What to Invest in This Year to Elevate Your Home
3-Minute Read
Upgrade your home with these investments for 2025
There is a well-known saying, “buy cheap, buy twice.” At KOBO 10, quality over quantity is at the forefront of our design. So, deciding what to invest in can be impossible when it comes to spending money on your home. You don’t always have to gut your space and start again when you feel it isn’t to your taste anymore. Try using some of our suggestions to bring your interiors into 2025 and beyond.
Get the Rest You Deserve When You Invest: Beds & Mattresses
Studies say you should spend 8 hours sleeping, meaning a third of your life is spent in your bed. So, when you invest in this vital piece for yourself, you aren’t just investing in the quality and longevity of a bed but also your health. When spending a little more, you tend to also have options with more interesting features, such as grander headboards and hidden storage solutions, than just a box standard bed.
It’s a simple investment decision to make but consider these factors before buying one. Make sure you pick a mattress that supports you when you sleep. Try a few out to determine what you are looking for. We also need to make sure we are getting the right size bed to fit the room, proportion is key here - read our post on “Achieving the Perfect Balance: Mastering Scale and Proportion in Interior Design”.
Sit Back and Relax: Always Opt for the Classics
Like your bed, seating can be an investment that lasts a lifetime. Sourcing chairs, sofas and stools that are bespoke/handcrafted over mass-produced has an array of benefits to why it's worth the extra money. One of those is that investing in these cult classics is like purchasing art. It will hold value as well as keep to a timeless look.
Sustainability is also a big factor in why many invest in unique furniture and not the run-of-the-mill pieces. It’s about not buying into fast-moving trends. When doing this we cause less of an impact on our environment when sticking to these pieces. These timeless items will always stand the test of time. They have the option to fit in with most styles, creating an eclectic look that is personal to you and your style.
One thing to consider is these items can be very expensive to buy all at once. As designers, we understand that not everyone can do this. Part of the fun is buying items that grow with you and fit the timeless nature they possess. It’s about the journey of sourcing and finding out the individual story of the pieces you acquire over time. Curation is the key to making your home feel elevated, don’t try and match all your furniture together.
Changing Rooms or Style? Change the Fabrics: Upholstery
If your furniture is starting to look out of place, looking worn out or no longer fits your scheme, don’t worry! You don’t have to replace your furniture entirely, try changing the upholstery on your pieces. This process is always overlooked and is the key to the investment you made in a structurally sound piece. When you have a seat that has a timeless shape, you can change its fabric according to its environment, meaning it will always go in any room we need.
Take the Togo Chair by Ligne Roset - it’s a shape that is recognised by so many and fits in most interiors effortlessly. However, it could be that the colour or pattern doesn’t fit your scheme so why get rid of such an iconic piece? We can change fabrics on it to give the piece a new lease of life while fitting in with its new interior setting.
When sourcing material speak to your upholsterer about what materials they advise, check the rub counts as some fabrics aren’t meant for heavy wear or for certain purposes.
It’s All About the Details: Hardware and Touchpoints
Why should your furniture get all the investment? Touchpoints and hardware are always overlooked when it comes to elevating your interiors. However, these could be the things that gives your space the luxury feel it deserves. Hardware is a great way to elevate existing pieces like kitchen cabinetry, door handles or switches without changing everything else. This becomes a great way to invest in your original furniture without the massive outgoings of a total refit again, giving it a new lease of life.
The benefits of great hardware go further than just aesthetics. Their feel can show the quality of the pieces and their craftsmanship. These items are something we use in our space every day without even noticing, and adding quality will give the user a more luxurious experience when using them. This minor change can also help increase property value with these small details as they make the overall space more appealing for any potential buyers.
Let There be Light
Lighting should not just be functional it should be treated like an art piece or an installation, being a focal point of any room. Don’t just have bulbs hanging above your dining table, this will make your space feel cheap and not thought through. Use a statement pendant that drops down closer to the table to give a more intimate feel to the space while giving the interior another element that has been considered to make the space feel more cohesive. Designers know that the right lighting features will enhance your space and can be used to disguise said lighting and make them become sculptures and art pieces in their own right.
As we have discussed in a previous article, we give a detailed insight into what the perfect lighting is for your space. Check out our blog on “Why Lighting Matters: How It Affects Mood, Style and Functionality”.
Become a Collector of Art
So many times, people focus on what to do with their furniture and how it fills the floor space. Art, however, helps us fill the walls as there are usually limited options on what we can do to elevate these. All designers love to use art to help enhance the interior scheme of a room. Investing in commissioned art has amazing benefits for you and your home. The first is that you have unique/limited pieces, bringing exclusivity and luxury to your space. The other is that when you spend money on art, it tends to hold its value or even appreciate over time.
What pieces you buy depends on your interiors and is subjective to the viewer however, our advice is to try to buy art that resonates with you. We like to buy art from artists of a similar generation to our own. This is a great way to support artists who are on the rise and will gain exposure in the years to come. You could have invested in the next big artist!
Bespoke Furniture Solutions
There is no better way to invest in your space than to find solutions to those awkward gaps you have in your home and give them a personal touch. Use those spaces to your advantage by getting bespoke furniture like cabinetry built in to make the room feel more intentional and functional.
Not only is this a good way to fill tough spots, but we end up with a piece of unique furniture that is exclusive to you and fits the requirements of your design and space. You support local craftsmen who make handmade items using locally sourced materials, which will be better than items that are mass-produced as you have a say in what kind of quality you want to get. As with all bespoke furniture, these items tend to be more timeless, meaning they won’t be outdated and will work in the space if you want to change your look for the room in the future.
You should now understand how interior designers are investing in their spaces. Take your time to research and source your furniture, fittings and fixtures. You want to know that once you make that purchase, you get a return on your investment. Whether it be through tailor-made items that are built with better quality in mind, commissioned art bespoke to you, storage solutions that help your everyday life or pieces that don’t go out of style, giving them a longer life span. It’s important to remember that the investment is to optimise your life and how you live in it.