https://katrinaleedesigns.com/ [Life & Design] Tue, 04 Aug 2026 22:57:42 +0000 en-AU hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.6 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/cropped-mylogohouse-1-32x32.png https://katrinaleedesigns.com/ 32 32 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/do-curtains-actually-save-you-money-on-energy-bills-i-went-looking-for-the-numbers/ https://katrinaleedesigns.com/do-curtains-actually-save-you-money-on-energy-bills-i-went-looking-for-the-numbers/#respond Tue, 04 Aug 2026 22:57:05 +0000 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/?p=89114 In partnership with Curtain & Blind Co. Every time I mention curtains in a build or reno, someone in the comments asks the same thing: do curtains actually make a difference to your energy bill, or is ‘thermal curtains’ just a label a curtain company wants you to believe? Fair question. I wanted an actual...]]> https://katrinaleedesigns.com/do-curtains-actually-save-you-money-on-energy-bills-i-went-looking-for-the-numbers/feed/ 0 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/investing-in-outdoor-furniture-that-lasts-a-designers-case-for-quality-over-quantity/ https://katrinaleedesigns.com/investing-in-outdoor-furniture-that-lasts-a-designers-case-for-quality-over-quantity/#respond Mon, 27 Jul 2026 21:43:03 +0000 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/?p=89106 (Feature Image: Investing in quality outdoor furniture. Credit: Osier Belle)  Styling a home well is rarely about buying more. It is about buying the right pieces, the ones that carry a room or a terrace without needing to be replaced or replicated a year later. That principle applies just as much outdoors as it does...]]> https://katrinaleedesigns.com/investing-in-outdoor-furniture-that-lasts-a-designers-case-for-quality-over-quantity/feed/ 0 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/7-things-you-must-know-before-you-start-designing-your-home/ https://katrinaleedesigns.com/7-things-you-must-know-before-you-start-designing-your-home/#respond Fri, 03 Jul 2026 03:28:28 +0000 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/?p=89102 If you’re about to renovate, build, or finally tackle that room that’s been driving you mad for years, you’ve probably already fallen down a Pinterest hole or two. Maybe you’ve got forty tabs open, a folder full of “inspo” photos, and a growing feeling that you still have no idea where to start. You’re not...]]> https://katrinaleedesigns.com/7-things-you-must-know-before-you-start-designing-your-home/feed/ 0 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/5-selections-mistakes-that-blow-your-build-budget-and-how-to-avoid-them/ https://katrinaleedesigns.com/5-selections-mistakes-that-blow-your-build-budget-and-how-to-avoid-them/#respond Wed, 24 Jun 2026 23:09:15 +0000 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/?p=89092 Selections is where most people lose the plot. Not because they have bad taste, but because nobody warned them what they were walking into. You start out excited. Tapware, tiles, benchtops, the fun stuff. Then three weeks in you’re drowning in samples, second-guessing everything, and your budget is quietly bleeding out while you’re not looking....]]> https://katrinaleedesigns.com/5-selections-mistakes-that-blow-your-build-budget-and-how-to-avoid-them/feed/ 0 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/the-8-star-home-myth-what-nobody-tells-you-about-building-all-electric/ https://katrinaleedesigns.com/the-8-star-home-myth-what-nobody-tells-you-about-building-all-electric/#respond Wed, 24 Jun 2026 23:06:09 +0000 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/?p=89089 veryone has an opinion on all-electric homes. Most of them are wrong. I’ve heard it all. It’ll cost you a fortune. You’ll freeze in winter. Gas is cheaper in the long run. You’ll be stuck with cold showers the second the sun goes down. I used to half-believe some of it too, until I actually...]]> https://katrinaleedesigns.com/the-8-star-home-myth-what-nobody-tells-you-about-building-all-electric/feed/ 0 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/what-living-in-an-8-star-energy-efficient-home-actually-feels-like/ https://katrinaleedesigns.com/what-living-in-an-8-star-energy-efficient-home-actually-feels-like/#respond Fri, 12 Jun 2026 02:21:07 +0000 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/?p=89085 People ask me about the star rating like it’s a technical specification. What’s the NatHERS number, what’s the insulation, what’s the glazing. And I can talk about all of that. I do, for a living. But it’s not what I notice. It’s not what living in this home feels like. What I notice is much...]]