Using Decorative Accents Around the Home

Decorative accents can be used to amazing aesthetic effect around the home. When it comes to interior design, it’s often the little things that can make an outsized impact.

Carefully chosen and thoughtfully considered, small elements can play a crucial role in infusing warmth, style and personality into a space.

What are Decorative Accents?

The term “decorative accents” can refer to a number of different things but usually refers to the small details and/or finishing touches in a room. Normally used to add a bit of charm or inject a bit of character, decorative accents can come in the form of pillows, sculptures, artwork, rugs or even indoor plants.

In addition to adding a visual element to a room, decorative accents can also add texture, a sense of depth, and important style anchors to a space. Even accent flooring and walls can be used to great effect in transforming a room from zero to hero.

Why consider using Decorative Accents?

Decorative accents can play an important role in your interior design for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s a cost-effective and non-permanent way of incorporating a bit of personality and style to a room. If you have a space that’s feeling a little lacklustre or bare, brightly coloured decorative accents can bring life to your home.

Secondly, decorative accents can be used to highlight other aspects of your home. If you want to draw attention to specific areas, such as a fireplace or a piece of furniture, a considerately placed and chosen accent can achieve exactly that.

Thirdly, decorative accents allow you to play around with textures, colours and styles without having to commit–financially or mentally–to a permanent or house-altering design. You can refresh the styling whenever you so choose and play around with different accents until you find the version that works best for you.

How to Use Decorative Accents

Embrace Bright Colours in Accent Home Decor

Bright colours and bold shading can seem a bit much for some people, which is why your decorative accents offer the perfect opportunity to play around and experiment a little.

Of course, while accent walls and flooring are always an option you can just focus on some vibrant throw pillows, a bit of bold artwork, or a simple yet colourful rug to add a bit of energy to the room.

If you do decide to embrace bright colours in your home accent decor, make sure to balance the boldness with neutral colours elsewhere.

Use Accent Flooring

Accent flooring is an often overlooked way to create a truly impressive style in a home. Rugs, carpets, and mats along your floors can really raise the roof in the overall aesthetic impact.

There’s simply no limit on what can be achieved visually with the sheer range of patterns, textures, colours and styles of flooring available. Whether you choose to incorporate accent flooring that complements the rest of the home or choose something that stands out loudly and proudly, that’s up to you!

Opt for Accent Walls

Every room has walls and every wall offers a blank canvas for you to utilise to great decorative effect. One way of creating an accent wall is to paint a feature wall with a bold colour or use an eye-catching wallpaper design. Both options can really bring a room to life.

If you’re not sure whether you want to go the more permanent route, you can always create a gallery wall of photographs, framed pieces or art or other visually captivating decorations.

Mix and Match the Small Stuff

Small decorative accents, such as sculptures and pillows, give you plenty of scope to mix and match different colours, textures, patterns, and materials without having to commit to any one choice.

Try a floral pattern against a geometric background, or opt for some natural stone juxtaposed against man-made materials. With decorative accents you can play around until you create an original, fantastic style you’ll love!

Size Does Matter

When you’re looking into which decorative accents to include in your home and considering how to include them, consider scale and proportion.

Accents should complement and improve the overall aesthetic of the room and not dominate everything overwhelmingly. Ensure the size and height of any chosen accent piece is appropriate for the space around it.

Don’t Be Afraid of Negative Space

Sometimes, the power of a decorative accent is the space between decorative accents! Embracing the negative space intentionally left empty between your chosen accents can be immensely impactful.

Negative space, also called empty or white space, refers to deliberately left unoccupied areas of a room. Instead of going crazy and simply filling up every square inch of the space with decorative accents, show some restraint and allow your chosen pieces truly shine by highlighting them with surrounding negative space.

Call Euro Marble today for more decorative ideas!

Decorative accents truly are an interior designer’s secret weapon. If you’re struggling to create the ambience or achieve the style you’re looking for in your home, it may be time to consider a bit of accent detailing.
Whether you opt for wall-to-wall accent flooring or subtle decorative accessories to adorn your walls, accents can really take the feel and look of your home up a notch or two. But if you need some assistance or more inspiration, make sure to reach out to the Euro Marble team today. We’d be more than glad to help!

12 Home Decor Ideas in Pantone’s Viva Magenta

The Pantone Color Institute–the organisation dedicated to standardising colour across various industries and the people behind the Pantone Matching System–announced that Viva Magenta 18-740 was the Colour of the Year of 2023.

Viva Magenta, Pantone has explained, represents joy, boldness and vibrancy. For those of us working or involved in interior design, we might be wondering how Viva Magenta can inspire and be utilised in our home decor.

To that end, we’ve assembled 12 tips and ideas to help you make the most of this exciting Colour of the Year.

12 Viva Magenta Interior Design Ideas

Use Viva Magenta as a Focal Point

Viva Magenta is as bold and striking a colour as you could hope for. This gorgeous red can be used to great effect as a design statement piece anywhere in your home. By highlighting your use of Viva Magenta, for example on a feature wall or a central piece of furniture, you can elevate the entire space, create a visual wonder and still manage to balance the overall design aesthetic of the room.

Pair Magenta with Neutral Colours

It can take great skill and subtlety to use a colour like Viva Magenta without overwhelming a space. To avoid the complexity, you can strike the perfect visual balance by pairing the Colour of the Year with light, neutral colours. Think about whites, greys and beiges here. The bold and neutral pairing will ensure nothing overly dominates and the overall aesthetic is nice and even. Consider grey natural stone surrounding a magenta feature wall or a white bedroom with red accents. There’s near infinite options!

