Interior design

However, interior styling nowadays can be viewed as much more than just the proper placement of a favourite piece of furniture and suitable matching decoration. Rather, interior design begins with the layout of the room and the optimum way of using that space and configuring the structure. Functionality and well-being should be harmony with one another. When it then comes to styling the space with furniture, textiles and decorative items, aspects such as colour, materials and structure play a vital role. Colours are among the strongest visual stimuli for evoking different emotions. With materials such as wood, linen or leather, you can not only bring nature inside but also give your home a structure and create an experience for all of your senses.

As well as integrating technology in different forms of media, interior design also deals with such topics as the indoor climate, architectural acoustics and the right lighting. Some quite special lighting concepts can be created with the contemporary wood and glass architecture used in HUF houses. Floor-to-ceiling windows ensure that natural light is a constant companion and showcase the interiors all year round in an inspiring way.

The days of mainstream are over

The internal styling of a home is as personal as the people who live there.
It should be guided by the way the individuals live while still taking account of their own style and issues of functionality. The days of mainstream are over – each of us has different requirements, which can significantly affect our interior design choices. A true bookworm, for example, will need a spacious library in her home, while a lover of old vinyl will need plenty of storage space for his music collection. Shopaholics, meanwhile, will have different needs in terms of clothing storage from more minimalistic types.

Sales Director Michael Baumann reports

“A preference for certain things is vital when it comes to the internal styling of a home. A room should therefore be a blank canvas that the home owners can adapt in line with their own ideas. If you see an artist’s work, whether he or she’s a painter or a photographer, and you feel a spark, then you’re halfway there. Even in your head, you can already start to style your home. Right away, you can allocate the artworks, furniture, photographs and accessories on display to the various rooms, creating a brand-new integrated design concept,” explains Michael Baumann, executive board member at HUF HAUS and the person responsible for styling the HUF show homes.

Custom-made pieces of furniture are an even better way of transferring your personal style to your interiors and ensuring that they work even more effectively for your own requirements. This is the reason why StilART, a company within the HUF Group, specialises in the production of one-off furniture pieces and stand-alone furniture concepts. Thanks to top quality craftsmanship, individual pieces are created that will make an interior quite special.

Interior design – the best part!

For many of HUF’s clients, interior styling marks the start of the creative and fun aspect of their new build. Natalie, owner of a HUF home and an amateur interior stylist from Cologne, reports on her experience and shares some valuable tips.

HUF home-owner Natalie reports

“We always wanted a modern timber-frame house with open spaces, few doors and plenty of light. The freedom to influence everything right from the outset was what really excited me! Through my hobby, I’ve already gained experience of interior design and good manufacturers. This was therefore the best part for me! While I let my husband make a few comments, he basically relied on me to sort it all out.

“Once the floorplan and house design has been checked off, you get to focus on the interiors. For me, the internal styling was just as important as the house and garden design. It’s the best part, in fact! One important tip is that the basic tones are always black, white or grey. I’m then free to decorate in line with the seasons – using flowers, colour-coordinated cushions, and accessories. In that way you can achieve a lot with just a little effort and you don’t get tired of the look. But less is more. Otherwise, the house starts to lose its airy feel.”

HUF fact

To begin with, Natalie and her husband couldn’t agree on the colour of their HUF home. Ultimately, however, they opted for ebony, a colour that’s actually selected by 51 % of all HUF clients. Dark grey is chosen by 19 %, closely followed by white with 17 % and (light) grey with 13 %.

Interior design in a timber frame house: Expert Tips

Use timber-frame architecture as a showcase for art

Particularly in a timber frame house, the visible beams help create clear lines and structures, acting as a kind of display area for artworks or as a stage for framing sculptures of any size. It is important that any picture frames are not hung too high and that artworks have sufficient space to be seen to their best effect.

When precision counts

As the timber-frame houses are produced by HUF HAUS with a high degree of precision and craftsmanship, you should also go for precise dimensions for any built-in furniture (especially in the vicinity of sloping roofs) so as to ensure that the clear visual lines are maintained inside the home. Custom-made furniture helps ensure a harmonious integration into the timber-frame structure, without any protruding edges or fitting strips that might disrupt the overall picture.

Take advantage of the height of the rooms

Depending on the layout design, owners of HUF timber-frame houses benefit from airy, high-ceilinged rooms reaching right up to roof soffit. In the mezzanine area, this helps to create unique spaces that can be illuminated perfectly with the aid of your preferred lighting. The height of the room can be utilised in a functional way to create, for example, additional usable space in the form of bunk beds or reading corners.

Soft furnishings provide intimacy and comfort

A work of architecture that stands out from the crowd and is shaped into an individual home for each family will also require a personal approach to interiors as regards soft furnishings. Throws, bed linen, cushions, towels – as well as custom-made curtains and sun shades – can transform a home into a place of well-being and serenity.

A knack for decoration

Those with minimalistic tastes will likely place only a few objects around the house to ensure that the atmosphere remains airy and open. A library, however, is one place that can be transformed into an artwork by means of various accessories and a clever arrangement of the books. It’s self-explanatory that a HUF home is also the perfect place for choosing decor in line with the seasons, as nature is reflected throughout the life of the home. You can, for example, swap over flowers on the dining table or seasonal favourites in the living room in accordance with your own personal taste.

You don’t home a timber frame house yet?
No problem – with these five tricks, any home can be made more beautiful:

In principle, there are no limits when it comes to interior design. Just as every person is a unique individual, there are unique design options for every home. There is no right or wrong. There are, however, are some things to bear in mind if you want to create a harmonious environment. In the following list, we have compiled five tips for an even lovelier home.

1. If it pleases you, it’s allowed
When it comes to interior design, you shouldn’t be guided only by the latest style trends. It’s more important that your own needs and your own style are taken into account. A good interior design concept will also always reflect the personality of the home’s occupants. Only by taking this approach will you feel really at ease in your home. So your favourite pieces and old decorative treasures are definitely allowed!

2. The right lighting concept
At least as important as the right furniture and fittings’ is a sophisticated lighting concept. Light gives a very special feel to a room and makes a big contribution to mood and well-being. Health, too, is also positively affected by access to natural light, though protection from the sun and the need for privacy should, of course, be considered in your lighting design.

3. The focus is on the whole
When choosing the right interior design, the whole house should be taken into account. There’s much more to styling than selecting appropriate furniture and decorative items for the living room, kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms. Aspects such as the colour and materials of the floor and ceiling, as well as the design of the entrance area, shouldn’t be neglected when aiming for a harmonious overall look.

4. Clear structures for a clear life
Clear structures and well-designed spaces have a major influence on the feel of your home. Through clever placement of furniture and other items, clear lines can be created even within open-plan rooms. Furniture doesn’t have to be placed directly against the wall.

5. Death by decoration?
Sometimes less is more. This maxim can often be applied to your decorative choices too. The mixing of too many colours, materials and finishes can quickly lead to sensory overload and give your home and unstructured and chaotic look.

These five points can help you create a home environment that really works. Let’s not forget, though: if it pleases you, it’s allowed!