How To Renovate

EP66 The Importance Of Play When Designing Your Home

• Tash South

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After a long, inspiring summer in Barcelona, I’m back—and filled with ideas sparked by the incredible, playful architecture of Gaudí. 

In this episode, we dive into the joy of designing with a sense of play and freedom. Gaudí's bold use of curves, colour, and nature-inspired forms reminded me just how powerful it can be to bend the rules and follow your imagination when it comes to designing our homes.

We’ll explore breaking the “design rules”, exploring using all the layers of an interior, designing for feeling—not just aesthetics, and why it’s okay to go all in! 

I can’t wait to see you inside!

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Hi I'm your host, Tash South I'm an Interior Designer and Renovation Consultant, and I'm here to help you design, renovate and style your home better. Let's create your dream home together.


Each episode of How To Renovate is short, but brimming with practical advice to help you manage your renovation project with confidence and success.

Grab some more renovation advice & free resources and become part of the South Place Studio Renovation Community at
https://www.southplacestudio.com/freebies

Everything I teach about renovation falls within my Five Pillar Process for A Successful Renovation, to learn more about the process, head to
https://www.southplacestudio.com/pillars


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Speaker 1:

Hello, hello everybody. I am back After a really long summer break in Barcelona. We were so lucky this year we managed to take the whole of August off and spend it in Barcelona, one of my favourite cities. It's buzzing, it was hot, the architect is amazing, the food is amazing, and so we were really lucky, like I said said to be able to hire an apartment there for the whole month of August and pretty much pretend we were living there for August. So we had the best time.

Speaker 1:

I've got two daughters, eva and Mickey, and I have to say at times it was a little bit difficult with both of them in the heat and as a mum, you're always on call. So even though we had the most incredible time, I'm also happy to be back into some sort of rhythm of life again. Kids are back at school and I always kind of love this time of year. It feels like almost like New Year's to me. It's kind of a fresh start. You've had all that time to kind of have off, think about things, get some inspiration and, of course, barcelona was absolutely amazing for inspiration when it comes to architecture and design, because you have the amazing Gaudi, who I became absolutely obsessed with when I was there, he absolutely has a new fan in me. I mean, if I could just live in that man's mind just for a few days just to see what happens in there and how he created all these incredible buildings. It is just astonishing. And really that's what kind of inspired today's episode. Today we're going to be talking about the importance of play when designing your home, and so when you look at Gaudi's creations, they are so playful and they take their inspiration from nature organic forms, curves, colour, different materials and so I just felt so inspired by that. I thought how about if we can all take a little bit of that with us when we go into planning our own homes? So that's really what inspired this episode today, and I have talked about this before kind of more in what I call the dreaming phase of planning your renovation. It's that that part at the very start when you're thinking about what you want your home to look like, what do you want it to feel like, how you want to fill in the space, any kind of playful elements. It's that kind of phase right at the start when you start really thinking about how you want your home to be, when you might be in the fortunate place of kind of having the go ahead or the finances in place to start your renovation, to then start dreaming about what the end product is going to be, but without further ado. I'm so glad to be back here with you. I hope you had an incredible summer as well, if you're in the Northern Hemisphere, that is, and you've got your kids back at school. If you've got any kids and you're ready to go into this new phase of the year, let's get into the episode. Okay, so here we go.

Speaker 1:

The importance of play when designing a home. So first we have play with the rules, and I have talked about this before, if you've been listening for a while. So I like to think of the rules as suggestions really. I mean, obviously there are certain things like spacing and measurements and so on that really just work well when it comes to actually decorating your home the kind of more fun side of things, more static side of things. I love to play with the rules here. So I think when you're using play or playing with certain elements when designing your home, it's important to remember that those rules are really just guidance.

Speaker 1:

You don't have to stick to anything. You can come up with your own creative way. It is your home, after all, and I do actually think that's why these amazing interior designers, architects like Gaudi, who are so noticed and who are celebrated, is because they push the boundaries. I mean Gaudi's designs, for example. There really wasn't anything like it at the time when he was designing these. He was really pushing the boundaries and playing with the rules and creating his own rules, and so I really think we can do this in our own homes as well. You don't have to stick to the norm. You don't have to stick to what you see in the magazines. You you can play around. You can mix eras and styles. You can put your grandma's antique console into your modern living room. You can play with colour and pattern. Perhaps you can put a curved sofa in an angled room. There are so many ways you can play with the rules and really achieve something that's quite unique and really fun and playful at the end. So that would be my first piece of advice here is, when you're thinking of just creating a space that's just a bit unique like nothing else out there, really think about how you can push the boundaries, how you can play with the rules and you can mix eras and styles and colours and patterns, and come up with something that's quite unique that suits you and suits your family.