Use It As An Accent Colour

Accent colours can be used in small and contained applications that are still highly considered and highly visually spectacular. If you’re not 100% sure how to approach a full on colour scheme using Viva Magenta, play around with small decorative items in this wonderful shade like throw pillows, some artwork, a rug or even curtains.

Commit to Boldness

On the other hand, you might want your room to look as bold and adventurous as you feel. Black and red accents, for example, can really make a space pop. Combining Viva Magenta with other bold colours can create a striking and unique palette for your interior design that will undoubtedly impress visitors. If you’re not sure you want to go for the darker tones, you can still achieve aesthetic boldness by pairing magenta with turquoise, mustard yellow and even emerald green.

Use Glamorous Finishes

For those of us looking for an inspired Viva Magenta interior design style that’s glamorous and elegant, consider using metallic finishes. Gold and silver finishings can pair beautifully with Viva Magenta to achieve a sophisticated look in just about any room of the house. If glamour and opulence is your aesthetic preference, this is a fantastic option.

Create a Soothing Palette

Bold colours, glamorous finishes, neutral palettes… There are a lot of options when it comes to the versatile Viva Magenta. But for your bedroom or living room you might want to consider something both soothing and bright. Using soft, muted tones in conjunction with magenta can work a treat. Blush pink, for example, or even olive green can help you find the fine balance between colourful and soothing.

Gallery Walls

Gallery walls are becoming increasingly popular and in interior design they offer a lot of unique opportunities to inject a bit of colour and personality. Viva Magenta is perfect for helping to tie together such a feature wall and bring a pop of vibrant colour to the space. Using magenta accents in a gallery wall also gives you the flexibility to lean as much as you want into the colour scheme or keep it paired back and low-key.

Magenta in the Kitchen

The kitchen offers a wonderful space to add some bold colour that will be sure to excite you and anyone who visits. Depending on your preferences and overall style, you can opt for anything from a kitchen benchtop painted Viva Magenta to simply incorporating magenta kitchenware or utensils. Kitchens tend to be more neutral in colour anyway, so using Viva Magenta can truly help the space come alive in all the right ways.

Incorporate Patterns

This Viva Magenta-inspired interior design style offers a playful and rather eclectic look. Incorporating patterns alongside Pantone’s Colour of the Year is a great way to mix aesthetics and create a level of visual depth and complexity. Viva Magenta can work wonderfully with most patterns, including polka dots, stripes, conventional dots and floral designs. We particularly love this approach for rooms of heightened activity and energy, such as children’s bedrooms or playrooms.

Create a Cozy Nook

While Viva Magenta is certainly bold and impressive a colour, you can easily use it to make a little work or reading nook cozy and warm as well. Magenta blankets, armchairs or decorative pillows can take an otherwise rather stale area of the house and inject a bit of energy and passion into it.

Spruce Up The Bathroom

If you’re looking for ways to really elevate your bathroom, consider adding some Viva Magenta. You can go bold and include magenta walls or ceiling, or you can keep it all subtle and low-key with coloured towels, mats and the like. It’s really up to you when it comes to the extent to which you use it.

Mix Materials

Timber, natural stone and even–delicately applied–metallic materials can look wonderful paired with Viva Magenta. The nuanced shade of magenta lends itself beautifully to complement an interior design aesthetic of multiple textures and mixing materials is an elegant way to incorporate a visual complexity to a space that is otherwise lacking.

Contact Euro Marble for More Ideas!

Viva Magenta, Pantone’s 2023 Colour of the Year, is a wonderful colour. It can be used to truly stunning effect in your interior design, but if you’re not yet sure how it can be best applied in your home (with or without stone) have a chat with our team here at Euro Marble.

From white bedrooms with red accents to cozy living rooms with magenta feature walls, there’s plenty of opportunity for customisation, beauty and glorious design! Viva La Via Magenta!

Dine in Luxury by Matching Marble with Leather

Your dining room offers one of the most unique interior design opportunities in the home. From family meal times to dinner parties with guests, creating a sense of luxury is a must and there are no better matching materials to use to achieve that aim than leather and marble.

Leather and Marble: A match made in dining heaven

Marble and leather are two luxurious materials and can be used in a variety of ways to create elegant and sophisticated spaces. These materials allow for a combination of warmth and glamour at the same time–both of which are important for a dining room.

Using Marble for Your Dining Table

Marble is a highly prized natural stone known for its exquisite beauty and practical durability. The iconic and classic white stone with grey veining is a timeless material with an endlessly appealing aesthetic that can be used throughout the home.

Marble tables also take advantage of the long-lasting and hardy properties of this stone which is critical for an area of the house that’s going to be exposed to high-traffic, activity, food and drink.

Using Leather for Your Dining Chairs

Leather, like marble, has long been associated with quality and luxury. For good reason. This premium material is made from the skins and hides of animals, and produced through either tanning or chemical treatment to be long lasting, highly practical and super comfortable.

Leather is used in many furniture applications in the home but is particularly well suited to dining chairs. Why? It looks elegant, it feels comfortable and it’s easy to seamlessly create a stylish design.

Matching Marble Dining Table and Leather Chairs

A dining room incorporating both a marble table and leather chairs is not just guaranteed to look and feel luxurious, but it’s also highly practical.

We’re not just talking about the hardiness of the dining table or the comfortable nature of the chairs. Rather, we’re referring to the many different interior design styles that can be achieved through the use of both marble and leather.

Modern

Modern interior designs typically feature neutral colour palettes and minimalist furniture, both of which are classic attributes of both leather and marble. Additionally, the sleek and sophisticated look of these materials easily lend themselves to achieving the clean lines that are popular among modern design enthusiasts.

