’s easy to pull apart as well as making the room feel bigger. Instead of a wide-set of shelves, consider going upwards instead, using the wasted height of your room is a wise decision and one which can provide your books and objects with a sense of importance

6. Dining Table

A table is a large piece of furniture so it is important that the design will work in many possible scenarios. A durable finish and good design with narrow legs is a good choice, but a great option is to have an extension table. This will give you the option of having more floor area for day-to-day, with the option to open up the table when the occasion arrives.

7. Dining Chairs

A good dining chair should have a firm but comfortable seat with a comfortable back for support. Simple elegant chairs with simple legs will date well and fit into most interior design schemes. Leather is easy to clean and durable, however fabric is warm and can add colour and texture to a room. Thin legs and no arms will make the chair appear lighter and make them easier to move around the home.

8. Sideboard 

A good sideboard will provide additional storage and work well with the dining setting to provide a balanced interior design. Easily accessible and quality fittings will make it a good investment, and an option is to have a reflective finish such as mirror or a high gloss surface will add some reflection making a space feel brighter and larger.

9. Bed

A good quality bed is so important as we spend a third of our lives on one. You should spend wisely on a good mattress considering it an investment, but look to a bed and frame so you can use under the bed as additional storage. To ensure it will work well in any sized room and be able to easily fit through doorways consider a lighter, thinner frame instead of a heavy frame and ensemble. A comfortable thin padded bed head will provide a splash of colour or pattern as well as comfort, but consider avoiding a bed end, as it will close in your room and provide you with something to bang your shins into!

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10. Bedsides

Bedside tables are not just an accessory, they are practical! A place for your glasses, book and a glass of water (or wine). A set of drawers are great for extra storage, but if you don’t need them, a more open design will make the bedroom feel larger. The height is important and should relate to your mattress height, which can differ greatly. If you have a smaller room, consider looking for a glass-topped bedside or mirror design, to again bounce light off and add a felling of Luxe to the room.

–James Treble , the resident interior designer on Channel 10′s The Living Room, is the new interior styling ambassador for online homewares shopping destination, Zanui. Last year, he was chairman of the Colour Society of Australia’s NSW division.

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Do I recommend a timber vanity top? A big fat NOP Do I recommend a timber vanity top?

A big fat NOPE! 💧 

Which is why we have recently covered ours with a Caesarstone top (thanks to @justinplace_sydney for the advice and supply) and the sweet RELIEF of not having to worry about this high traffic area anymore, I'm telling you!🤗

Doesn't matter what they tell you or how many times it's sealed, I'm not sure it's a great idea in a room which is so, well, wet!

I love having the warmth of timber in the bathroom and it's a beautiful piece, but timber on the top? Never again.

Ours probably lasted a year (if that) before it started to go downhill (and we want a good decade out of a bathroom, right?!). 2.5 years on, everything else in this bathroom looks virtually brand new and the water marked vanity top was really letting the side down and making me sad!

But I'm so pleased with this solution, I have to say! Took the plumber less than an hour to remove the sink, install the top and connect the sink back up. We didn't need to move the tap and it isn't too close to the basin.

The kids are allowed to brush their teeth and wash their hands (liquid soap 🥴) in here again and I can leave my hair straightener on there with gay abandon 😆

The reflective surface (which I can clean with whatever I like!💪🏻) brightens the room up too!

Next week I'll tell you what I really think of my brass tile trim too 😉

#interiorsaddictbathroomreno2 #interiorsaddictfamilyhomereno #timbervanity
Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than F Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than French onion?

I think not!

Grab the recipe on the blog this morning via link in bio.
Get to know me! I haven't done one of these in YE Get to know me!

I haven't done one of these in YEARS so there's possibly thousands of you who don't know my back story. Here's a few things you may not know about me!

✔️ I'm English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and I moved here (just for one year) back in 2008😆 

✔️ I can't end the day without a bath, even if I get home really late or on a really hot day. It's a mental health thing and my happy place. 🛁 

✔️ Before becoming a blogger and running my own small business, I was a journalist from the age of 18. My favourite news gathering times were as a newspaper crime reporter (bit different to interiors!) 📓 

✔️ I once worked at New Scotland Yard in London 🚔 

✔️I had an interview at Oxford (didn't get in!) but chose not to go to uni at all after being offered a job on the local paper #universityoflife 😁

✔️ My mum died when I was 3, I have an excellent dad and one sister (younger) in the UK ❤️ 🇬🇧 

✔️ At school, my favourite subject was French 🇫🇷 and I was head girl 🤓🤓

✔️ I'm addicted to ☕️ , long hot baths and💄 (been wearing it since I was about 14!)

