Understanding What Interior Design Is
We know, you want interior design tips, but before we can get to that stage, we felt it would be a good step to actually explain with a series of articles, what interior design really is all about.
Once you understand what interior design is, and how it differs from interior decorating you will be better at coming up with interior diy ideas, and your rooms will reflect the type of mood or look that you want to achieve.
Most of us would like the interior of our home to be like a mirror, reflecting our character, our tastes, our interests and our lifestyle. The thing is, creating ‘a look’ that says something about who we are is not always that easy.
Creating an interior design that gives us the look that we want has to be done within the context of the space with which we are working.
Interior Design Works With The Space Not Against It
We often look with envy at glossy magazine pictures showing beautiful rooms which, if we are honest, we rarely see in the homes of any of the people we know.
‘Why can’t my living room look like that?’ we ask ourselves. Our great ideas often turn out to be a disappointment and we are left wondering why the room doesn’t quite work.
It is important to understand that the pictures seen in glossy interior design magazines may not fit the space that you have.
If you have a loft, with large open spaces and a free flowing layout, there is no point trying to imitate a design that was done for a country cottage with rooms that are small and enclosed.
Interior Design Requires Balance
What makes those rooms in the magazines look ‘designed’ rather than ‘decorated’? The answer is balance and it is probably the hardest thing to get right.
Finding the right balance means taking account of all the requirements of a room, then designing a scheme based on certain simple interior design principles.
Things to think about
We will go into some detail about Interior Design principles in the next post, however to get you thinking, about your interior design project, here are some tips.
When beginning a new project try to answer the following questions:
- What will the room be used for?
- Who will use the room?
- What is it’s shape and size.
- What kind of style do I like? E.g. contemporary, traditional, country, minimalist
Photography © Rodrigo Gutierrez
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[...] our last article we spoke briefly about using simple design principles to make your room look designed rather than decorated. So in this article we take a look a some of [...]
Anyone looking for ideas on modern interior design need only look on the internet where there are lots of interior design companies that have pictures of the stuff that they do. Another good way is to look at in store interior design displays to get a look that is modern and that allows you to get an idea of what your home interior could look like
Yeah Joe that’s ok until you go home and try to do the same thing in your house with your own furniture but it doesn’t work. I want someone to tell me how I can make my living room look really good, without having to buy all new stuff