Interior designing is all about imaginative leaps and implementing them to manipulate the space provided. The process aims to deliver an optimal blend of functionality and visual appeal. To keep things in order, some ‘logical’ strings, such as the architecture, utility, budget, and client’s specs, prune the boundlessness of creativity. The interior designer must be able to conceptualize the enhancements on the existing structural subdivisions (architecture or the layout) of the area. The design can be thematic, but the style needs to be visually unobstructed and harmonizing. To start right, an interior designer, a buyer, or a DIY space occupant need to know the foundations of this field. Here are the few elements, which help enact the inventive thoughts:
Space: This is simply the area to be enhanced or designed. It can be a home, office, studio, building, simply a room, or even yards. The consonance of color, furniture, decorative, fixtures, fittings, and furniture are the game changers here. As a standard, the space should ooze comfort, class, and positivity. Space should be modulated to allow free movement.
Line: One of the important layout elements, it is a tangent of the architecture and the furnishings, yielding a structure to the space. The following types of lines exist in designing:
- Vertical Lines: Employed in windows, doors, curtains, furniture, etc., these lines add height and royalty to the space.
- Horizontal Lines: Through chairs, tables, bookshelves, etc., they instill an informal and spacious look to the area.
- Diagonal Lines: They impart an unconventional touch.
- Curves: These are actually not lines and in fact, are used where lines cannot be formed. Dwelling on progression, uncertainty, and flow, the arches of windows, doors, furniture, and décor transmit softness and sublimity to the space.
Elevation: These are architectural drawings giving an overview of how the space will appear from a particular angle. Qualified architects make these drawings. The various types of elevations can be:
- Front Elevations: They show entry doors, windows, and protrusions like chimney etc.
- Side Elevations: They point on the depth of the area as well as its steepness.
- Rear Elevations: They emphasize on the raised zones at the backside of the building.
- Split Elevations: These are crucially important for interior designing, as they exhibit floor or wall thickness, heights of furniture & decor, and stair rise, etc.
Texture: Texture is the appearance and consistency of a space’s surface. It is a factor of the types of materials used for designing. As a popular practice, for large and bright areas, the designers keep the surfaces slightly rough, while the shining finish of satin and silk or crushed velvet can create natural and stimulating settings, ideal for small, dark rooms. Contemporary western design concepts relish sharp and minimalist designs. Metals, like steel, chrome, and nickel, are especially popular as they impart a clean and sleek look. Those with royal, rustic, or ethnic tastes prefer solid textures like those of wooden furniture, decorative, & floors.
Color: This most important designing factor for walls, floors, doors & windows, can significantly influence a room’s appearance and size perception, despite ordinary furniture and mundane decorative. You choose warm or cool shades depending on the space’s use and the proposed activity in there. This color toning can affect the mood of the occupant as well. Broadly, dull shade, such as light gray, light brown, cream, pastels, and even white when used singly or in combinations, can provide the desirable backdrop.
Lights: Working in co-ordination with the color scheme and the texture, the illumination brings out the final look of the designed zone. For example, while the dim lights add warmth and coziness to a room, the functional areas like halls are kept bright. For focused lighting, a wide array of lamps and fittings are available Contemporary designers deploy smart lighting even in shelves or cabinets.
Balance: This refers to the visual weight of the entire design proportionally distributed throughout the space. Broadly, we can identify 3 types of balance:
- Symmetrical Balance: Mostly the domain of traditional experts, in this philosophy, the space is designed in a bilaterally symmetrical fashion. This often has a nice but predictable finish.
- Asymmetrical Balance: The contemporary designers keep experimenting with the asymmetrical orientations, sometimes merging select random elements. For example, non-identical décor objects with similar visual weight are introduced casually, to add liveliness to the ambience.
- Radial Symmetry: As the term suggests, this entails initiating the design at the center oozing out to the periphery.
Furniture: This is another important unit potentially influencing the design effect. Furniture is impressive if it speaks of the following in the right balance:
- Quality
- Function
- Durability
- Shape
- Size
