Elements of design

Every interior – whether it is a home, an office, a bank, or an automobile – combines certain basic elements of interior design. The most important elements are style, form, color and light, scale, pattern and texture.

 

 

Style. Most people associate style with the types of furnishings and architecture developed during a particular period of history. For example, Louis XIV style re-creates the elaborate, formal furnishings found in French palaces during the reign of King Louis XIV (1653-1715). Some people classify interiors decorated in period styles as traditional and all other interiors as contemporary or modern.

The broader meaning of a style refers to the mood created by the combination of all items in an interior. Many designers believe the interior architecture and the needs of the people using an area should determine its style or mood. These designers do not try to create interiors that imitate the style of any one period. Instead, they may combine period and contemporary furnishings to fit the mood of the interior. Many designers use the term transitional to describe an interior decorated in a combination of period and contemporary styles.

Form refers to both the shape and the structural materials of an interior itself and of the furnishings within the interior. In good design, the form of the furnishings harmonizes with the form of the interior. For example, an airline terminal designed in free-flowing curves might include built-in curved furniture.

 

The form of furniture must also suit the furniture’s purpose. For example, a chair made of tubular steel and plastic might be a good form for the study area of a modern public library. The chair’s simple lines suit the modern interior, and its durable composition will withstand constant use by adults and children. The same chair, however, might be an unsuitable form for home television viewing because it would not provide comfort over a long period of time.

 

Color and light together may be used in many ways to produce different effects. Dark-colored walls, for example, may absorb most of the light falling on them, making a room seem dimly lit. However, the same amount of light will appear brighter in a room with pale-colored walls because pale colors reflect light. People feel most relaxed in rooms that have some variation in color and light. Uniform light may give an office a businesslike atmosphere, but such light becomes boring for relaxing or dining.

 

Color can appear to change the size of a room. Walls painted a dark or bright color can make a room seem smaller than it is. Such colors give the illusion that the walls are closer to the room’s center than they actually are. On the other hand, pale colors can make a room appear larger and airier because they make the walls seem farther away.

 

Scale refers to the relationships between the size of the interior, the size of its furnishings, and the size of the people who use the interior. A design for an area is in scale when the sizes of the interior, furnishings, and people are in balance with one another. A design is out of scale when anything appears too large, too small, too heavy, or too light. For example, a steel and glass table, which has a light, airy appearance, would be out of scale in a room filled with heavy wooden furniture.

 

The scale of an interior and its furnishings has definite psychological effects on people. In a cathedral, for example, a high ceiling helps create a feeling of reverence for God. For the purpose of worship, this feeling is probably exactly what the architects wanted people to experience. But in extremely high-ceilinged rooms in a home would make most people feel uncomfortable and so would be inappropriate for everyday living.

 

Patterns and texture. Pattern refers to the designs in draperies, floor coverings, and other items in an interior. Texture refers to the surface appearance or feel of the items. Even if people do not touch everything in area, their eyes interpret texture. Pattern and texture are closely related. For example, patterns in some fabrics and floor and wall coverings give the illusion of variation in texture.

 

Interiors with too little or too great a variety of patterns and textures can effect people psychologically. For example, a room decorated entirely with smooth-textured, white materials may bore people. A room decorated with an unplanned mixture of textured and patterned fabrics can be mentally agitating.