One of the reasons why I aspire to own a home in the near future is because of the eye-catching pictures of my favorite artistas’ abodes in lifestyle print magazines.
Apart from sharing the sacrifices my favorite celebrities made to own their dream homes, these magazines also highlight the features that make these A-list properties truly one-of-a-kind. In turn, their home designs clearly help increase the value of the properties that they would not need to use their celebrity status if they decide to put up their apartment or condo for rent or sale.
So what makes a celebrity home different from your typical residence? You can pull the home interior design off by having these seven features in your own home or rented condo:
1. A great view
Celebrity homes are usually a welcoming assault to the senses, primarily because these properties are at the heart of everything. A strong evidence of this are the breathtaking city, suburban, country or water views their properties offer.
Homes with balconies showing off great views like these offer an interesting focus point, and can be your best asset when it comes to renting it out or selling it to the highest bidder.
Design tip: If your view is of your condominium development’s interiors (ex. resort-type amenities) or one that’s situated wherein the primary attraction is the view (ex. properties located along a sea port line or a central business district), you can dress up your balcony by creating a bay window. If your balcony is facing a wall or a drab section of your neighborhood, you can turn the space into a small working garden.
2. Quirky or interesting decor
A lot of celebrity homes are decorated with a mixture of luxurious items and vintage pieces, overall achieving an elegant yet relaxed effect. Furnishing your home with the right choice of interior decor can definitely start a conversation. That is why model condo units and open houses for sale are visually appealing to even the home shoppers — they are always decked with plush decor.
Design Tip: Show off your personality by displaying your most prized treasures, like your collection of vinyl records or concert posters. As these items have stories attached to them, their presence in your living space can give you inspiration. Make sure to display just a few pieces, so the room won’t look cluttered.
3. A personalized home improvement
More often than not, you’ll catch celebrities sharing stories about improving certain spaces in their home. Whether they have knocked down walls to open up their main kitchen to the living room or have replaced the clunky stairs with an art-inspired staircase (like the one above), home improvements done properly can boost your home’s appeal.
Decor Tip: Have you tried setting up a loft bed? Loft beds are a great space-saver in small living spaces like studio-type condos or shared apartments.
4. Money-saving luxury
An energy-efficient home is a real estate win for homeowners who decide to invest in it, simply because there is less need to use a lot of stuff to make your home comfortable.
Moreover, celebrities prefer homes that’s energy-efficient as they can save a lot of money in the long run. If your home is well-lit without needing to open a lot of lights, well-ventilated and insulated without running the aircon or electric fans 24/7, and is well-equipped with Energy Star-certified appliances, you’d be saving a year’s worth of homeowner association dues.
Design tip: Get rid of broken appliances and start investing in both energy-saving and alternative energy-producing equipment (ex. inverter appliances, solar panels). Decluttering your home to the minimum essentials will not only reduce the amount of energy expensed needed to cool the home, but will also provide a clear, unobstructed flow of the room.
5. Visual space
Another feature that celebrity homes have in common is their love for wide, open spaces. In real estate, visual space, and not square footage, counts because buyers would prefer to live in a home that feels large no matter how much stuff they have.
Design tip: For small living spaces like condos, using multifunctioning furniture helps free up the amount of space. Task lighting and using complementary colors are also crucial to achieve visual space. From your home’s entrance, your kitchen/dining area should follow, then the living room to use natural lighting near the windows to highlight the two areas always used for socializing or are most active in. Your floor should have a color similar or complementary to the ceiling as your eyes follow from the floor up.
6. Bathroom Upgrades
The typical Filipinos bathroom comprises a toilet, faucet, shower, and sometimes, a bathtub. Celebrities, on the other hand, take the traditional bathroom to the next level by adding features or extras like plush carpets, chaise lounges, and a surround-sound system, for example.
But why should you invest in a room that’s for when you’re doing, um, your business? Although the bathrooms is the most underappreciated part of a home, they can also be a welcome respite from outside chaos and clutter of life, perfect for urban dwellers.
Design Tip: You don’t have to spend thousands of pesos to make your bathroom look like it just went a million-peso upgrade. Use unconventional storage (ex. your Nanay’s decorative jars) to keep everything neat and organized. You can also DIY bathroom accents in pop-out colors (ex. painting a portion of the wall or floor tiles).
7. Walk-in storage
Proper organization, believe it or not, can add value to your home. Having ample storage creates a sense of order in the home, and if you are planning to put up your apartment or condo for sale, organizational systems are add-ons welcomed by even the stingiest buyers.
Design tip: Turn negative spaces (ex. space under the stairs, that little columnar space along the hallway) in your home as your organizational spaces. You can use dividers or add storage boxes. Make sure you’ve carefully planned where each of your item will go in so everything will fit nicely and that they don’t show too cramped.
What features would you like your dream home to have? Check out what Pinoy millennials wish to have in their own place.