> https://katrinaleedesigns.com/what-living-in-an-8-star-energy-efficient-home-actually-feels-like/feed/ 0 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/10-kitchen-design-mistakes-that-will-drive-you-mad-every-single-day-and-how-to-avoid-them/ https://katrinaleedesigns.com/10-kitchen-design-mistakes-that-will-drive-you-mad-every-single-day-and-how-to-avoid-them/#respond Fri, 12 Jun 2026 02:18:04 +0000 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/?p=89081 The kitchen is the room you use the most and forgive the least. A bedroom can be a bit awkward and you’ll barely notice. A kitchen that’s badly planned will irritate you every single time you cook, unpack the shopping, or try to get a coffee while someone else is making toast. I’ve designed a...]]> https://katrinaleedesigns.com/10-kitchen-design-mistakes-that-will-drive-you-mad-every-single-day-and-how-to-avoid-them/feed/ 0 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/the-real-cost-of-building-a-home-in-australia-in-2026-whats-not-in-your-contract/ https://katrinaleedesigns.com/the-real-cost-of-building-a-home-in-australia-in-2026-whats-not-in-your-contract/#respond Fri, 12 Jun 2026 02:13:52 +0000 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/?p=89077 I’ve built four homes. I work in the industry every single day. And if there’s one thing I wish someone had sat me down and explained before my first build, it’s this. The price on your building contract is not the price of your home. It’s a starting point. A big, important, slightly misleading starting...]]> https://katrinaleedesigns.com/the-real-cost-of-building-a-home-in-australia-in-2026-whats-not-in-your-contract/feed/ 0 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/4-ways-thinking-about-energy-efficiency-early-can-save-you-money-on-your-new-build-or-renovation/ https://katrinaleedesigns.com/4-ways-thinking-about-energy-efficiency-early-can-save-you-money-on-your-new-build-or-renovation/#respond Fri, 22 May 2026 01:49:58 +0000 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/?p=89056 There’s a conversation that doesn’t happen nearly enough on building sites and in design meetings across Australia, and it’s the one about energy efficiency. Not because people don’t care, but because most of us don’t realise that the decisions made early in a project, often before a single wall goes up or a tile gets...]]> https://katrinaleedesigns.com/4-ways-thinking-about-energy-efficiency-early-can-save-you-money-on-your-new-build-or-renovation/feed/ 0 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/how-to-read-a-floor-plan-and-spot-the-problems-before-you-renovate/ https://katrinaleedesigns.com/how-to-read-a-floor-plan-and-spot-the-problems-before-you-renovate/#respond Tue, 19 May 2026 00:23:47 +0000 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/?p=89005 A floor plan looks simple enough at first glance. Just a bunch of boxes and lines, right? But there is so much information packed into those boxes and lines and if you know how to read them properly, you can spot problems before a single wall goes up or a single dollar gets spent. This...]]> https://katrinaleedesigns.com/how-to-read-a-floor-plan-and-spot-the-problems-before-you-renovate/feed/ 0 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/how-to-style-a-room-on-a-budget-without-it-looking-cheap/ https://katrinaleedesigns.com/how-to-style-a-room-on-a-budget-without-it-looking-cheap/#respond Tue, 19 May 2026 00:16:25 +0000 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/?p=89002 Here is something I believe wholeheartedly: a beautiful room is not about how much money you spend. It is about knowing where to spend it, where to save it, and how to pull everything together so it feels intentional rather than thrown together. I have styled rooms on tiny budgets that look like a million...]]> https://katrinaleedesigns.com/how-to-style-a-room-on-a-budget-without-it-looking-cheap/feed/ 0 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/how-to-choose-a-paint-colour-that-actually-works-in-your-space/ https://katrinaleedesigns.com/how-to-choose-a-paint-colour-that-actually-works-in-your-space/#respond Mon, 18 May 2026 05:14:30 +0000 https://katrinaleedesigns.com/?p=88999 Can I tell you how many people I’ve spoken to who have painted a wall, stepped back, and felt their stomach drop? The colour looked perfect on the chip. It looked great in the store. And now it’s on the wall and it’s completely wrong. This happens all the time and it is not your...]]> https://katrinaleedesigns.com/how-to-choose-a-paint-colour-that-actually-works-in-your-space/feed/ 0