Classic

A classic, timeless interior design style focuses on traditional furnishings and other ornate details. Marble and leather are both timeless materials and have been used for centuries for that exact reason. Whether your leather dining chairs are wingback in style or the marble dining room table is shaped in the classic style, how you achieve a timeless design with these materials is up to you.

Industrial

Industrial aesthetics celebrate the use of exposed architecture and raw materials. Both marble and leather can be adapted to reflect a raw aesthetic without sacrificing warmth and texture. Additionally, leather sofas and marble coffee tables can create a strong visual contrast with soft and hard textures which is very reminiscent of industrial interior design.

Rustic

The rustic home style focuses on using earthy colours–which both marble and leather can be supplied in–and natural materials. Marble, being a natural stone, and leather, made from animal hides, are both natural materials and look it! These organic materials can be customised based on their application to create the cozy, rustic feel this design style is going for.

Art Deco

Art deco styled homes are known for incorporating bold geometric shapes, metallic finishes or accents, and a real sense of glamour. Marble and leather are both excellent materials for using in opulent settings or to create a really glamorous atmosphere. If you do want to use metallic accents as well, you can as both materials can be effectively matching with all sorts of metal materials.

How to Match Marble and Leather for a Luxury Dining Space

While marble and leather really are a perfect pair of dining room materials, there are a few tips we recommend when incorporating them together.

Use a complementary colour scheme

Marble and leather are both available in a variety of different colours. When you’re mixing and matching the two materials, we recommend opting for a complementary colour scheme. Whether you opt for two neutral colours such as white, grey or beige, or want something more bold and visually striking, your marble and leather must match.

Juxtapose textures for visual depth

Marble dining room tables are known for their smooth texture yet intricate visual veining and aesthetic. Matching the smooth stone with leather dining chairs that are highly textured will add a level of visual depth to your dining space. The more visually interesting and impressive the space, the more enhanced the sense of luxury will be.

Prioritise simplicity in design

More often than not, with interior design, less is actually more. Using and matching marble and leather allows you to create all the luxuriousness you’re after without having to risk adding too much decor and unnecessary accessories.

Find the Perfect Marble Dining Table with Euro Marble

There is simply no better pairing for a dining room than a marble table and leather chair. If you’re after a slab of marble stone that will stand out and look beautiful with just about any choice of leather chairs, make sure to come into our showroom right here at Euro Marble today!

Mixed Metals in Bathroom Design

Using mixed metals in your bathroom’s design can be a fantastic way to add a touch of elegance and a sense of visual interest to your space. This increasingly popular design trend offers many benefits, functionally and aesthetically.

How can you best use mixed metals? Why should you consider this design trend? In this blog, we’ll introduce you to everything you need to know about combining different metals to great stylistic effect.

Mixing Metals – What is it exactly?

Mixing metals in interior design refers to the use of different metallic finishes in an intentional blending stylistically. While, in the past, conventional use of metal finishes is to hero a single type of metal, nowadays it is becoming more and more common to actually use two contrasting and yet complementary metals to achieve a desired look and feel.

Why consider mixing metals in your bathroom?

This stylistic technique creates a visual depth and balance in a room, such as a bathroom, and when done with consideration and deftness can be aesthetically captivating.

If you’re a fan of the metallic look in general, you may find that only incorporating a single type of finish doesn’t give you the depth and sophistication you’re after. Mixing metals allows you to utilise the contrast in materials to add texture to the space without compromising the overall metallic aesthetic.

What metals are commonly used in bathrooms?

There really is a wide range of metallic finishes that look and function amazingly in a bathroom. Some of the more common options, however, include:

Brass
Copper
Silver
Gold
Stainless steel
Black metals

Of course, each of these metals will bring its own unique look and functionality to the table. At the end of the day, you will need to consider what sort of style you’re looking to achieve with your interior design and choose the metal finish that will best enhance that chosen aesthetic.

Mixed Metals in Bathrooms

The bathroom is one room of the house that is often relegated to just its ‘function’. But the truth is that the humble bathroom offers a lot of scope and opportunity to infuse style, visual flair and personality. The well appointed and designed bathroom can be elevated to your own personal hideaway and, considering the fact bathrooms are used every day, bring joy to your life on a regular basis.

So, how should you go about mixing metals in your bathroom? Firstly, you need to consider the durability of any metal you’re considering. Being located in the bathroom, any finish or material you choose needs to have the required resistance to moisture as well as general hardiness to stand the test of time when it comes to wear and tear.

Secondly, you’ll likely want to achieve a more sleek and/or modern aesthetic if you’re considering mixed metals. To do this, try to mix metals that complement each other colour wise and stylistically. One bold colour, such as gold or black, mixed with a more neutrally-toned colour is the key here. While contrasting metal finishes will certainly add depth and complexity to your space, the last thing you want to be doing is overwhelming the bathroom with an overload of visual stimuli.

Lastly, consider the ongoing maintenance required by any metal you’re thinking of using. Corrosion and even fingerprint marks are common problems interior designers face when choosing lower quality metals. Fortunately, by choosing high quality metal finishes, and armed with some simple, basic maintenance habits, you can mitigate these issues pretty successfully.

Benefits of Mixed Metals in the Bathroom

The Look

As we’ve mentioned above, mixed metals can really elevate the visual style of a bathroom. Whether you love the slightly industrial look of copper or the glamour of gold, metal finishes bring a sleek, sophisticated and visually appealing aesthetic to the room.