✔️ I'm not a phonecall person and will never ever pick up an unknown number. Ever. They can leave a message 😁

✔️ My favourite cuisine is Japanese 🍣 🍜 and Damian and I honeymooned in Tokyo and Venice 

✔️ I have zero design qualifications. I just started blogging about my passion, which is trying to persuade everyone to #heartyourhome That was 11 years ago...

✔️ My favourite tipple is a good GnT or🍷 

✔️ Cheesy as it sounds, 💁‍♀️being a mum is my absolute biggest joy in life 🧒👦

✔️ I will never give up my old school paper diary! Has to be A5 and week to view 📖 

✔️ My official surname isn't Bishop. I kept my maiden name for work after I got married but changed it for everything else. Often confuse myself!

✔️ I didn't get my Ps until I was 37 and I'm still a terrible parker 😯 🅿️

Hope you feel like you know me a bit better 😘

📸 @vanlowvanlow
Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 @nood_co coloured con Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 

@nood_co coloured concrete basins is a great Aussie business success story. Although co founder Matt Di Costa first found fame as one half of Matt and Kim on The Block, he hasn't relied on this to build his brand.

“We are very honoured to have been a part of The Block, and all they have done for us. I am, however, a believer in letting the product take centre stage,” he says.

Read our interview with Matt via link in bio now.

🙏Share your favourite colour basin in the comments!

#colouredconcrete #noodco #colouredbasin #blockheads #the block #bathroomtrends2022

Pic 1 by @naibudesign_ and 2 by @twostyleinteriors
I'd love to see more colour in Aussie interiors! I'd love to see more colour in Aussie  interiors! 🎨 

At the end of the day though, it's a matter of personal taste. I love pops of colour but it's not for everyone. 

We couldn't resist featuring this Canadian house tour today. The amazing Kelly Green  hutch (swipe) was an upcycled $200 find 🤗

Head over to the blog via link in bio to see the rest including one of the best playrooms we've seen in ages!

Project by @in.house.design
📸 @philcrozier
Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis o Create an unexpected city oasis with an emphasis on light and nature.

That was the brief for the conversion of a corner shop and a warehouse bakery into a luxury family home in Sydney's Newtown. And how about the library?!

Take the tour of this very special @annacarindesign project on the blog now, via link in bio.

Pic: @justinalexanderphoto
The things that excite me as a 40 year old 🤭 N The things that excite me as a 40 year old 🤭

None of us enjoy laundry (OK, there are a few of you out there who do. Weird!) but we have to do it. And often. So if your laundry bin can be as good looking, functional and space saving as this, then why wouldn't you?!

I've lost track of how many baskets I've thrown out because they've gone soggy or mouldy. They look pretty, sure, but they're not fit for purpose and they're often messy and overflowing.

Here's what I love about his @brabantia_australia one:

✔️ ventilation holes
✔️ no need to remove the lid for small items plus it hides your dirty laundry from view
✔️ easily removable and washable inner laundry bag that velcros back on 
✔️ corrosion resistant so fine in bathroom or laundry 
✔️ Brabantia make things as sustainably as possible
✔️ compact, sleek, European design
✔️ 10 year warranty
✔️ tall and skinny so takes up less floor in my tiny laundry

The Rolls Royce of laundry bins? I think so 👌🏻

TOLD you this was going to be exciting!

Now I need to know, do you have your laundry basket in the bathroom, the laundry, every bedroom? We used to have one in each bedroom but moved to the laundry-only situation which I much prefer (one for colours and one for whites). My boys know to put their used clothes in the bin in the laundry each night and they're 7 and 3!  #raisingfuturehusbands

#gifted
"Living rooms are important spaces where our publi "Living rooms are important spaces where our public and private lives intersect."

So says stylist @nataliewalton in her gorgeous new book Style, the Art of Creating a Beautiful Home.

"They are where we gather to welcome guests and entertain. But they are also where we decompress and relax at the end of the day. Increasingly, they are open-plan spaces and need to work within a greater scheme. Bringing all the elements together cohesively requires care and consideration. And, if you want a space that lives up to its true potential, make it personal and create with conviction."

Read an extract, the chapter on elevating your living room, on the blog today via link in bio.

Published by @thamesandhudsonau Pix by @chriswarnes 

#livingroomdesigns #nataliewalton #coffeetablebooks #designbooks #interiorsbooks #livingroominteriors #elevateyourspace
Kids and husband messing with my vignettes again🤨

PS. The coaster was RIGHT THERE 🤪
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Comments

  1. AvatarKate Sandford says

    September 12, 2014 at 8:42 pm

    Great tips! James, a friend of mine is coveting the Chanel picture in the background. Where could I find it for her?

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