Interior design is a discipline that combines that of creative and artistic expression with that of practical usage and application. In this series of educational articles designed for the reader to learn, we’ll canvass through the specifics of the profession as well as it’s history, including any specialties and disciplines related to this field.

A professional career in this field in modern times brings with it many challenges, more so than in previous generations. The career and field itself is a combination of creative expression, aestheticism, innovation and practical application, that goes on to influence the environment in which many people choose to live their day to day lives. Interior design as a field and profession itself blends together a garden variety of creative and technical solutions in order to develop and construct an interior environment that is befitting to this design.

The result is an environment that is aesthetically pleasing, while simultaneously being functional and culturally enriching for the occupants of this environment. These designs should work together with the construction of the living space itself, and be able to integrate itself with the social context and physical location it is located in.

The knowledge accumulated by the interior design professional can then be adapted and integrated into the interior design process, in a way that ultimately contributes to the accomplishment of project goals as set out by the client.

IMPORTANCE OF INTERIOR DESIGN

Interior design is not just about arranging the appearance of the inside of a room or building. It is also about the feng shui, and about arranging the room in such a way that it is not only functional but increases the amount of space in such a way that the room breathes, where a small room can look large, where improper interior design will fill the space in such a way that even a large room will look small and cramped. Interior design can essentially be seen as the interior version of architecture in the aesthetic as well as function purpose it attempts to achieve. Whether you are building a new house or remodeling an existing one, it is always a good idea to hire an interior designer to add the most important finishing touches to your fresh home. There needs to be a simultaneous practicality in addition to the aesthetic when designing both the exterior of the house, but particularly the interior. What is aesthetically appealing is largely dependent on the personal taste of the individual, as there are many varying styles of interior design from rustic to contemporary to futuristic. Whether the curtains will look pretty or the modern boiler stove is with a futuristic, sleek design is overall, irrelevant to the whole scheme. Due to this, the architectural plans that are the basis for the house are seldom sufficient to meet the needs of the homeowner. When the homeowner faces budget constraints, they will greatly hesitate hiring an interior designer to complete the house and will often be stuck with a cold, unaesthetic version that falls short of expectations and it’s true potential.

COMPREHENDING INTERIOR DESIGN

Interior design itself is a set of processes and procedures that is often a mix of logic, creativity and dimension. Part of this process is the ideation of interior design related terminology as you work through the various steps of the creative design process. The design process itself is a form of planning in order to manufacture an object or a product, a system or a human interaction that can be measured and quantified in a meaningful way. There are implications in the design process that include sociopolitical, economic, functional and aesthetic, that also play a role in the overall dimensions and considerations given to the design object. A person who is the one designing any one of these things is called a designer, and his job might extend into several fields including that of a textile designer, fashion designer, web designer, product designer, concept designer and interior designer. The activities comprising a logical order of events in relations to design is aptly named the design process where the study and research regarding the process is called design science.

THE PART AN INTERIOR DESIGNER PLAYS IN OUR LIVES

• An interior designer must be competent and knowledgeable in multiple disciplines and posses a wide variety of skills.
• Among these skills should include cost analysis and technical knowledge, particularly of architecture and technology, but also need to fit the budget constraints of the client, in conjunction with aesthetic and functional knowledge
• Interior designers can either work as generalists or specialize in a certain type of design space, whether this is residential or commercial, and has to do with the public space, retail, restaurant, bar and nightclub interiors, as well as hotels and condominiums
• This career choice isn’t necessarily based on the individual creative spark and taste of the interior design but requires years of post secondary education, as well as in depth training and practice on the field
• Interior designers must be able to converse about both the aesthetic and technical aspects of topics not only of interior design, but also of decorating, architectural styles, and many other fields of study and practice
• The knowledge that interior designers possess should then be utilized to create a space that is aesthetically as well as functionally pleasing

TOOLS OF THE TRADE USED BY INTERIOR DESIGNERS

• Interior design is a growing field, with many more people continually being educated in this every year, and as a result the level of competitiveness together with the contribution of experienced interior designer to fill knowledge gaps and devise new ways of doing things provides for a growing breath of things to be learned, but also puts pressure on interior designers to study more than their predecessors but also to continually expand their existing knowledge base if they are a practicing interior designer with years of experience, especially to keep up with new trends and developments in the field
• As interior design is a science with an artistic touch, it can be utilized in ways that make for a healthier living environment for clients on top of just aesthetic and functional touches
• There are considerations which deliberately look at both improving the healthiness of the living environment as well as the various types of buildings and structures and the different approaches that need to be used to improve them
• An interior designer needs to possess a formal education in his field or an extraordinary flair for artistic creativity, together with practical experience in interior design, preferably for a client, where they were in a position to conduct the planning, coordination, design and execution of various projects, while those who have a natural talent for artistic and aesthetic things in conjunction with the actual formal education and practical experience will find themselves being the leading experts in their field

CONSIDERING THE DESIGN OF THE LAYOUT

There are some considerations that can be taken into account when deciding on the design of the layout:

