- Related Topics:
- furniture
- floor covering
- wallpaper
- molding
- curtain
Light is one of the key elements of interior design. Most interior spaces constructed in the 20th century are used as much with artificial light as with daylight; because of this lighting has become a very significant tool for the interior designer. There are three major aspects to lighting: function, aesthetics, and health. The latter factor is often ignored, but insufficient illumination can cause eyestrain and physical discomfort. Illuminating engineers have established recommended standards of illumination for various tasks and have also provided rules and standards relating to brightness of the source of lighting and controls for shielding the eye from direct glare. Light can be diffused and can, in general, be controlled very accurately.
Two basic types of lighting are used in modern interiors: incandescent and fluorescent. The former is somewhat redder than daylight but contains all colours of the spectrum. Since fluorescent light has an uneven spectrum, colours tend to appear distorted. A mixture of the two is often the best way to achieve colour accuracy. Some of today’s fluorescent lamps are close to daylight accuracy, and manufacturers continue to improve the quality of available lamps. Both types of light can be used in “direct” or “indirect” lighting in interiors or in a combination of these methods known as semidirect or semi-indirect.
Designers and architects strive to build in lighting as much as possible. Recessed lighting, lighting coves, and architectural lighting in general can be controlled much more efficiently than portable lamps.
A good lighting scheme must provide some variety in highlights, shadows, and accent lights to avoid monotony. An even, overall lighting system, such as a luminous ceiling, can be highly efficient, but it lacks character and interest. Most interiors require a certain flexibility for different functions within the space at different times of day and night. In certain interiors, such as stores and shops, lighting becomes a display and sales tool, and in festive spaces, such as ballrooms or theatres, the quality of light can provide sparkle and mood more effectively than any other component of design. One can think of the potential of lighting in terms of the theatre. Some productions are staged without formal sets, yet the changing mood and setting can be suggested by controlled illumination.
Most intimate interiors depend to some extent on portable or fixed (ceiling and wall-mounted) lamps. The design of lamps, especially table lamps for homes, has somehow brought forth a vast array of bad designs, together with a smaller number of good ones. Many lampshades are similarly banal in design, but a shade as such is an excellent diffusor of light and shield against glare. Some lamps and shades are designed for specific tasks, others for accent lighting.
Fabrics
There are three basic aspects that determine appearance and suitability of fabrics for interior use: fibre content, weave, and pattern. Fibres are either natural or man-made. The important natural fibres are cotton, wool, linen, and silk. Although silk has long been considered the most elegant and desirable of all natural fibres, it does not stand up well under direct sunlight and heat and, in general, requires more care than most other fibres. Wool, like silk, is an animal fibre; depending upon its weave, it can be made into extremely strong and beautiful fabrics and is therefore very much in demand for contemporary interiors. Both cotton and linen are made from vegetable fibres and are both durable and pliable. Unless cotton and linen are interwoven with other fibres, however, they are not generally as strong as wools or man-made fibres and tend to be restricted to light-duty interior purposes.
Man-made (synthetic) fibres in the 20th century abound under a variety of trade names, and new synthetics are continuously being developed. Some of the major families of synthetic fibres are glass fibres, acetate, acrylic and modacrylic, nylon, olefin, polyester, rayon, and saran. The chemical composition and processes used in the manufacture of man-made fibres make possible a variety of specific qualities. Some offer strength and elasticity; some offer resistance to fire, stain, mildew, sun, or abrasion; and some offer resistance to moisture and organic agents, others to crushing and wrinkling.
Many fabrics are woven in a combination of two or more fibres in an attempt to improve the appearance or utility or both. Another factor in selecting or specifying fabrics is the touch of the fabric, or the “hand.” Certain fabrics made from man-made fibres seem unpleasant to the touch compared to silk or wool fabrics.
Weaving is an ancient art, and fundamentally there is little difference between the very early handlooms and the power looms found in major textile plants today. The three most common weaves in use are plain weaves, which include basket weaves; floating weaves, which include twill and satin weaves; and pile weaves, which include both cut and uncut weaves. Weaving techniques of lesser importance to interior design include knitting, twisting, forming, and felting.
The pattern of textiles, especially in contemporary terms, is frequently the natural pattern created by the weave of the fabric, although patterns are also created by printing. In traditional textile terms, reference to pattern usually meant a historic style. The history of textiles ranges from early Egyptian and Oriental patterns to the present. Each era has developed fashionable and popular patterns. Contemporary textile designs, for instance, are usually abstract or geometric, but floral and large flowing patterns were also popular in the 20th century.
Colour is one of the most important aspects of fabrics in interior design, inasmuch as the colours of fabrics are frequently the most important areas of colour in interiors. Dye colours can be added to unspun fibres, spun yarns, or woven textiles. Colour fastness is a major concern to interior designers, for faded fabrics can be quite detrimental to an interior.
Natural elements
No man-made object can equal the beauty found in nature, and it is not surprising that the introduction of natural elements into interiors has always been considered desirable. In spite of their beauty, one cannot arbitrarily introduce a plant, a tree, or rocks, or water into an interior. The foremost considerations must be the location of the space, its climate, and its relationship to the outdoors.
Climatic considerations determine the kind of plant, flower, or tree that can prosper in an interior. The most beautiful plant will not survive long under adverse conditions, and a dying tree or plant certainly offers no decorative advantage.