The Practicality

High-quality metal finishes offer equally high durability, temperature and moisture resistance. For obvious reasons, this can be invaluable in a bathroom setting. Remember, bathrooms are also exposed to a lot of humidity, so choosing a hygienic and easy-to-clean material such as metal can be a life-saver. Metals are also hardy, which is important for everyday traffic and activity.

The Flexibility

Mixed metals offer a ton of flexibility in application. You can incorporate large, reflective services of polished brass or simply infuse a touch of elegance with stainless steel fixtures, faucets, showerheads and towel bars. The degree and manner in which you use mixed metals in the bathroom is really up to you.

The Longevity

We’ve touched on the hardy, practical nature of metals already, so we won’t repeat ourselves. But there’s another aspect to mixed metals’ longevity that’s important to consider: It won’t be outdated stylistically! Using metals in a considerate way in your bathroom can help you achieve wonders in interior design and won’t leave your bathroom feeling outdated in just a few years.

Tips for Mixing Metals in the Bathroom

Choose a Dominant Finish

Start your design work by selecting one dominant metal as the focal point and main material. From there, you can establish an overall style and choose a complementary metal that will enhance the aesthetic.

Think About the Undertone

Mixing metals adds a dimension visually to your space, but you need to consider the subtle undertones when contrasting and incorporating different metals. To achieve that harmonious combination you’ll want the metallic undertone to balance and unify the dominant metal.

Focus on Elements

Using metal in a bathroom should be a strategic undertaking. Think about all the different areas where you could potentially incorporate mixed metals and then consider which ones will look the best. For example, you may choose to focus on accents and faucets. Sometimes, less is actually more.

Here’s a quick list to run through in your deliberation:

Faucets
Showerheads
Shower door handles
Cabinet hardware
Towel bars
Mirrors
Vanity fixtures
Toilet paper holders
Lighting fixtures

Play with Proportions

It’s not just the finishes, visual colours and style of mixed metals that can offer versatility and depth to your bathroom. Think about how you can play with proportions as well. Using the dominant metal in focal points of the bathroom, with your secondary metal ‘just’ in accessories, can help you achieve a really balanced and impressive interior design style.

Synergise Mixed Metals in the Bathroom with Natural Stone!

The team here at Euro Marble knows all about mixing metals in the bathroom, and we love nothing more than matching a metallic style with complementary natural stone materials. From marble to granite, the organic textures of stone can provide a unique backdrop for the mixed metallic finishes, especially in a bathroom.
If you’d like to find out more about how stone can elevate your chosen mixed metals aesthetic, or you just need a little more inspiration and guidance about how to mix metals in your bathroom, make sure to reach out to our team today. We’re always here to help at Euro Marble!

Interior Design Trends to Expect in 2023

If you’re looking for ways in which you can update and elevate the styling in your home, the interior design trends for 2023 are a great source of inspiration. It can be overwhelming for those without extensive or professional experience in interior design to know where to start or what to do.

That’s why we’ve curated the top 12 design trends that are increasingly popular across homes this year.

Top 12 Interior Design 2023 Trends

Use Sustainable Materials

Sustainable materials are not just good for the environment and socially responsible, they’re also in fashion. Whether you opt for ethically-sourced natural stone (our personal favourite), reclaimed wood, recycled plastics or just bamboo is up to you and your overall aesthetic preferences.

As technology develops and the sustainability industry evolves, there are more and more ways to incorporate this 2023 interior design trend without breaking the bank, ruining your interior style or compromising your preferences.

Mix Different Materials

While we’re on the topic of materials, mixing different textures and aesthetics is very much on trend this year. With the aim of creating a level of visual complexity, juxtaposing different material finishes in a way that complements each other can add an elegant layer to your interior styling.

Particularly on trend in 2023 are embossed textures, including leathers and fabrics incorporating raised patterns. Remember to consider both materials when mixing and matching, as you’ll want both choices to bring out the best in the other material without becoming too overwhelming visually.

Bold Colours

Using bold colours continues to be a popular interior design trend in 2023. From bright blues to bold magentas, the choice is really up to you and your intended style. Materials such as stone come in a wide range of colours, so it’s easy to find the perfect shade to match your preference.

Of course, how exactly you use bold colouring is up to you. You can limit it to a feature wall to act as a focal piece to the space, or incorporate the colour scheme into furniture, artwork, accents or other furnishings.

Personal Customisation

Personalised design is a highly popular trend at the moment. The prioritisation of unique and customised spaces offers a lot of opportunity for people to be bold and true to themselves at the same time.

When you’re considering the interior design of any room in your house, be it the bathroom or the kitchen, think about the type of atmosphere you want to create and what sort of activities you’ll be mainly using the room for. From there, it’s a matter of finding the colour schemes, furniture, decorations and materials that best bring your personal vision to life.

Maximalism

While minimalism has its place (see below), maximalism is making a comeback as a 2023 interior design trend. This aesthetic combines many of the trends above into one jaw-dropping and visually wonderful creation.

Maximalism is all about making strong and eclectic spaces by mixing different interior styles, contrasting patterns and even bold colours. Whilst minimalism focuses on neat lines and neutral shades, maximalism goes the opposite route and infuses texture and depth in every which way.

Highlighting Biophilic Design

As the centrality of health–physical and mental–and well-being becomes more and more a part of our public consciousness, so too has the interior design 2023 trends reflected this social shift.

Biophilic design includes the incorporation of natural elements into one’s interior design. From decorative and natural plants to opportunities to bring in large amounts of natural lighting, this approach to design is all about promoting integration with nature, personal health and a sense of well-being.

Minimalism

In contrast to maximalism above, the popularity of minimalism seems to be ongoing as we move into 2023. Minimalism focuses on creating a soothing aesthetic through neutral tones and straight, clean lines to create an at-once clean and inviting space.

