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People of Belarte - Oak Apple Decor
Marisa and Chris at @Oakappledecor bought their house 6 years ago. It’s a barn conversion that suited them perfectly since they always wanted a house with character. This house has plenty of space as well as a layout that suits the couple. We asked Marisa and Chris if they were interested in collaborating together on a virtual project where we would showcase our Dark Elegance collection in their unique home. In addition to that they have chosen to add the wall mural Flowline to their home gym.
Marisa, would you like to tell us a bit about the renovation process of your home?
When we bought the house everything was very dated so we had to plan and prioritize the project. We started renovating the hall, bedroom and lounge as they were fairly simple renovations to save time towards the bigger and more costly renovations such as the kitchen and bathrooms. The kitchen/dining/snug area was the biggest challenge. This part of the house was an undeveloped barn so we had a lot of work to create the space you see today.
”I love how the mural in the living room is like a large piece of art
which is perfect for this wall”
Oak Apple Decor
How did you decide on what designs of the Dark Elegance collection to go with in your home?
I love how the mural in the living room is like a large piece of art which is perfect for this wall. This adds color to an otherwise neutral space. As it’s a mural it can be sized to suit the wall. Many of the belarteSTUDIO murals work really well as pieces of art too.
The mural adds a bit of dark drama to the bathroom as well, the color and subtle pattern are complementary to the existing colors and textures here.
The colors in the wall mural in the bedroom are the perfect match for this room and feels quite peaceful.
How do you think wallpaper can change a room and in what stage of the process would you decide on what design to get?
I love how wallpaper can change a space and give a room personality and it’s a great way of adding colour and pattern. As it’s such a large feature I would usually start with the wallpaper and work my design around it.
How have you been planning the decor in your home?
I have tried to keep a fairly similar style throughout the house, although as we have done the renovation over such a long period of time I have designed it room by room, so there are some differences due to my taste changing over time; I have tried to keep to similar colors and materials throughout the project. There are a couple of rooms that do have a slightly different feel as I don’t want it all to feel the same!
”I love how wallpaper can change a space and give a room personality”
Oak Apple Decor
What are your top tips for someone who's taking on a project like yours?
- Order everything you need well in advance in case of delays and to keep track of budget.
- Give yourself plenty of time for research and planning before deciding and ordering.
- Do as much work as you can yourself to reduce costs.
- Create mood boards for the house/rooms to create a clear plan of what you would like to achieve and help you visualize the full picture of your design ideas.
How did you decide to get our Flowline in your home?
We are actually using Flowline in our home gym. It’s quite a large wall so I wanted something fairly simple and not too busy but also added interest to a large plain space. We are exposing a brick wall in the same room and I thought the brick and monochrome would work together perfectly.
