Darren Palmer’s guide to transforming your home’s interiors into a luxury-style resort

INTERIOR designer and The Block judge Darren Palmer spills the secrets to getting that luxury resort style without leaving your home.

The open plan living area and kitchen of the North Bondi home featured in Darren Palmer's book HomeSpace.

IT is not hard to imagine why the interior design trend for resort-style living appeals to so many.

Making your home resemble the style of a secluded paradise in an exotic location is more than just aesthetically pleasing.

Interior designer and judge from The Block Darren Palmer says the tranquil and luxurious feeling that comes with resort-style living is a welcome escape from our hectic lifestyles.

“I think people really love the idea of it, even if it’s just creating a bathroom where they can shut the door and feel like they are in a day spa,” he says.

A lounging platform cantilevers over a pond outside the master bedroom. Photos from HomeSpace.

The open-plan Balinese luxury resort-inspired house.

Palmer took inspiration from one of his favourite places in the world, a luxury hotel in Bali, to create this feeling for the owners of a home in north Bondi.

The stunning results, along with four other examples of his interior design work, can be seen in his new book HomeSpace.

“If you look at Bali’s luxury hotels, it’s all about openness, it’s all about clean and crisp and modern and contemporary but with a layered approach to materials,” Palmer says.

“It’s a very natural palette – it’s limestone and sandstone and timber.”

Feature mosaic tiles in the master ensuite. Photos from HomeSpace.

The guest bathroom with a travertine tile feature wall.

While hotels can be a great source of ideas, Palmer says the focus should be on creating a mood instead of replicating their look.

“It’s a sensory experience so you’ve also got to think about smells and sounds and touch as well,” he says.

Mirrors used as a focal point to add visual depth and textured interest in the North Bondi home featured in Darren Palmer's new interior design book HomeSpace.

If an open-plan design with lots of light and space is not a good fit for your home, giving your bathroom that resort spa feeling can be a nice compromise.

“It’s about having different lighting sources, having music and trying to give yourself the luxury of space. Try to open up the floor space so that you’ve got a square rather than a rectangle,” Palmer says.

HomeSpace by Darren Palmer (Murdoch Books). RRP $39.99, in all good bookstores and online. Details: murdochbooks.com.au

Interior designer Darren Palmer. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

The cover of Darren Palmer's new interior design book HomeSpace.

Originally published as Darren Palmer’s guide to transforming your home’s interiors into a luxury-style resort