The location and orientation of interior to exterior spaces is another important consideration in the introduction of natural elements. In warmer climates, it is possible to have a gradual transition between interior and exterior, and plants providing this natural transition will look well and will prosper. In colder climates a real barrier of glass or a solid wall separates the indoors from outdoors, and at best the transition can be made visually.
There are a number of simple devices that make it possible to keep delicate plants and flowers alive under controlled conditions. Greenhouses in all sizes, ranging from window size to room size can be the most delightful areas of an interior, but obviously special conditions and maintenance must be provided. The scale of plants or small trees must be considered. One large indoor tree can be a beautiful accent in even a small space. Too many trees or plants in a small space would be overpowering, unless indeed the space is designed primarily as a greenhouse space or plant room.
Natural elements other than plants and flowers that can be used in interiors are water, rocks, stones, or pebbles, and planting areas in natural soil. For large spaces, usually public buildings, pools or contained areas of water can be extremely beautiful and exciting. Some interior features have been created with running water and small recirculated waterfalls. Sometimes a small area of pebbles with a few plants or carefully chosen rocks can add a touch of real beauty to an interior. Even collections of rocks, minerals, seashells, and other natural elements provide the touch of nature that can make an interior come alive.
Design procedure
Professional interior-design assignments may range from the design of a small apartment to extremely large and complex jobs such as the planning and design of all of the floors in an office building or the design of all the spaces in a hotel or resort. The procedures vary somewhat from one job to the next and depend upon the size of the design organization, but the following basic outline covers the usual procedures followed by professional designers.
Preliminary phases
The first step is the interview with the client. This is often a series of conversations and must eventually lead to a mutual agreement. Clients usually have a good idea of their needs and preferences, yet an experienced designer frequently sees some needs not envisioned by the client, and often he must reeducate the client’s attitude about preferences. Obviously, the interview must also convince the client that the designer is the right one for his needs. Most established professionals do not commence any design work nor engage in prolonged meetings and conversations without a retainer for their services. Depending upon the scope and complexity of the job, agreements between clients and interior designers range from simple letters written by the designers to lengthy legal documents, covering precisely the services to be rendered, as well as the procedures and responsibilities. The designer makes a survey, including an analysis of the client’s present program, and he often prepares a new program. Frequently, for instance, a designer upon surveying existing facilities finds that the redesign of these facilities would be more suitable to the client’s needs and more economical than the leasing of a new space or the adding of additional space. More often the situation is reversed: the client does not realize that investing in a major renovation of his space does not permit room for future change or expansion, and upon the design firm’s advice new premises are obtained or built. Sometimes there is a question of whether a particular interior of some value or meaning should be restored or reconstructed, and again the experience of the interior designer is needed for those decisions.
When the job involves redesigning existing spaces, at a very early stage the interior designer will require very accurate plans of existing conditions. In many older buildings, there are no up-to-date plans, and the design firm must take exact field measurements in order to obtain plans and elevations for the existing spaces. These plans must also reveal whether walls are bearing (supporting) or whether they can be demolished. The electrical and mechanical system must be carefully evaluated, sometimes by engineers.
For large jobs pre-architectural planning and programming can consume many months or even years. Major corporations contemplating major building projects need precise programs, analyses of existing facilities and equipment, and a number of alternate schemes and proposals. Based upon the functions performed by the various departments of a corporation and the interrelation of these departments to each other, designers actually prepare a schematic building shape (such as a high-rise building or a series of smaller structures), including a basic system for offices or other functions.
The final program outline is eventually presented to the client for approval prior to any actual design work. The budget obviously is a paramount consideration. Together with the program analysis, designers must frequently prepare an approximate budget or attempt to make their proposals based upon a budget set by the client.
Among the additional factors that must be considered are availability of materials and furnishings, maintenance of the interior, and the character or appropriateness of the planned scheme. Business interiors often represent large investments for the clients, and a delay of several weeks in the completion of a job, due to the non-availability of products or furnishings, could represent a sizable loss. In public interiors, such as hotels, stores, or educational institutions, the maintenance factors must be carefully analyzed. On a smaller scale, residential interiors must be considered with similar care. Maintenance factors for the floors of kitchens or children’s rooms are important.
Design and presentation
After the completion of a program and the acceptance of the program by the clients, the actual design work can begin. Designers usually work on many alternative schemes. A single space such as a restaurant or a carefully designed store takes many days of preliminary design studies. As the size of the job increases, the interrelation of individual spaces increases the complexity of these studies, and it is quite likely that the designer will need a rough study model in order to visualize the spaces three dimensionally. Drawing and drafting at that stage is the designer’s way of visualizing his own ideas and at the same time putting them in such a form that they can be communicated to his associates for discussion and eventually communicated to his clients. All the aesthetic components come into play at that stage of design, including colours, lighting, and textures, although at the early design stages no precise selection of materials or objects is made. Obviously, this creative phase of interior design is based on thorough research and critical analysis and is not simply the result of a sudden flash of inspiration.
Once the designer or the team of designers feels that a scheme has been arrived at within the stated objectives, a preliminary presentation will be prepared. Although a competent designer will try a number of possible schemes for every job, he will, as a rule, decide which of the many ideas he explored in rough form is the most successful and that will be prepared for a preliminary presentation. For important commissions, such a presentation might consist of a number of sheets or presentation boards showing plans, elevations, sketches, and renderings, and, in many cases, models as well. Most clients are not trained to visualize space from plans and elevations, and perspective sketches and renderings are necessary to fully explain a scheme. At the preliminary presentation the specific colours, furnishings, and details are not resolved yet, since the aim at that stage is to obtain the basic approval from the client.
