Many aspire to design their home interior according to their own preferences. But what really is interior design. It is actually the process of shaping the experience of the interior space through the manipulation of spatial volume as well as surface treatment. It is different with interior decoration, as the two terms are usually interchanged. Interior design draws on aspects of environmental psychology, architecture, and product design in addition to traditional decoration.
A person who is considered to be professional in the field of interior design is called an interior designer. The discipline is the creative practice that analyzes information, establishes a conceptual direction, refines the design direction, and produces graphic communication and construction documents.
Basic interior design principles
Now that we were able to define interior design and interior designer, we can now move forward and learn about its basic principles.
1. Unity and harmony. Think about the house as a whole, for instance, the series of spaces linked together by halls and stairways. It is therefore vital that a common style and theme are observed in all rooms and spaces. All interior design elements should be able to work together and complement each other to strengthen the whole house. One of the best choices to achieve this is through the use of color as color schemes may unify the rooms and spaces. A great way to bring harmony is to decorate with a surface and texture wallpaper.
2. Balance. This is the equal distribution of visual weight in a room. There are basically three styles: symmetrical, asymmetrical, and radial. Symmetrical balance is commonly found in traditional home interior. This is characterized by the same objects repeated in the same positions in either side of a vertical axis. Asymmetrical balance, on the other hand, is commonly seen in modern interior design styles. With the use of dissimilar objects that have equal visual weight or eye attraction. This is more casual and less orchestrated, but more difficult to achieve. It suggests movement, and leads to more vibrant interior. Radial symmetry is achieved when all the elements of a design are arrayed around a center point. An example of this is the spiral staircase.
3. Focal point. Nobody wants a boring room. Therefore, a focal point is important to make the room lively. The focal point is an area or object in the room that are interesting and draw attention of the viewer. The focal point must have a lasting impression yet must be part of the decoration linked through scale, style, color or theme. An example is an art piece, a canvas print, furnishing or an interesting decorative item.
4. Rhythm. This is all about visual pattern repetition, a continuity, recurrence or organized movement. Think about repetition, progression, transition and contrast. Repetition is the use of the same element more than once throughout a space. Color, texture, line and any other design elements can be repeated. While progression is taking an element and increasing or decreasing one or more of its qualities. Transition tends to be a smooth flow where the eye naturally glides from one area to another. Contrast is placing two elements in opposition to one another. For instance black and white pillows on a sofa.
5. Details. This element should not be that much evident, but they should be right, and enhances the overall feel of the room. This include scale and proportion and color.