Designing an interior goes further than just choosing a beautiful color for the walls, further than finding a comfortable sofa for all housemates, and further than gathering cozy accessories for decoration. There are many steps before it.
A good interior designer will adhere to some guidelines that are important to get a balanced and cohesive interior. A few guidelines to keep in mind before getting started:
Interior design: SPACE
View the space to be designed, what are the interfaces (walls, floors and ceilings) and which choices in terms of processing and materials ensure that you increase, decrease, enlarge or perhaps reduce the space where necessary. Also pay attention to the sightlines for your interior design (you want to have nice sightlines from every position, so that a nice overview of the space is created, nice views to other positions in that space.
Interior design: PATTERNS
A pattern is a decorative motif that is repeated on a surface (the pattern on, for example, a fabric or wallpaper). By using patterns, a very nice “extra” can be added to your interior design. Here are a few tidbits to remember:
- A large pattern on a small object will be lost, and so will a small pattern on a large object.
- You match the colors of the pattern to the colors that appear in the basis of your Interior Design. Doesn’t have to be exactly the same color, preferably a shade lighter or darker.
- Do not repeat one pattern endlessly (pillows, wallpaper, lampshades, etc.) that can become too dominant.
Interior design: COLORS
The choice of colors is very important in your interior design. Colors have emotional effects on the residents. Colors come in different intensities. Colors come in different shades. Colors can reinforce or repel each other. That is why it is important to be well informed by choosing a Colorist, for example, and not just on trend or taste. A few things you should know about COLOR in your INTERIOR:
- Color accents bring vibrancy
- Color can connect separate parts into a coherent whole
- Color has an effect on the incidence of light (and vice versa)
- Color can enlarge or shrink a space
- Color can emphasize or camouflage something
- Color can create a certain mood
- Color is personal!
If you can’t figure it out, don’t hesitate to ask an Interior Stylist for help, they are completely at home in Color theory!
Interior Design: TEXTURES
Textures make your Interior Design come alive. Hard, soft, cold, warm, smooth, rough etc… are all textures. It is important that you combine various textures, such as a hard floor with a soft carpet. But beware, too many different textures give a restless effect.
GROVE matte textures (often warm and soft) give a comfortable and warm atmosphere. Light and sound will be absorbed more than with smooth textures.
SMOOTH glossy (often cold) textures have a more spacious, lighter and more formal appearance (the light is more reflected and the sound will bounce back more than with coarse textures). Too many smooth textures will quickly look impersonal, try to compensate with coarse/soft textures. It will also limit the “reverberation” in the room.
