When it comes to a living space, comfort may be king but it never hurts to add a splash of adventure.
Located just east of Oshawa, Black Creek by Halminen Homes features standalone two-, three- and four-bedroom homes, including a model home that shows how a little bit of colour goes a long way to making an already inviting space truly feel like home.
While the suite, with its earthy colours and warm dark wood and light cream tones, successfully conveys a sense of elegant comfort, Halminen Homes brought in designer Anu Thorne to give the suite a final touch of excitement.
Thorne was challenged to work with the existing furniture and finishings to add a sense of adventure to the space, so she focused on small, sharp contrasts using standout colours.
“When it comes to model homes we do see a lot of earth tones — right now they’re very popular. I tried to give the space some extra life with oranges and blues and punch it up with a few accent pieces so that your eye is definitely drawn into the room,” Thorne said.
Contrasts go a long way to not only making a space dramatic but also to highlight its uniqueness.
“I always like to work with contrasts because they add a bit of individuality. There’s a trend now to not have everything quite so matching,” Thorne said.
Creating a sense of life is important in a model suite so Thorne accented main areas like the living room and kitchen selectively with potted plants like orchids and small ferns to bring a little nature indoors.
“It makes the room look like people really are living there when you put something that actually has life in there,” Thorne said.
Red silk pillows mix with soft, luxurious corduroy textures on the living room sofa and similar texture-swapping occurs in the bedroom with cottons and silks sharing space and creating a more interesting, tactile feel than with a single fabric alone.
“I think it always makes it more interesting to have different textures rather than having it be so utilitarian. It helps to convey a feeling of warmth and excitement,” she said.
