November 2nd 2016

This week on Deadline Design we travelled to Box Hill and Jen and Adam’s Californian Bungalow style property. Their three-bedroom weatherboard home was too small for their growing family and, with three children under four, a renovation was an absolute necessity before the walls burst.

With a tight deadline and an almost unrealistic budget, the transformation of this house was enhanced by a modern open layout and the cathedral height ceilings gives the back of the house a ‘hallelujah’ moment when you walk in (perfect for the three little angles to run around to their hearts content – hoping no crayons on hand). Within this structure, I worked with Jen and Adam to create a modern home influenced by their favourite, Scandinavian style.

‘Scandi’ style is a big favourite trend style at the moment. It includes a pale – often predominantly white – colour palette and blonde timbers, with simple, minimalist décor and a tendency towards folk patterns and mid-century furniture.

As Jen and Adam were creating a home for life, I took the colours and essence of what they love about this style, and took them out of their comfort zone created a new meaning to modern Scandi. I can’t say it was easy to take them out of their original ideas but I did say ‘that’s what you have me here for, so trust me’. (Hmmm do you ever think about that saying? NEVER trust a person that says trust me…)

I didn’t want to create a design for them that would date, so I started by setting blonde timbers as the signature of the style and introduced a mixed palate of soft pastels and colours with depth that can be layered and added to over time. By getting the basics right and respecting the core principles of ‘Scandi’ style, Jen and Adam now have a home that can adapt and change with them over the years.

Let me know what you think of Jen and Adam’s home on social media by tagging me @ShaynnaBlaze and #DeadlineDesign on Twitter and Instagram, or leave a comment for me on Facebook.

Images: Vanessa Hall, Lifestyle.

For a full list of this week’s suppliers and extra content on this – and all episodes of Deadline Design – head to Lifestyle.