Speaker 1:

Moving on to number two, we're talking about exploring all the elements. So I find here, when I work with clients, that people don't always remember that there are several layers to putting together an interior design scheme. There are colours, patterns, textures, shapes, scale. All of these things can be played around with. One of my most favourite things to play around with is actually scale, and this could be as simple as putting an unexpected size piece of artwork in an unexpected place. So, for example, in your living room you might play around with having an artwork that's absolutely massive, or one or two pieces that are really quite too small for the room or seem too small for the room, but you place them in a really interesting spot in that room. Maybe it's just off centre to one side of a console, perhaps it's off centre to the sofa. So playing around with the scale is one of my most favourite things to do, and also you've got all the other elements you can play with as well. So when you're thinking about your end product, maybe even just note down all of the elements like shape, like colour, like texture and pattern and scale, so that you don't forget that they're there and to incorporate them when you're thinking about your space, when you're looking at samples, when you're going into the stores to try and choose items. So always have those in mind, always remember that you can explore all of them, you can include all of them in different ways. It doesn't mean it has to be maximalist, unless, of course, that's what you want, but you can incorporate all of these even into the most simple design. But by incorporating them all and thinking about how you want to playfully include them, you will end up with a really layered, gorgeous, cohesive space that people can just tell has been thought through and has been considered and put together. So that's number two.

Speaker 1:

Let's move on to number three. Number three is not everything has to be a 10. Okay, so let's get into this one. So by this I mean not everything has to be a 10 in terms of expense, but also a 10 in terms of being the statement in the room. Because if everything is a 10 in terms of being a statement in the room, of course it's going to be a bit overwhelming. If you've got a statement sofa statement, drapery, statement, coffee table. Everything is just going to be too much. So think about mixing in terms of levels, so which are your number 10 items or which are your statement pieces, and then you can take it down in terms of how the other pieces in the room work around that. And of course, the 10 doesn't always have to be a piece of furniture. It could be the wallpaper, it could be an artwork, so it could be anything really within that room.

Speaker 1:

And I think a combination of having a 10 or a couple of 10s in a room and then dialing down everything else really can work, because it won't compromise the beauty of the thing. That is the statement. It will complement it, and so I really feel like having one or two 10s and then working with those and dialing down the others. Doing that will just work really well with your statement piece and make it shine even more. And then to quickly chat about expense as well, so the cost of items, obviously, if you're doing up a whole home can rack up really quickly, so this concept can apply to that as well.

Speaker 1:

So when you're choosing your statement pieces, obviously if it's a sofa or a bed, you want to choose really good quality, something that's going to last, something that's comfortable, and so that's kind of where you want to spend your 10 money. And then everything else, you can shop around. You can find other pieces. Perhaps you can find some vintage pieces, some secondhand pieces that aren't as expensive but that complement that piece really beautifully. And I call this high-low. So I think actually it was a bit of a trend in the magazines many, many years ago, but I've been working this way for quite a while, especially when it comes to my own home, and really mixing kind of high quality pieces with other pieces that you may have found or that you may have discovered on your travels that don't cost the earth but that really add that layer of personality and your personal taste and your own memories into your space. And I really believe that layering as you go along through the next few months after you've renovated your space, or years even building up on little things that you add into your home, that is the thing that makes it a home. It truly makes it a home, gives it personality and adds that layering that just makes it your own.

Speaker 1:

Okay, moving on to the next one, number four designing for feeling, not just looks. So this is a big one for me and I always play around with this when I'm designing, either for myself or for clients it's we want to think really carefully about each space and how we want to feel when we go into that space, or how we want others to feel when we go into that space. So look at your floor plan and just think about the function of the room and how you want to feel in that space. For example, if it's a living room and it's an evening space, you want to feel cozy, relaxed, calm, cocooned, so that then can instantly start to guide where you go with your design, which fabrics you choose, which colours you choose, how you want your lighting to be. So that feeling can really guide where you're going with the overall look and the end product. So really play around with that. Think about you know, firstly, how you want to feel in the room and then play around with your samples, textures, get some paint colours together, think about combining things that you might not have thought would go together before, perhaps. Get the samples, lay them out on a mood board or go online and find some images. Do some searches for those words that you are looking for. So if you're looking for a space to be joyful. Perhaps go and just search joyful interiors, see what comes up, look at loads of images, gather some inspiration and that can really influence where you go and hopefully, if you're playful and you explore and you experiment, you'll be able to bring that joy into your own home design at the end.