Prioritising a minimalist quality to one’s interior design doesn’t preclude any of the above trends, however. There’s still opportunity to use sustainable materials, a featured bold colour, multiple patterns and even biophilic design. Only all of this is to be designed in a minimalist style.

Timelessness

Perhaps somewhat incongruous with the concept of a trend, more and more interior design styles are focusing on achieving a sense of timelessness.

Rather than opting for out-there and contemporary looks, timeless designs are meant to remain stylish and appealing for many years to come.

Highlighting classic aesthetics and avoiding some of the more time-stamped elements of modern design can help ensure your home doesn’t quickly go out of style. Of course, that doesn’t mean there’s no opportunity for customisation! There’s still a lot of flexibility in how and where you infuse personalisation and inspiration.

Moody Colour Palettes

Increasingly, darker and moodier colour palettes are proving to be popular in 2023. In contrast to choosing just a single bold colour, this design style uses multiple darker shades to create a moody atmosphere.

Some of the more common bold colour schemes popping up all over the place include deep green, navy and charcoal. Bathrooms and kitchens especially can be really taken to the next level with some well-considered dark colour schemes.

Whimsical Accessories

A sense of whimsy never goes astray but if you’re not quite sure just how much you want to inject in your interior design, the popular trend of whimsical accessories might just be the way to go.

From the quirky to the unexpected, there’s a near-infinite range of options of what whimsical accessories to include and how to include them. Items of furniture, decor and ornaments can all bring a sense of life to a space and make the overall aesthetic really pop.

Prioritising Comfort

Homes should be comfortable and cozy, which is why this trend is taking off in 2023. Plush fabrics, soft lighting and rich, warm colours are all potential elements that can be utilising to create a real sense of comfort in a home.

Living spaces and bedrooms are particularly well suited to being turned into cozy corners of the home, but there’s no reason why the rest of your house’s interior design can’t be customised for your comfort as well!

Antique Decor

Antique decor and vintage accents comprise one of the more interesting 2023 interior design trends. Art, statues, sculptures and the like all come in a variety of styles and the current trend is to lean into the richness and character of antique decor.

Fortunately, you’re able to utilise this trend as much or little as you want. Antique decor can be easily paired well with modern, minimalist designs as well as rustic, traditional or maximalist styles.

Contact Euro Marble Today for Your Interior Design Needs

Feeling inspired? Still not sure which of the 2023 interior design trends best suit your home and lifestyle? Why not contact the team at Euro Marble?

We’ve helped thousands of customers use natural stone to create jaw-dropping, eye-poppingly amazing designs.

Let’s see how we can help you today!

Farmhouse Kitchens Countertop Ideas

If you’re on the hunt for some inspiration for your new farmhouse kitchen countertop, you’ve come to the right place. While the team at Euro Marble are certainly well-renowned experts in all things natural stone, we’re also quite the source of knowledge for all sorts of interior design tips and ideas.

Whether you’re designing a rustic or modern farmhouse kitchen, the aim is undoubtedly to create a charming and inviting feel. Farmhouses are known for incorporating large amounts of wood, stone and brick to help create both a timeless aesthetic and a grounded, earthy-atmosphere.

As we have mentioned in some of our other articles, the kitchen is the central space of most homes and the kitchen countertop is often the centrepiece of the kitchen. To help you find the perfect kitchen countertop for your farmhouse, let’s dive into the interior design styles you may be choosing between.

Interior Design Styles that Suit a Farmhouse

The farmhouse style is one that’s commonly rooted in simplicity, homeliness and practicality. So called due to the inspiration in design and construction from traditional, rural farmhouses, this style of home is often intended to evoke the same warmth and comfort of a farmhouse actually located on a farm.

Interior designers will therefore likely use natural materials, such as wood and stone, though other materials available in earthy tones are also suitable. While vintage or antique furniture, artwork and accessories are certainly popular in farmhouses, the particular style you choose will more than likely influence your decor.

Rustic Style

Rustic interior design focuses on comfort and simplicity to create a cozy and functional environment. Colour schemes include browns, greens, and greys, with most designs highlighting wood, stone and brickwork.

Country Style

Country designs are inspired by the English country-side, so muted and soft colours are key here. Also focused on comfort and simplicity, country style homes may feature a greater variety of textiles such as plaid, floral or gingham patterns.

Cottage Style

Cottage style farmhouses are similar to country style in that they draw inspiration from traditional rural English homes but the colour scheme is more often than not dominated by pastel colours such as light blues, pinks and greens. Vintage-style decor is also a feature of the cottage style approach to interior design.

Top Kitchen Countertop Ideas for a Farmhouse

While the right farmhouse kitchen countertop will largely depend on your chosen design style and personal preferences, here are some of the top ideas to help get you started.

Stone

Stone is one of the best options for a kitchen countertop, whether in a farmhouse or elsewhere! There are several options of natural stone to consider and each brings with it unique benefits and features. Marble and granite, however, are two of the most popular and commonly chosen stones for use in kitchen countertops and for good reason. Sophisticated in looks and durable in use, it ticks all the right boxes.

With a supplier like Euro Marble, you can even find a wide range of colours, designs and patterns of your chosen stone so just about any interior design style can be achieved.

Having said all of that, here are our recommendations for using stone in your farmhouse kitchen:

Solid Stonework

Nothing is as visually impressive as a custom-created piece of solid stonework for your farmhouse kitchen benchtop. Highlighting the natural stone itself in all of its glamorous glory, solid stonework provides ample aesthetic splendor while also perfectly suiting the down-to-Earth nature of a farmhouse’s interior design.

