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What Are Feature Walls and Why Should You Have One?

It’s the smallest details that make the biggest difference.

Building your dream home is a significant investment. For some, architecture, how the house will look from the street is the top priority. For others, the focus is the interior design portion of the build – the time they get to let their creativity speak for itself and really build a home custom and unique to them.
There’s a surprisingly simple yet often overlooked way to elevate the style and visual impact of your home while reinforcing your design. Feature walls…like standing out from the crowd, a feature wall impacts how a space looks and feels. As simple as this idea is, here is what we think of feature walls and why we believe every home should have at least one!

What is a feature wall?
A feature wall or statement wall is usually specified when the rest of the room is decorated in a neutral colour palette. By selecting one wall and applying paint, wallpaper, stone or other textured material, you create a feature. A feature wall emphasis the style of your home without the expense of having to decorate the entire room. This is a brilliant option for new homes when you plan on buying new furniture to complete the look of your custom home.

Feature walls can also be used on the outside of your new custom home. Think outside the box and dress up the façade with exposed brick, timber cladding, tile or stone. Whether you want a unique walkway, or a way to contrast upper and lower levels of the home for added interest and value, a feature façade lends your home your unique style while still standing out from the other homes in the street!

Where does a feature wall go?
The first step in creating a feature wall is choosing the right wall! At Oceanview Constructions, we pay careful attention to the details because it’s the small touches that make the biggest difference. We know the ins and outs of designing a feature wall and use our professional design expertise to guide you in the right direction.

When it comes to implementing a feature wall in your custom designed home, there are a couple of rules to follow:

1. Find your focal point. You want a feature to be visible the moment you enter the space. Don’t randomly select just any wall to highlight. Think about which wall highlights the room’s existing focal point and where the eye is naturally drawn. If it’s a media room, the focal point would be the television, so painting the wall the tv will go on is a good option. The wall behind the headboard would be the feature star in the bedroom. Let the existing architectural design of the space be your guide and don’t be afraid to go bold.
2. Make it fit. A feature wall shouldn’t be broken up around doorways or windows if possible, it shouldn’t have to compete with an already busy wall. When there is too much going on, it can confuse the viewers eye, a feature wall is the main character, so give it its own space!
3. Watch the space. It’s best to give your feature wall some space to shine. A bold pattern or texture doesn’t distract or shrink a larger room, this is where open homes really come into their own. Try to refrain from putting a feature wall in a tiny space, it can make a room look cluttered if you’re not careful. Try adding a feature wall throughout the foyer or hallway as you welcome guests, especially if you have a grand entry.

What are feature walls made of?
You can create a statement wall in a variety of materials. Paint is the easiest, quickest and most cost-effective, followed by wallpaper. If you’re looking for something that’ll command the space and really wow your guests, textured materials such as timber or natural stone are excellent for both interior and exterior feature walls.

Natural stone gives a home a timeless industrial look that creates organic warmth while adding a bold stylish texture. There are heaps of stone ranges and types to choose from to create an edgy, sophisticated look. A very popular option is a mosaic of natural stone built onto the façade of the house. Welcome your guests from the moment they pull up in the driveway with a feature wall that sets the mood and scene for the rest of the home.

Tiles are an obvious choice for any wet areas such as the bathroom, outdoor pool or dining areas. The possibilities are endless: large format tiles open up space while unique shapes and mosaic tiles create a mural that stuns.

At Oceanview Constructions we assist you in choosing all your custom inclusions to perfectly encapsulate the aesthetic appeal of your custom designed home. Nestled in the heart of the Redlands and Brisbane Bayside, Oceanview Constructions strives to exceed your expectations.

If you’re interested in adding a feature wall to your new build that wows your family and guests, contact us today!

The ‘Industrial Style Home’ trend has been one of the most popular building trends in recent times due to its bare, rugged appearance that is also minimalistic and stylish. It is a trend that brings both the style of the modern and the charm of the old together in a timeless, unique fashion perfect for many homeowners.

Industrial Style Home Characteristics

There are many characteristics to the industrial home though some of the most prominent include the ‘lived in’ feel, rustic finishes and the minimal open plan warehouse vibe. Though, this doesn’t mean that your home has to look uncomfortable.

The industrial style home encourages warm, yet neutral tones throughout your features and finishes which work to great effect along with bare materials such as wood, metal and concrete which can be stunningly displayed throughout the home.

Features and Finishes

As the inspiration for the industrial home comes from the warehouses, factories and industrial buildings of old your finishes should be of a similar look – neutral and texture focused. Thus, exposed brick, polished metal, pipework and industrial timber works well with a straight lined or blocked look to the home.

Feature elements that you should strive to incorporate into an industrial style home include minimal and functional furniture, exposed pipework, warm industrial lighting, polished concrete flooring and machinery parts. All of these features will help tie the whole home together with your tones and finishes.

