Holiday haven

By Justine Olivier

There’s no better place to vacation than in the comfort of your very own holiday home. Imagine the saline air filling your lungs as the enormity of the ocean washes over your every sense, the sounds of nature as you find your inner sanctuary within a game farm, or staring out at the beautiful surrounds of your own home by the dam.

Wherever your choice of location, your holiday home should be a place of ultimate relaxation, providing the perfect getaway destination.

Professionals at Delawood Designs say: “What makes for a perfect holiday home is an environment that is aesthetically pleasing yet low maintenance, as well as being an uncluttered space that is welcoming, and offers a change of pace from the normal day-to-day living.”

“Although clients’ style preferences may differ, the ideal holiday home should be a haven for the soul to recover, with comfort and ease of living, and with low maintenance being of prime importance,” explains Dorothy van’t Riet, of Dorothy van’t Riet Design and Décor Consultants.

The last thing anyone wants to do on holiday is to resume the daily chores one would usually do at home, therefore low-maintenance furnishings are the way to go. Keep in mind though that low maintenance doesn’t mean dull and ordinary; quite the contrary – there is an array of stylish, elegant and high-quality yet low-
maintenance furnishings with which to adorn your home.

Why not splash out and make your getaway home truly different from your residence by adding colour and texture – it will not only awaken your senses but will bring life to your interior spaces as well.

“Be daring and use inspiration out of the area,” says Gerrit Kruger, of Hertex Fabrics. “It needs to be different from your home, it needs to feel like a different space.”

Keep in mind that although you want this home to differ greatly from your usual home, do not skimp on quality. Michele Metior, of M&M Design, says: “Go for simple and sexy furniture, and finishes that complement their surroundings yet are still comfortable and non-fussy.”

“Although the decor for a seaside home need not be self-consciously nautical, the interior design can have nuanced references to its location near the sea,” adds Dorothy.

“Holiday homes can take colour inspiration from blue, stormy seas and over-clouded skies, featuring soft colour palettes of grey, pewter, white, indigo-blue, duck-egg and cream.” Let the surroundings inspire the design of your interior spaces.

Creating a home which allows a seamless flow in design, by embracing the milieu, often provides a serene ambience and adds a sense of wholeness and completeness throughout the entire home by following this central theme.

And while the decor and interior design play a major role in reflecting your perfect getaway ambience, one cannot overlook adequate security measures, especially considering that you may be away from your holiday home for months. Integrate technology into the decor of your home through home automation systems.

Home automation systems of today are not only state of the art but add an extra dimension to the overall aesthetics of the home.

Increase your security by simply integrating your CCTV cameras, security and lighting systems.

“Lutron, one of the leading manufacturers of lighting control, has a ‘vacation mode’ that records actual lived-in lighting sequences while you are at home,” explains Darren Salkow, of Elan Systems South Africa.

“You can activate the ‘vacation mode’ when you leave the home or from your PC or cell phone, and the system will play back the recorded lighting activity giving the home a lived-in look.”

What makes this system so intriguing is that it also offers a “green vacation mode” which saves energy by only using lights which can be viewed from the outside.

Darren further explains that the Elan g! series home control system has a history function that records the date and time that the alarm system has been armed or disarmed, and also logs when the door contacts, window contacts or motion sensors have been triggered so you can go back and see if there has been any activity in the home and the location of the said activity.

With the decor and design aspect under your belt, along with adequate security measures in place, you can rest assured that your holiday home will not only look great but will be well protected during the times when you are away.