We recently caught up with Karin McCleave, lead interior stylist at Home Ingredients - the creative force behind the beautifully styled Eastward display homes. In this Q&A, Karin shares her design process, inspirations, and the thoughtful touches that bring each space to life.
What inspired the design direction for the display homes at Eastward?
The culture and life outside, when we think about the Drive, it’s rich with personality and diversity. The inspiration is within the streets. It’s eclectic and blended with old-world charm and we loved mixing old with new, working with local suppliers and embracing the environment surrounding Eastward!
What made these homes particularly easy or fun to furnish?
The layouts of the units allowed us to be playful and create spaces that are both practical as well as visually appealing. Studios push your creativity to another level when you want to showcase that the space has versatility and not just your stock standard bed/living, adding a theme to this vocalizes the depth and layers so it was fun to work with ‘Eastward’ to really bring the outside vibrancy of the commercial neighbourhood inside!
What current design trends did you incorporate into the staging?
For the Studio we were really inspired by both Mid Century Modern and Wabi Sabi we wanted to mix styles and make sure we had a unique and eclectic feeling space. For the Two Bedroom unit we wanted it to feel soft and inviting, furnishing it with modern organic pieces and layering in deeper earthy tones and textures. To give the space an overall layered feeling which would appeal to everyone.
What are your top tips for making a rental feel like home and reflecting personal style?
Bold layers and enlivening the walls with artwork, mixing old with new or the idea of old vintage to give a sense of home. Often renters aren’t buying brand new furnishings as they are moving with preowned items. Embracing this is powerful to incorporate with design, because it allows people to own the space and get creative with what they have and add touches of new local items also. Making beautiful, curated spaces that have a deeper meaning.
What are some of your favourite local home furnishing or decor stores?
Habit Trading Co is amazing — lots of local artisans as well as vintage decor.
The Coast Goods is also great for small goods.
Wander Emporium has more eclectic and earthy pieces.
What’s one or two common design mistakes you see people make in their homes?
Curating with no real vision; a great way to avoid this is to figure out your ‘why’ and do what works best for you. Following trends tends to see people running to buy expensive pieces they’ve seen on social media without developing an overall idea of the space they want to create.
Take your time to browse through different decor items and avoid impulse buys. Focus on the primary pieces of furniture and then design your home around them.
Embrace the value of uniqueness and having a distinct perspective, it holds more worth in a space than following the crowds.
Any go-to tips for creating a gallery wall?
It’s a story on a wall that brings colour, character, depth and style. I believe if you are doing a gallery wall you have to do it with intention, make it meaningful, mix pieces and go bold. If it’s feeling chaotic, steer clear of too many small pieces. Go oversized, play with the scale!
Ready to see it for yourself? Book a virtual tour of Eastward now through RentEastward.com and move-in now.