How to use the elements and principles of interior design to decorate your home
Modern interior design is more than choosing the right pillows or drapes to tie the room together. However, those choices are still important. Frankel Building Group believes interior design can be both science and art. It all depends on how our brains and bodies respond to the SpaceSpace around them. It is the job of interior designers to create positive feelings and sensations that make people want to spend more time in space.
Interior designers use certain artistic methods to “trick” us or reshape our perceptions of interior spaces. It’s a mind game much more complex than most people realize.
You can decorate your home with these 7 principles of interior design.
- Space
- Lines
- Form or shape?
- The Pattern
- Light
- Color
- Texture
Let’s talk about these building blocks and how they can be used to help you get started on your journey to create the home interior of your dreams.
Space
Although all seven elements are essential components of interior design, SpaceSpace is the most crucial. Interior design is all about designing interior spaces.
In the last decade, you’ve probably seen an open-plan floor plan on any home improvement program. This home style is all about SpaceSpace and the balance between negative and positive spaces.
- Negative SpaceSpace is the empty SpaceSpace that gives a room a lofty, “open” feeling.
- The positive area is a space that has been decorated with furniture such as a sofa, dining table, and kitchen island.
The walls are removed in an open-concept home. This makes it seem larger than it is. This is only one example of interior design’s effect on the brain.
Lines
Interior designers can also use lines to influence how our brain perceives SpaceSpace. There are three types of lines.
- Horizontal
- Vertical
- Dynamic
Horizontal lines create a warm, earthy, safe, comfortable, and secure feeling. Vertical lines on the other side make spaces feel more spacious and open.
Horizontal Lines
Horizontal lines can give a room a calmer and more peaceful feel. Horizontal lines ground the SpaceSpace, making it seem larger and more spacious. Too many of these design elements can dull your SpaceSpace and lack the visual appeal of dynamic, vertical lines.
Vertical Lines
Verticals draw your eyes up, perpendicular to horizontal ones. If your home has amazing tin ceiling tiles, an interior designer will subconsciously use vertical lines to raise your eyes. Vertical lines can make people feel restricted if they are too often used.
Dynamic lines
These lines are a sign of stimulation and movement. These lines are active and will encourage you to notice the pattern or “move” in the same direction as the line.
This category includes zigzag, angular and curved lines, which each affect the Space’sSpace’s feeling differently.
Form or shape?
A form is a collection of lines that creates a particular shape. Shapes are created by lines, whether they are horizontal, vertical, or dynamic. These shapes can be geometric (angular) or natural (curved). You can have them open or closed. Your interior designer will be able to mix and match different forms to create the look you desire in your home.
The Pattern
A pattern is a combination of lines and forms. It belongs to the “line” family, which includes both form and elements. Patterns, which are similar to shapes, can be used to accent a particular part of your interior. This effect can be achieved with bold wallpapers or a bright color on a wall.
You don’t need to marry patterns to walls. They can be used anywhere: from the wood grain to the picture frames, drapes and pillows to the grain in the wood. There are many options for incorporating patterns into your home.
Light
You’re probably familiar with interior design elements such as mood lighting if you’ve heard it. Because different lighting types can affect the mood in a room, light can help to set it. Natural light can be warm and happy, while artificial fluorescent Lighting can make a room feel still and cold.
It is important to know the differences between the two types of Lighting available and how they affect the mood in a space.
Natural Lighting
Natural light can highlight your favorite paint colors or furniture pieces you want to show. The interior designer can place the windows and doors in a way that allows natural light to flood into any space. Designers can also manipulate the light with shades, drapes, and curtains.
Artificial Lighting
Artificial Lighting can be used when natural Lighting isn’t enough or designers want to highlight an art piece or set the mood. There are many options:
- Task Lighting – This is a lighting system that helps you complete tasks. It can be used for overhead Lighting in the kitchen or desk lighting.
- Accent Lighting – This Lighting is used to indicate a home’s focal point. It can be art, sculptures, chandeliers, or your home’s architecture.
- Ambient Lighting is not meant to highlight or assist with tasks. Instead, it enhances SpaceSpace. This is the “mood light” that we mentioned earlier.
Color
As with traffic lights, interior design colors can connote certain moods and messages. Our brains are wired to interpret them in certain ways. The interior designer is responsible for manipulating them to create the feeling you desire in your home.
Although we won’t go into detail about the color wheel, it is important to understand that colors can inspire different emotions. Green, for example, is associated with tranquility and peace. Red, on the other hand, represents intense hunger and red, purple, royalty. It is important to consider the color palette used in every SpaceSpace of your home.
Texture
Interior designers must consider the appearance and feel of textures. Good designers can manipulate visual and actual textures to achieve the desired effect.
Actual Texture
This is how the material feels. Silk can feel smooth, while linen can feel crisp and rough. While silk feels smooth, the leather looks entirely different from silk.
Visual Texture
Visual texture refers to how something looks to your eyes. Stone wallpaper, for example, is not the same as real stone. However, it creates the illusion of stone which is more traditional and rustic than modern.
