Chris Warnes
House Rules judge and HB alumnus Wendy Moore says that warehouse style works best when the structure of the building becomes part of the aesthetic – but you need to remember that you are still creating a home, not a workspace.
“When you have big spaces you are trying to create intimacy, so I think that’s when the importance of lighting and soft furnishings come in,” she explains.
Here are Wendy’s top 3 tips to make a warehouse feel cosy.
1. Lighting
“You need to bring lighting down to a more traditional room level,” she says. “That’s why big drop pendants really work well in a warehouse because they do bring the focus down to a more comfortable level – particularly at night when you don’t get the benefit of any kind of natural light that bounces off the ceiling. Lighting makes a larger space feel more intimate and not empty or cavernous.”
“…after lighting, it’s about soft furnishings – bringing rugs in, plus artwork and cushions to create a sense of place in different zones”
Wendy Moore, House Rules judge
2. Soft furnishings
“And then of course after lighting, it’s about soft furnishings – bringing rugs in, plus artwork and cushions to create a sense of place in different zones,” she explains. “So a loungeroom needs a big generous rug that connects all the loungeroom furniture to create a sense of place of a living area, which is usually a semi-open area.”
3. Adding missing elements
Sometimes old warehouses have lost architectural features, says Wendy, so adding in industrial-style materials such as exposed brickwork, concrete and copper gives the building a sense of history. “It doesn’t have to be only about stripping back – adding elements such as copper piping is a clever use of industrial materials,” she says.
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