A FEW INTERIOR DESIGN BASICS

Hannah Brindle, Director, www.des-rez.co.uk

You've got a blank canvas. A room that you want to drastically change and turn into a space that reflects how you live today and is beautiful at the same time.

Where do you begin?

Here are a few basic rules which you should consider using before getting your paint brush out!

Functionality

When we embark upon an interior design project many of us don't spend enough time really thinking through how we want to use the space.

• How are you going to use the room?
• What proportion of your time will you spend in the room doing what activity?
• What function will the room be used for?

Take a kitchen for example. It's obvious isn't it? We use a kitchen to prepare and cook food? Well, yes, preparing and cooking food is certainly one of the main functions of any kitchen but to what extent do you use your kitchen for this function and what else might you use the space for

• Are you a cordon bleu cook or do you prefer ready meals?
• Do you want to use this space for eating, dining or entertaining? - all three?  
• Do you want to use this space for other activities such as watching TV, working on your computer, a kids work area?

Spend some time really thinking through what you want to do in the space and prioritise these activities. Plan your furniture with a scale drawing of your room or cut out shapes to size to help you decide on the best arrangement for your furnishings. Do this and you will be half way towards creating a really successful space that will work for you.

Storage

When designing a new space many of us forget about our storage needs. Ask your friends about their current living arrangements and the frustrations they have and I guarantee that lack of storage will certainly be one of the issues they raise.

When designing a new space think about

• What you will need to store in the room?
• What sort of storage facility you want?
• How you can maximise your storage capacity without compromising space and design?
• How you can use existing functional items to solve your storage needs e.g. using the base of a window seat for storage, using a dividing wall as a storage facility as well as a room separator.

Focal Point / Feature

Focal points provide ways of guiding the eye away from less attractive features and towards areas that give the room interest and character.

When you enter a room the eye should be drawn to a main focal point or feature.  This could be a wonderful window, fireplace, feature wall, central light, piece of artwork or sculpture. This feature should set the tone of the room and provide interest and a bit of a wow factor. To maximise the impact of your focal point ensure a clear pathway leads to the feature - your eye will be immediately drawn to it.

Emotional Response

(Colour, Pattern, Texture and Light)

A successfully designed space elicits the right emotional response from the users of that space – therefore thinking about how you or your visitors should feel when they enter and use the space is important. Do you want to feel immediately relaxed and at ease? Do you want to feel energetic and lively? Do you want to feel creative and alert? Do you want cosy or formal? How you decorate your space and the colours, tones, patterns and textures you use will affect how people feel when they are in the space. For example a kids playroom should feel exciting, full of fun and energy, a home study or library on the other hand should feel peaceful, serene, an environment conducive to reflection and concentrate.

Some tips about colour and texture.......

• The darker the colour the more it will advance, the paler the colour the more it will recede.
• Remember that 60% of a room's colour is on the walls, 30% of a room's colour is the upholstery and flooring and 10% is the accent pieces.
• Warm colours have more yellow in them, cold colours have more blue in them
• Bold, bright strong colours tend to elicit a more extreme excitable reaction than pale subtle colours and tones
• Certain design styles will favour certain colours and tones e.g. a Morrocan inspired look will have a lot of yellow based colours - reds, oranges, rusts, golds; a Scandinavian look will use a lot of blue and other cool neutral/natural colours; a glamorous look with use strong colour, pattern and shiny reflective texture to achieve the effect.
• The use of texture and pattern has the ability to bring all the elements of a room together.
• Light affects texture: direct light will enhance it, whereas diffused light will detract from it. Use shiny reflective textures where more light is needed and darker more absorbent textures where the light level is too high.
• Selecting a pattern for a room is the most instant way of 'buying into' a style. An individual selection of fabric or wall paper can provide the colour, design and style basis for a whole scheme.
• Non-geometric patterned wall paper will provide good camouflage for walls with surface irregularities.
• Too large a repeat on a wall covering will make a space appear smaller.

Light also affects the character of a room less natural or artificial light creates a more cosy, traditional space and lots of light tends to create a more crisp, fresh modern look. When thinking about light consider what daylight your home gets and how it changes. Generally, north and east facing windows require additional artificial light and south or west facing windows benefit from controlling the light. Think of light in three categories - general for background illumination - accent to draw attention to particular features and task lighting to illuminate particular activities e.g. lighting under kitchen wall cupboards.

Aesthetic Style

Think about the aesthetic style you are trying to achieve and the type of look you want.  Don't let others talk you into a style or design that isn't you. Think about what you like;

• Contemporary modern design or a more traditional look?
• A particular design era -  Victorian? Medieval? Art Deco? 50's, 60's retro?
• A particular regional or country inspired look -  French, Italian, Scandinavian, or country rustic?
• Which words best describe what you like -  Plain? Ornate? Simple? Pretty? Elegant? Solid and sturdy? Glamorous? Natural? Practical? Bold? Subtle? Feminine? Masculine? Warm? Cool? Curves? Straight lines?
  

Use these basic principles and you will be much more likely to create a space that works for you and reflects your personal style. Remember www.des-rez.co.uk has a great eclectic range of home accessories and occasional furniture pieces to support your design style.

Good luck!

Hannah Brindle

www.des-rez.co.uk

February 2009.