Rustic Granite

We love granite here at Euro Marble and a carefully chosen slab of rustic granite can add the perfect finishing touch to your farmhouse kitchen. Thanks to the rough, textured finish, rustic granite maintains all of the earthy-feel you want in a farmhouse while offering ample opportunity to mix and match with a variety of cabinetry material, lighting fixtures and tapware in your farmhouse kitchen sink to help achieve something unique and special.

Marble with Veining

Just because your farmhouse’s look is all about simplicity and functionality doesn’t mean you can’t add a bit of elegance. Classic white marble stone countertops with the iconic grey veining looks a treat in and of itself and is easy to pair with just about any other interior design choices. Marble injects a true sense of sophistication without ruining any grounded aesthetic you’re going for.

Reclaimed Wood

Moving away from stone, reclaimed wood countertops can add warmth and texture to any farmhouse kitchen. Practical, aesthetically pleasing and easy to match, reclaimed wood is making a resurgence in interior design popularity. Bear in mind, however, that wood will need to be sanded and refinished to maintain its practical functionality and visual appearance.

Concrete

Concrete may not be a traditional material for use in a farmhouse kitchen countertop but its durability and practical nature makes it more than suitable. Of course, nowadays, concrete can be provided for in a variety of colours, finishes and styles so it is easier than ever to match with your chosen design aesthetic.

Terrazzo

Terrazzo is a composite material made up of bits of marble, granite, glass and/or other natural materials. Bonded with an epoxy base of cement, it is commonly used in flooring but can also make for a good option for kitchen countertops. While it is yet another ‘unconventional’ option of material for a farmhouse, the colour customisation opportunities can be appealing for many home-owners and designers.

Quartz with a Textured Finish

Quartz (not to be confused with quartzite, the natural stone) is an engineered form of stone that boasts high levels of durability and non-porousness. Made from a composite of different materials, quartz is available in a variety of colours and styles. For use in a farmhouse kitchen, we highly recommend opting for a textured finish if you’re choosing quartz as it will enhance the overall styling beloved and typical of a farmhouse.

Let Us Help You Find the Perfect Kitchen Countertop

If you’d like a hand from the experts in finding the perfect modern farmhouse kitchen countertop for you, make sure to reach out to our team today. Whether you opt for natural stone or other materials, we can help you bring your dream farmhouse to life!

The Benefits of Using Mixed Metals in Kitchen Design

Can you mix metals in the kitchen? Should you use mixed metal finishes in the kitchen? How can you best utilise the unique style of different metals to best effect in your home?

Mixing metals is a fantastic way to infuse captivating aesthetics and real-life practicality into your kitchen. But if you’re not sure whether it’s a style for you or how exactly to incorporate this trend in your home, this is the blog for you!

Mixing Metals – why do it?

Interior designers are increasingly using a mix of different metal finishes, such as brass, gold, copper, stainless steel, and even black metal, to create a bit of character, depth and complexity in the home.

There are a lot of different ways metal can be used and juxtaposed both with a complementary metallic surface and with other materials in the house. Ultimately, however you choose to use mixed metals, you’ll want to create an aesthetically appealing design.

Using Metals in the Kitchen

The kitchen is one of the most common and best applications for using mixed metals in design. Apart from the texture and visuals of metallic finishes perfectly complementing the general layout and aesthetic of the kitchen area, there are many benefits and practical considerations to take into account.

The Benefits of Mixing Metal Finishes in the Kitchen

Durability

High quality metal is a highly durable material and when it comes to your kitchen that’s exactly what you need. Kitchens are classically places where there is a lot of activity every day and a lot of foot traffic. Whether it’s your sink, your countertop or even your cabinetry, a highly durable kitchen is a must.

Hygienic

From moisture and water to food and spilled drinks, your kitchen is going to be exposed to a lot! Being able to keep it clean and hygienic is critical. Mixed metals offer the benefits of being easy to clean, simple to keep clean and very hygienic.

Heat Resistant

Mixed metals, considerately chosen, offers a heat-resistant material for using in a space in the home exposed to unusually hot temperatures and unusually heated items. There are plenty of materials used in construction that look great but can’t quite take the heat of the kitchen. Metal finishes are not one of them!

Appliance Matching

There are many appliances on the market that are not just made of metal but are made to look metallic. (We’ll dive into this a little more later.) This means that if you’re considering what sort of material to incorporate throughout the rest of the kitchen, mixed metals offer plenty of opportunity to match your general kitchen finishes with your appliances.

Sleek and Appealing

Last but not least, mixed metals look great! While metal is inherently sleek and modern in its aesthetic, there’s no reason why you can’t achieve your chosen interior design style while using these practical materials. Whether you want to achieve an industrial, country, Scandinavian or traditional decor style, there’s a mixed metals option for you!

How can you mix metals in a kitchen?

Choose the Right Appliances

As we mentioned above, metal is a popular material for use in a variety of kitchen appliances, such as dishwashers, ovens, stoves, refrigerators and smaller items like toasters or kettles. What does this mean for you? It allows you to achieve a ‘mixed metals look’ by pairing a chosen material finish with your already purchased appliances! This practical application is easy, affordable and can produce a really stunning visual for your kitchen.

Think About the Faucets

Every kitchen is going to have faucets, and these humble little parts offer a lot of opportunity to add a touch of elegance to an oft neglected section of the kitchen. You can choose anything from brushed nickel or brass to chrome or stainless steel for your faucets. The key here is to remember that you’re mixing metals, so take the opportunity presented by your faucets to add something a little bolder, complementary and stunning to match with your other chosen metal elsewhere in the room.

Cabinet Hardware Looks Great!