1. The layout of the room, as well as it’s structure, is important in determining it’s points of focus. Among them might include elements such as fireplaces, doors, windows and built in wall units, or wall harmonicas. There needs to be some balance between the placement of these elements. In case there is no balance, spacing out these elements will create a sense of balance and make the room seem more spacious. If the client does not want to have them moved around or if it would require them to go too much out of their way to make his happen, it’s also advisable to add something that might create some sense of balance or to help restore it. The human eye automatically look for a focal point inside a room, as it is both an instinctive and neurological trait of humans. Interior designers can take advantage of this dynamic.
2. The perception of what is spacious can also be determined by the body size of the person whose room it is. A small person might be comfortable in a smaller room, while a bigger person might need more space, especially to move around. Therefore decluttering is key.
3. Volume is one technique when it comes to visualizing space and the concept of spaciousness within a confined area. A fish bowl is a good way to visualize a room, as a fish bowl itself is an ecological environment that can be furnished with various nick knacks that make it both aesthetically pleasing but also functionally useful for the fish inhabiting it. Similarly, adding various objects like sofas, chandeliers, sculptures, bookshelves, a dining table, a coffee table, end tables, chairs and so forth. If you imagined putting these inside a fish bowl instead of a room, it would essentially be the same as displacing the water from the fish bowl and periodically having to empty it out as you place more items in to make sure it doesn’t overflow from top of the fish bowl and ruin your nice floor.
4. The idea is to create a cozy space that feels safe, like a refuge, that feels like an inside, but at the same time doesn’t obstruct the view of the outside, of nature, of sunshine and greenery, so you can feel like it combines well with it. This is called the Prospect and Refuge theory, and applying it can create a more healthy environment that is more pleasant to the human condition. A shelter (refuge) with a view (prospect) is essentially a psychological theory in which humans want a design in which they can see the front (prospect) while also being protected from any possibility of attack from the back (refuge).
5. The placement of furniture should be planned via a drawing of the layout of the room. It is also useful to take giant paper and cut it into smaller pieces that resemble the physical representation of a piece of furniture. You can also make pop out style furniture from printed on cardboard to represent your individual pieces of furniture, in particular the largest items, such as sofas, chairs, tables, wall cabinets, tv stands and so forth.
6. The pathway from the main door to the rest of the house should be easy to navigate, spacious and not be blocked by any annoying and unnecessary obstacles. The pathways should branch out like veins or arteries within the human body, any one that is cut off could mean death to the rest of the body.
7. Decluttering is key as it gets rid of space that is used inappropriately and unnecessarily, as it is crucial to unblock traversable arteries in a room in addition to increasing the size of the room where clutter would’ve made it seem smaller than it actually is. This will allow the room to breathe.
8. In larger or lengthier rooms, you can subdivide different areas of the room to designate them for different types of activities, and give them their own special flair.
9. When it pertains to decorating a room as well as installing lighting, chandeliers and fixtures, keep in mind that vertical lines cause a person to look up along those lines, while horizontal lines cause a person to look on a horizontal plane as they scan the room.
10. Wallpaper that has a square grid pattern in it’s design can give the impression that a room is larger than it actually is. This also works if square tiles are used to line the wall instead of wallpaper. The smaller the grid squares, the larger the room will be distorted and appear to be.
11. Having a big window will allow you to borrow space from the outside and incorporate it into your room’s design. It will make a room more spacious than it is, if you are able to have an uninterrupted view of the outside world, where it is not blocked off by any objects. It is also possible to create the impression that you’ve “borrowed” space from
    other rooms nearby if you have continuous tiling going from those rooms into the others, that does not differ from the other rooms.
12. When you are planning the furnishing of smaller rooms, you can blur the edges of the room by placing objects over them to conceal them, as well as slightly moving furniture away from the walls and buying furniture that is fitting to the size of the room and uses smaller proportions than in larger rooms. Furniture that has legs, like chairs, tables and desks, will give the impression that the room is more spacious than it actually is.
13. An oversized sofa that is just too large proportionate to the room can be disguised for it’s size by being broken up into “smaller pieces”, using blankets and covers of various patterns.

CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING PLANNING THE SPACE

Now that we’ve covered some principles regarding how space planning would look like in a practical scenario, let’s go over some questions you should ask yourself before space planning for your own particular space:

• What is the intended purpose of the space? Is it meant to have more than a single function, such as that typically found in a combined living and dining area, as well as a bedroom and a study?
• How many people are projected to be utilizing the space and will they all be using it for the same function? Say in a large living room, you might have one person who is laying on the couch watching television, another is reading a book and yet a third is sitting on a laptop doing work.
• Do you already have any pieces of furniture that you would like to put in this space, or move from someplace else?
• Perhaps you would like to move furniture from this room into another room, and move furniture from another room into this room. You can analyze whether this will fit your goals.
• What is your preference in regards to this room? An open and airy room, a minimalist room, a cozy room or a peaceful room?
• Are there big windows? What is the amount of natural light that is able to penetrate into the room? What about light fixtures? What type of lighting would be adequate for our room?
• Every room has focal points that can be taken advantage of. Identifying these focal points is the first step towards devising a strategy for their exploitation.
• There is also the option of the creation of focal points. This is another thing that can be considered, if they do not previously exist and we are in need of them in order to proceed to further phases in the interior design process.
• Do you prefer something that is more balanced and symmetrical? How about something that is whimsical, fantastical and a complete surprise? What about a combination of both?
• Are there any other things that you would either need or want this room to have? Specific appearances? Decor? Furniture? Electronics? Technology? Accessibility options?

Asking yourself these questions will enable you to identify what needs consideration and what problems are potentially there that you can rectify. You might need to use a combination of logic and creativity to work through these questions and attempt to find a solution for them that will satisfy the vast majority of points together without interfering with the others. As you work through them, you might reveal some conflicts between various points and you will need to prioritize what is more important to solve over something else. In this case, compromise will be necessary. As a designer, you will need to work hand in hand with the client to meet their needs, and any changes that might come up. Together you will be able to capitalize on a solution that works best. The most intuitive designers will be able to establish balance between what flows and fits, and other elements that need to be inspected when planning the interior design process, as well as balance between the wonderful and the average elements that can be added to a space. These elements can serve as a compass for pointing the designer in the right direction in accordance with the principles of interior design. In the next article we will examine some of these interior design principles.