An Environmentally Friendly Design Trend

The best part of the industrial home is that you can incorporate recycled finishes and features into your home. This makes the home more environmentally friendly and reduces your carbon footprint by repurposing existing items.

Whether you choose to add old railway sleepers, scraped pipework or old fashioned machinery there is a place for all your industrial recyclables in this style of home. You can also add a little contrast and a splash of colour with old paintings and picture frames. Black and white photos work well too as a finishing touch to this amazing style trend.

If you are looking to build a custom industrial style home contact us today and we can discuss your options on 07 3822 8178.

When designing custom homes there are many trends you can choose from to incorporate into your brand new build. One of the most popular trends at the moment has got to be ‘The Hamptons Style’ which emits a coastal and relaxed feel throughout the home and symbolizes the lifestyle many Australians strive to achieve.

What defines the Hamptons Style? 

There are many aspects that define the Hamptons Style which, ultimately, are incorporated to create a coastal and relaxed feel in a home. A home that is designed with the Hamptons Style in mind should be airy and open allowing the indoors to overlap the boundaries of your outdoor living spaces.

This can be achieved through an open-living floor plan where the home maximizes the use of natural light and neutral colours to great effect. The natural light and spacious design allows the home to flow while the neutral colours allow for a relaxed vibe. The main colours used are white, light grey and creams while adding a dash of black and tones of blue or green to really pull the coastal aesthetic together.

Hamptons Style Home Exterior 

The exterior of a Hamptons style home should incorporate the same colours as the interior. This would be predominately light greys and whites with a possible splash of darker grey to define certain features in the home’s exterior and façade.

VJ Timber cladding is one of the main features of a Hamptons Style exterior. Decking in matching colours to the home is also a great way to add flow from the inside of a Hamptons Style home to the outdoors. With the addition of outdoor furniture to accent the coastal feel of the home everything is tied together in the spacious and airy design.

Hamptons Style Home Interior 

The interior of a Hamptons Style home should be neutral at first but then accentuated with various features that bring the home to life. To achieve this, you want to start with furniture that looks easy going, comfortable and relaxing while still sticking to the Hamptons colour scheme.

You can broaden your colour pallete in your home from blues and neutral colours to green by incorporating indoor plants or pillows. Choosing palms and other coastal varieties will pull the whole look together in a fresh and vibrant way. Organisation is a key element in the Hamptons style, you should ensure that your home looks organised and not clutter filled. You can achieve this by incorporating Shaker style cabinetry, especially in the kitchen.

There are many other elements that also bring the Hamptons style together including mudrooms and butler’s pantries, which are becoming more popular in Australian homes due to their practicality. VJ wall paneling, dado rails and oversized architraves and skirtings compliment the walls of a Hamptons style home creating a classical air about the room.

Exposed rafters, timber floors and detailed timber balustrades and hand rails allow for the relaxed traditional style to shine through in all its glory allowing you to add classical and sophisticated furniture and fixtures to match including goose neck tapware and pendant lighting.

If you are looking at building a custom Hamptons Style home give us a call to discuss your options today on 0409 711 735 or 3822 8178

Before you start designing your custom home you need to have a vision! This will become the foundation for your design and the final result that will, ultimately, become your new home. So, what is the type of custom home that you envision and how do you go about expanding this idea into an actual design?

Let’s start with the basics!

Inspiration and research
You probably have a rough idea about what you imagine your perfect home to look like but to start getting a proper design in place you need to do your research. Luckily, there is a HUGE resource you can use called the Internet! With millions of designs and features to inspire you.

If there are certain features that you particularly like and want to incorporate into your custom home save them and create a folder or mood board you can refer back to. This will help organise your thoughts and keep everything together for when you are ready to plan the layout of your new custom home.

Refine the Plan

The next stage of designing your custom homes is refining your ideas and planning the home’s layout. Take the features you like and make a list of the must haves and the ones that you can do without. Maybe a third option called budget pending, that you are happy to leave if you must but if budget allows would like incorporated into the design. This will give you a clear idea of what your needs are and will give you a bit of discipline so you don’t go over what you can afford.

Your builder will then have a better idea of what you are after, maybe you can’t fit the butler’s pantry in but your builder has an option for additional storage in the kitchen or laundry.

Consult and finalise with a custom builder

Once you have your plan list you and your builder can design a rough floorplan of your new custom home. This allows you to determine where you want certain rooms and how you want your design and overall house to flow. Your builder will also be able to considering ways to cut costs for plumbing and power or make the home more energy efficient. 

Your builder will be able to tell you everything you need to know about building your custom home as well as features that will and won’t work in your design.

At this appointment you can also discuss budget, materials, colour choice and so that you and your custom builder are both on the same page when the time comes to start the most exciting project of your life!

So what are you waiting for? Start collecting your ideas and we look forward to turning the dream house you envision into a reality.