Metal cabinet hardware can prove to be not just effective decoratively but equally beneficial functionally. Your knobs, handles, and drawer pulls are all popular and effective opportunities to add in a bit of mixed metal design. You’ll be surprised at just how impactful these little additions can be. Think about what sort of style you want to achieve: Is a black finish going to work best? Maybe some brass? Or simple stainless steel hardware?

Remember the Range Hood

Range hoods are excellent opportunities for using mixed metals. These very practical additions to a home may primarily provide ventilation and remove the odours of cooking, but they can be visual features in and of themselves. Using copper or stainless steel, you can turn your range hood into a focal point aesthetically and add an elegant, subtle yet impactful touch to the kitchen.

Light Up Your Lighting Fixtures

Light is important in a kitchen, especially considering what you’re doing in there. But lighting also offers an opportunity to incorporate metallic finishes. You might prefer track lighting fixtures, pendant lights or even a chandelier. All of these options can look stylish and be functional when made from mixed metals.

Use the Backsplash

Metal tiles, sheets or finishes for your kitchen backsplash is a practical, functional and stylish way of using mixed metals in the kitchen. The reflective surface will add light and spaciousness to the sink area, and your choice of metallic finish gives you plenty of scope to exercise a bit of creativity and infuse your own personality into the design of the kitchen.

Utilise Your Utensils

Like appliances, utensils and cookware are commonly made from metal, such as stainless steel. Highlighting your mixed metals design style through metallic cookware and utensils is an easy way to achieve aesthetic appeal. This can be especially effective if your kitchen has areas where utensils and cookware are stored in an open display. Additionally, as you replace or update your utensils, you have the opportunity to simultaneously update and play around with your style too.

Ready to Mix Metals in Your Kitchen? We’re here to help!

The Euro Marble team loves mixed metal finishes in a kitchen and we love to find gorgeous natural stone materials that perfectly complement such a design choice as well!
If you’d like to find out more about how you can mix metals to great effect in your kitchen, or just want to explore some new ideas for your home, make sure to contact us today. We’re the experts in home renovation, design and construction, and we’d be delighted to help you too.

4 Luxury Bathroom Trends

For many people nowadays, the bathroom is no longer just a functional room. Many view their bathrooms as a personal …

15 Small Bathroom Renovation Ideas

Finding the right small bathroom ideas for your upcoming renovation shouldn’t be difficult. There is a lot of opportunity when it comes to your bathroom to make the most of even limited amounts of space.

In this article, we’ve put together the 15 top tips for renovating your small bathroom. While some include minor structural renovations, others are simple, affordable and convenient.

Have a read for yourself!

Compact Bathtub on an Elevated Platform

A compact bathtub is an excellent idea for a small bathroom. Without compromising the luxury of one’s bath, it’s easy to squeeze into a corner or place between other amenities. We love the idea of a raised or elevated platform, giving a bit of height and visual variety to a small area.

Contrasting Floor Tile Pattern

There are seemingly endless opportunities for your floors in a small bathroom renovation. Contrasting tile patterns, such as two colours in a checkered or similar formation, can work wonders in bringing a sense of aesthetic style to the room without overly cluttering the space.

Add A Skylight

Bright natural sunlight is one of the most enduring small bathroom ideas on this list. It’s not hard to see why. The more light that comes streaming into your bathroom, the greater the sense of spaciousness and airiness.

Hang Decorations, Paintings, or Art Vertically

If you’re after simple small bathroom ideas, this one takes the cake. Whether you have paintings, framed photographs or other ornamental decorations, hanging them vertically above a toilet or in some similar spot will draw one’s eye to the height of the room and away from the width/length.

Built-In, Hanging Vanity

Standalone, hanging vanities are excellent (and popular) for small bathrooms. Without having to sacrifice any storage or practical surface space, it’s an easy and effective way of really opening up the bathroom.

Backlit Vanity Mirror

Backlighting a mirror on your vanity not only enhances the utility of the mirror itself but will help to create an element of depth, without losing spaciousness, in a small bathroom. There are a variety of ways in which you can infuse and incorporate light in your bathroom, and a backlit mirror is one of the easiest.

Mix Materials

There’s nothing wrong with using one stunning material, such as marble, across the entirety of your bathroom. However, mixing two different materials together can infuse style and aesthetics into even a small space without cluttering it with too many ornaments and the like. Rustic wood aesthetics coupled with marble, for example, is one timeless and classic option.

Built-In Storage/Cabinets In The Wall

Making the most of the walls of your bathroom is a super practical way of taking advantage of every square inch of space. While some bathrooms might be structured in a way that can support a cabinet built into the wall, for others even simple storage solutions can make a world of difference.

Built-In Shower Shelf

As far as small bathroom renovations go, a built-in shower shelf is simple yet super effective. These shelves give you plenty of space to store items and hygiene products without taking up any precious space elsewhere.

Replace Tapware with Monochrome or Brass

Why would you replace your tapware with monochrome or brass? It’s an effective way to incorporate a bit of visual appeal by making the most of already existing installations instead of having to simply add more and more. In a small bathroom, this is invaluable!

Single, Large Mirror

One large, single mirror is really all you need in a bathroom. In fact, the larger and simpler the mirror itself, the more you’ll feel like your bathroom is double its actual size. A neat visual trick, but a really effective one.

Subway Tiled Walls

Using a subway tile design in your bathroom strikes the perfect balance of intricate-enough design whilst keeping it simple and not overwhelming. That’s why subway tiles are one of our favourite small bathroom ideas.