Speaker 1:

Okay, number five everybody is go all in, but keep it harmonious. I guess whatever your style is, whether it's minimalist or maximalist or somewhere in between, you know, commit fully. I really think that half measures can dilute the impact. So I think it kind of just gives that sense of you're kind of walking into a room and you're not quite sure what the person was trying to do. So I think, just commit fully. It's going to end up in a much better result. If, for example, you're wanting to paint the walls darker, let's say, and you're a bit nervous and you're thinking, oh, I'll just do a feature wall, I really think that going all in and painting the whole room in that colour, perhaps even the ceiling, which I've done numerous times before, just makes it look so much more considered, thought through. It basically looks like you've had a designer helping you if you do things fully. So try not to dilute if you really really love something or you love a look, go for it, go all in. And things like paint, I mean bit of a pain, but if you're not happy with it, it's easy enough to change that to a different colour or to something else. But I just think that you know, if you're going to go for a dark colour or a bright colour, then go all in.

Speaker 1:

Or another example might be you know, in my own kitchen I have this beautiful brass kitchen island and at first I thought, oh, will the maintenance be too much? Um, it's not. You know, it's not protected. I was really second guessing myself and I thought, should I just put some brass detailing on instead of making the whole island brass? I went all in. In the end I did the whole kitchen island clad in brass. And it does tarnish, it does get fingerprints on it, it does patinate. But you know what I actually love, how it does that. So it kind of just ages naturally over time as the kids touch it or you've got spillages and so on, but it gives it almost a whole new life. And then, when I want to take it back to the kind of shiny new how it was when it was installed, it can be cleaned up, and so I just think that if you're wanting to go for a real statement or a real certain look, then just go all in with it, just be confident with it, and then the harmonious bit is you can go all in but still keep it harmonious. I think that's actually the beauty of what makes going all in actually work. If you just keep in mind that your choices need to feel cohesive, so through colour, through tone, through mood, then the space will hold together beautifully.

Speaker 1:

And then, just to end off this episode, everybody number six design for a life well lived. So this is my favorite thing, and this is kind of why I do what I do, because I love seeing the projects come to completion and then seeing my clients move in and just seeing them enjoying not only their new home but enjoying their new lives. Almost being in that space, living like they've always wanted to live, living well, enjoying the space that they have, enjoying the light that they have in an atmosphere that really supports their lives, makes them feel the way they want to feel, whether that's relaxed or energised, organised, calm, whatever that might be. So I thought I'd add this into this episode here about play as well, because I think we do have to remember always the end goal and I think where play comes into this is that we can make our homes. We can make it reflect ourselves, you know, reflect your version of a life well lived. And the beauty of that is it's different for everybody, and that's where you can be playful and you can make it unique and you can make it yours.

Speaker 1:

And I go back to again including those elements in your home that bring back your memories, that bring you joy, those family photos, the little trinkets you picked up on holiday somewhere on your travels, something that your kid made for you, or a library of books that are precious to you. And I think even more beautiful about this point is that it does not need to cost a lot of money. I think, when it comes to this point, is that making your home yours, customisation, maybe bringing in an heirloom piece of furniture or something that you've made or upcycled, or just something that's really personal and precious to you into your own home I think that matters so much more than the cost of things. Sometimes is that sentimentality and those are the layers that you can add on that really are going to add to the feeling of your home and the uniqueness of the home and what ultimately just makes it feel like your own home. So that brings us to the end of this episode. Everybody, I hope you enjoyed it, but I've got so much more to come. I'm planning loads of new episodes for you. Lots of guests I'm going to be having on the podcast in the next few months, so do stay with us and I will see you next week. Have a great week, everybody. It's bye for now.

Speaker 1:

For more information on my five pillar process for successful renovation, you can go directly to southplacestudiocom forward slash pillars, where you'll find an introduction to the process which covers each of the pillars and what they cover. We also have a number of other free renovation resources. Go now to southplacestudiocom forward slash freebies. I have created some amazing freebies for you there. There is one on the process, like we just said. There is one on planning permission. There is one on the process, like we just said. There is one on planning permission. There is one on kitchen design. There is another one on lighting planning. Go and check those out. There's so much free information there to help you with your renovation.