Ingenious interior design ideas from homes around the world

Author: Vanessa Walker on Houzz

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so we’ve sifted and sorted through the homes on Houzz to bring you the best and brightest ideas of interior designers, architects, tradies and good old ingenious homeowners.

Bank these solutions for later, or include them straight away for a home that looks great and functions better. From pesky problems solved to grand ideas developed, here’s our round-up of ideas worth borrowing.

1.Flexible shelving
These moveable open shelves slot into grooves in a kitchen in Oxfordshire, UK, so the owners can choose where to put their display items and change up how many shelves they’d like to have at any time. This shows great use of an otherwise under-utilised wall without compromising on aesthetics.

Plus, the gorgeous benchtop and splashback are made of PaperStone, a recycled post-consumer paper product mixed with resins and natural pigments.

2. Easy and effective decorating
In this Brooklyn, US, bedroom, a dark grey wall is livened up with cut mirrors that reflect the geometric terrariums hanging from the ceiling.

When decorating sometimes you only need the suggestion of something rather than its physical form. In this Melbourne bedroom a padded fabric wall provides a softening effect and acts as a great acoustic dampener. The cut-out suggests a bedhead without needing to include it.

3. To create bathroom bliss
We love the way the designers thought outside the square here by offsetting the basin from the vanity and the taps from the basin. It’s one of the most sophisticated interpretations of the notion of bathrooms comprised of furniture rather than fixtures that we’ve seen.

Plus, it makes full use of the narrow dead space to the left of the vanity.

When it comes to adding personality to the bathroom, it’s often difficult to find a balance between materials that won’t be affected by moisture (goodbye canvases) and good looks.

4. The art of disguise
Who among us doesn’t have a wall we look out onto that we’d rather not see. Well rather than a coat of paint, consider timber screens plus a green wall. Many modular vertical gardens are self-watering, which means they can extend up high to cover even the most imposing walls, without requiring a ladder climb every other day.

5. Pool your resources
In Australia we have the need to protect children from falling into our pools with fences they can’t climb over – alongside the desire to gaze straight out onto our pools from any possible vantage point.

After all, pools aren’t just cooling, they provide million-dollar views worth harnessing. When space is tight and a fence is impossible, pivot windows can be the answer (council allowing). We love this Melbourne house’s take on the situation.