Key interior decor practices that are expected to go big in 2021

“The DIY movement is growing stronger each day, particularly due to Covid-19, and this ties back to affordability and frugality of homeowners in uncertain times. With a little bit more time at hand, the elbow grease works wonders. Having said that, it may be just one or two pièce de résistance, as building plenty of your own stuff requires lots more hardware than you can imagine, ” says Azlan.

Nik Ida Juliana also agrees that the trend will continue to be well-received.

“With more people staying home for extended periods of time and paying more attention to the design of their interiors, homeowners may find that they need to upgrade their residential spaces. Malaysian homeowners are quite sophisticated in their taste and, with the wide availability of design ideas on the Internet, I am sure that their home projects will be quite tasteful and interesting.

“Most importantly is that their design will reflect the way they define themselves aesthetically as proud homeowners. The availability of finishing materials on various online retail platforms will also allow the homeowner/designer to be more adventurous and creative with their design solutions, ” she adds.

Houseplants are also believed to continue being a key feature in homes next year.

“Gardens are always a good complement to homes as they soften the hardness of the architecture and bring interest to the owner; similarly with art pieces.

“With some designs introducing skylights and large balconies, plants already form part of the interior design. And with the growing awareness of farm-to-table and no-pesticide crop benefits, and the availability of home farming systems, it is more likely that home living will be extended to include more of the outdoors for people to enjoy fresh air, with people looking to open the living room door to enjoy the garden, ” says Wong.

Nik Ida Juliana shares that adding houseplants as part of an interior decor setting has always proven to be a good strategy in not only enlivening the space but also promoting healthy living.

“Not only do these plants add to the aesthetic quality of interior spaces, they also have a tendency to reduce stress and anxiety of the occupants, thus increasing productivity while filtering the air of the interior spaces.

“To incorporate houseplants into your home, you must first analyse the space and identify areas that will be able to most benefit from the incorporation of plants both aesthetically and functionally.

“View the plants as interesting functional accents of the space and then decide on the scale of the plants from freestanding “trees” to table decorative accents to succulents and mini cacti. As plants are very unique within the interior spaces, be careful not to clutter a particular area but use the plants as interesting visual exclamations that will brighten and enliven a room, ” she advises.

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