How to incorporate family heirlooms into your home

12 Nov 2023

Incorporating family heirlooms into your new home adds a touch of timeless elegance and sentimental value. These cherished possessions, passed down through generations, hold stories and memories that make your house truly feel like a home. Embrace the tradition and beauty of these family heirlooms as you create a space that reflects your heritage and continues the legacy for future generations. When designing your dream home, your creative motivation will be driven by your personality, your family life and what makes you, you.

A key component of this drive is often a collection of those special items you have saved from your life so far, be they mementos or cherished treasures passed down from generation to generation. Perhaps you were gifted a marvellous sideboard for your wedding present, or your grandmother left you an antique piano. Each of these pieces has a place in your heart, so must have a place in your home.

When looking at a new design for a home, an interior designer must always start with these hero pieces. You may have a specific orange tone colour palette in mind, but you also have a mustard yellow lamp you cherish which must take pride of place, so how can these pieces and your style must-haves work together?

Recently, I had the great honour of working with a client who had inherited a beautiful, one-of-a-kind Persian rug. It had been a gift from her father, who had recently passed away, who had in turn bought the rug early on in his marriage to her mother, so it held a lot of emotional value and was one of the cornerstones of her childhood. The client wanted the rug to be front and centre in the living room’s new design scheme, which both embraced the past but also worked for the next generation and her young family.

We utilised the tones in the rug, soft pinks and blues, to create the thread of a theme which was maintained throughout the space. With the addition of a West Elm embossed drum side table, cushions from OKA and a DAR Lighting Bombazine pendant light, the space became the ultimate personal haven and homage to her family story.

Another wonderful client began his design journey with his father’s wing backed chair. The piece, which now hold prides of place in the living area of his home, was a great starting point, creating a comfortable yet warm space, ideal for entertaining. A very interesting project, we not only used the chair as a creative impetus, but also the client’s eclectic Juke Box, the ultimate accessory for friendly gatherings and family get-togethers.

In another project, our client’s art collection was the inspiration for the final design. The family had marked important moments in their lives with the purchase of distinctive pieces of art and sculpture from different eras. The theme of each space we created needed to tie-in seamlessly with these installations with bespoke lighting schemes, making them the stars of the show.

Be it a piece of furniture, a photo or even a work of art, it is so important to ensure your home reflects your life and what gives it meaning, a job we take great pride in. We utilise our expertise in colour, pattern, texture, lighting and space to ensure your new interiors stay true to your personality and make you smile for years to come, just like your all-important heirlooms.

If you are interested in exploring interior design for your home, please click here to contact us now.

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