Dark, Moody Colour Pallette

We’re swinging for the fences on this one. Instead of opting for all light and bright, sometimes the opposite road can work as well. A darker colour palette in a bathroom can create a mood and atmosphere that is warm and appealing without having to deck out the space with more and more clutter.

Glass or No Shower Doors

Showers are necessary in a bathroom, but the shower curtain isn’t. If you can replace your curtain with a glass door or, better yet, no door at all, you’ll find the bathroom feeling near infinitely larger.

Natural Stone

Natural stone is a popular and practical construction material. Thanks to its hardiness it’s equally popular in bathrooms as well. If you’re looking for inspiration for your small bathroom, we can’t recommend stone enough. With intricate patterns and a range of shades, there’s a perfect stone waiting to transform your bathroom.

Euro Marble – for lining all your stones in a row

The Euro Marble team certainly lives and breathes all things natural stone, but we’re passionate about helping our customers with all of their home renovation needs as well. If you’d like to discuss more small bathroom ideas or arrange a time to come visit us in our showroom, get in touch with us today.

Ideas for Small Bathrooms to Look More Spacious

Your bathroom is one of the most important areas of the home. From the frequency of its use everyday to its private, intimate nature, there are a lot of aspects to the bathroom that necessitate thought in design and styling.

If you’re looking for ideas for small bathrooms, you’ve come to the right place. Whether your bathroom is unusually shaped or you simply want to know how to make a small bathroom appear larger, we’ve put together a list of helpful ideas to inspire you to transform your bathroom for the better.

Light and Bright

The very first element to consider is the colour scheme. While there are very good reasons to consider using bold feature colours or opt for a darker moody palette, if you’re wanting to create a feeling of spaciousness stick with light and bright colours.

Whites, off-whites and similarly light shades open up even small spaces in wondrous ways and help to bounce the natural or artificial light streaming into the room. There are plenty of brightly coloured natural stones you can use on your bathroom walls or floors.

Choose the Right Paint

It’s not just the colour that makes a big difference in the bathroom, but the type of paint you use. If you’re really wanting to reflect as much light as possible to make the small area look as large as possible, consider choosing high gloss paint.

Glass Shower Doors

Keeping the light flowing throughout your bathroom is a key way to ensure the room feels bigger than it is. Your shower offers another opportunity to do exactly that. By using a glass door for your shower you will immediately feel the difference.

Without the obstructions of an opaque shower door or curtain, you’ll be taking advantage of every square centimetre of room. The less obstructions clogging up your peripheral vision and sense of space, the better.

Incorporate Mirrors

Mirrors are not just a practical necessity in a bathroom. They’re a very effective feature for making a small bathroom look bigger. By elongating the visual sense of space, mirrors can be incorporated in a few ways:

Option A – One Large Mirror

A large mirror that extends over a significant portion–if not all–of one of the walls in your bathroom can have an enormous impact on the feeling of spaciousness.

Option B – Multiple Mirrors

Alternatively, incorporate multiple, smaller mirrors in your bathroom to give the impression of almost endless space. One note on this option however, is that you may need to consider the size and design of your bathroom, as not all small bathrooms will complement multiple mirrors in such a confined area.

Large Stone Tiles

One of the most common questions we get is, “do larger tiles make a small bathroom look bigger”? While the answer will depend on numerous other factors, generally opting for large stone tiles for your floor cladding and walls is going to help make a small bathroom appear larger.

Why? Less grout lines and visual divisions will make the wall (and floor) less cluttered. Even small bathrooms that are devoid of clutter or too much visual stimuli will feel incalculably larger.

Floating Vanities

One of the most popular and effective ideas for small bathrooms is the concept of keeping the floor devoid of unnecessary clutter and objects. However, there’s a lot to incorporate in a bathroom, from the toilet seat to the shower/bathtub.

That’s why we recommend floating vanities and basins. By lifting the vanity off of the floor it will not only clear more space beneath it but it will look a lot cleaner and more sleek. All of this will positively contribute to the feeling of space in the room.

Use a Ledge/Shelf

Ledges or shelves can offer a lot of practical and aesthetic value. Whether your ledge sits above the vanity or even if you have an in-built shower shelf, either option offers a convenient storage solution without adding too much cabinetry and taking up too much space.

One important thing to remember with this idea, is that if you want to make your small bathroom appear larger, avoid letting the shelf become cluttered with too many objects or unnecessary items. Minimalism is the key here.

Closed Cabinetry

Unless you’re opting for a floating, minimalist shelf and are able to keep your items to a minimum, obt for closed cabinetry. Overflowing vanity benchtops are going to make the entire area feel a lot more closed in and busy.

Closed cabinetry keeps any mess out of the immediate eyeline and keeps the surfaces as sleek and visually clean as possible.

Attach the Towel Bar

Towel bars are highly practical additions in a bathroom. Where possible, if you are able to attach your bar to a pre-existing vanity or similar structure, you’ll be making the most of the small amount of space. An independently installed towel bar will only add another visual element of clutter to the wall.

Minimal Decorations

While the appeal of decorating your bathroom is understandable, if you’re really dedicated to making the most of the space we recommend paring back the accessories and additions. The more minimal your decor and decorations the more your bathroom is going to feel visually and spatially larger.

Skylights

Not everyone will have the structural or budgetary means of installing a skylight, but it can be a transformational idea for small bathrooms. The infusion of natural light from up above can work true miracles in turning a tight, enclosed space into a larger and more spacious area.

Euro Marble – here to help you transform your home!

If you’d like more ideas on how to make your small bathroom appear larger, make sure to reach out to our team here at Euro Marble. We love helping our customers enjoy every nook and cranny of their home and can’t wait to help you too! Contact us today right here.