Ridhi Khosla Jalan's Five Top Tips For Designing Your House

If you love following the latest in the world of design and interiors, there’s a good chance you may have stumbled upon Ridhi Khosla Jalan on Instagram.

The interior designer-turned-design influencer has amassed a 300,000-strong following in under six months for her fun yet incredibly-thoughtful and useful videos bursting with inspiration to elevate your style quotient at home! Think anything and everything from guidance on choosing the right flooring for your house through to recommendations for home and barware accessories. Today she’s sharing with us, her five key steps for designing a home. Over to her.

I hope you enjoy designing your home and don’t find it daunting. If any part of it becomes daunting, then take a minute and just simplify the problem or solution in your head. I love interiors because it is constantly evolving and requires me to find solutions on a daily basis!

Flooring

Think of flooring as a long-term marriage. Once you commit to it, you are going to see it every day, and getting a divorce from it is a painful experience! So take your time and choose wisely.

Firstly, choose a flooring that is durable. Stone, tiles, wooden flooring, micro-concrete are some long lasting options. Secondly, choose the right flooring for the right purpose. Dens / TV rooms are better with a cozy feel so opt for wooden flooring. Living rooms have a more formal feel so marble or tiles are the way to go. Kitchens and bathrooms need low maintenance, waterproof flooring. Rooms have a lot of scope for experimentation so make sure you have fun with that!

Ridhi Khosla Jalan Design — Otto Tiles, UK

Lighting

Lighting is the jewellery that the home wears. And like any piece of jewellery, you should invest in it. There are 3 types of lights – statement, direct and indirect.

Statement pieces are the showstopper pieces you have above your dining table or living room. Choose something gorgeous so your guest’s eyes are forced to look up! I usually spend a lot of time trying to find the right one.

Direct light is referring to the spot light in the ceiling. Ask for non-glare option and choose something small. Personally, I don’t like dominating spotlights that stand out. So much so, that the rim of the light is usually the same colour as the ceiling.

Indirect light refers to the light hidden inside a cove of a false ceiling or behind a mirror. This is usually used for mood lighting and gives a soft glow. For a modern look, you need to have a few of these in your home.

Décor

I love décor that can be changed around and has a pop of colour. Décor is what makes your home look fresh. Buy pieces you can put in various places in your home and keep changing the location every 6 months. I usually like to put a cluster together when arranging décor. For example, use the rule of large, medium, small. Find something large, like a tall vase, something medium, like a photo frame and something small, like a candle. Put them together in an ensemble and ta-da, your corner is decorated.

Entertaining Space

The minute you move into a new home, your heart will want to call people over and entertain. And you should! I usually ask clients how many people they call over for a get together and ensure that there is enough seating space for everyone in the living room. You don’t want people standing the whole time during a party – they will get tired and leave early. Rather, focus on making everyone really comfortable with adequate seating so the get together rages on till at least 3am! If you serve alcohol, your bar needs to be near the seating area otherwise your party gets split into two sections.

Flow of movement

This is my pet-peeve. Please design a space where it is easy to go from point A to point B. Your home should not be an obstacle course! The flow of your daily movement needs to be easy and efficient so avoid too many corridors and doors. Some simple thumb rules are the following. Dining hall needs to be next door to the kitchen. TV room should be away from baby’s room. Staff room should be near main door.

About Ridhi Khosla Jalan

Ridhi Khosla Jalan is an interior designer who decided to tinker with making videos on Instagram. Those little videos got her 300,000 followers within 6 months and turned her life upside down. Right now, she’s trying to juggle her time between being a Design Influencer, Stylist, Mom of 4 and just staying awake. An eternal optimist and diehard romance novel fan, she has lived in Singapore, LA and Mumbai and as a result has the most confusing accent. Follow her at @ridhi.khosla.jalan on Instagram and listen to her speak about the latest in interiors and home décor!