Welcome winter

Bree Leech

Style tips for winter with Bree Leech, Creative Consultant and stylist for Dulux
• Minimal styling can still have maximum effect. To achieve this, feature interesting bold shapes and a mix of materials such as concrete and metal to create your chic minimal space.
• Art is an important styling element in any home and the construct trend uses it to reinforce the colour scheme, playing on shapes that draw inspiration from the influences of the Brutalism and Bauhaus movements.
• Use copper details for a luxurious, rich highlight to juxtapose Dulux’s Construct’s cool colour scheme. It’s okay to mix metal finishes such as silver, platinum and copper – just use a light hand when adding them to the space so they remain a feature finish that enhances but doesn’t take over.
• Layer minimal furniture choices with practical side tables, keep to the colour scheme and incorporate forms that work with the architectural style.
• Dulux’s Concrete and Copper Effect paints can be used on furniture details as well as walls to create unique bespoke pieces. Just make sure that if you are upcycling furniture such as a table that you add a glass top to safeguard the paint.

All about heaters
The Australian Government’s Your Home website provides plenty of information about heating and cooling the home. There are two main types of heating – radiant and convective. According to Your Home, radiant heaters predominantly heat people and objects by direct radiation of heat. Convective heaters warm and circulate the air.
The website suggests the following:
• In larger rooms with high ceilings, a combination of radiant and convective heating is best:
• In small rooms, space convective heating is effective.
• In larger draughty rooms or bathrooms, radiant heating works best.
For more information, visit yourhome.gov.au/energy/heating-and-cooling

Stick to the indoors
Take on projects that are indoors, rather than outdoors during the colder months. If the weather is cold and blustery, the last thing you will feel like doing is spending hours and hours outside. Great winter projects include painting indoor walls, new flooring, internal structural changes and installing appliances and lighting.

Get cosy
We love this room’s design. It provides the perfect amount of comfort for winter. The abstract paintings create a balance by bringing colour to the home. Choose artwork that reflects the season’s trends but also add life and atmosphere to a room.

Winter projects
• Take advantage of a windy day to check your home for air leaks around windows and doors. You will feel the cool air coming in. You will need to repair or replace the damaged window or door frames.
• Our homes tend to be locked up more throughout the colder month. If your place is prone to mould, condensation or lack of sunlight, be sure to leave cupboard doors, walk-in robes and bathroom doors open as often as possible to allow air to circulate.
• It’s important to find the perfect heating for your home. Do you want an outdoor fire pit? Or perhaps an electric fireplace or a modern, hanging cocoon variety? Work with technical experts to find out what works best for each individual room.
• Warm up tiled or wooden floors by placing floor rugs in the living room or under dining tables and seating areas.