To help you design & decorate your home!
Would you believe that there is a science behind Interior Design? These elements help you put a room together like a Pro. Some of this may come naturally for you, but there may have been an element you are missing which makes all the difference.
COLOUR
Colour gives a massive difference to a room. It can tie it to styles or eras, can bring warmth, give a cooler feeling, be vibrant or dull, or be very bold with contrast.
CONTRAST
This refers to the opposites in a room that highlight both. Such as black & white, but can easily be used with contrasting shapes, textures, lighting conditions, sizes & design styles.
LIGHT
Light is essential for design so we can see what we are doing in a room. It’s best to have three types of light in each room, being Natural, Task & Ambient. Lighting can bring texture, shape, proportion, contrast & rhythm to a room, as well as patterns.
Find a friend. Balance refers to repeating elements in the room to bring it all togerher. You can balance colours, textured, shapes, finishes or styles.
SCALE & PROPORTION
This is oversizing an item for emphasis, or under sizing to draw attention to another element. This is great for creating feature pieces, or highlighting other parts of the room. You can use scale to make small rooms look bigger with smaller items in it, or large rooms look smaller with larger proportioned pieces.
EMPHASIS
This is the focal point or feature of the room. It is what you want to draw peoples’ attention to. This can be done with art, architectural features, colour, texture, shape, proportion & lighting.
TEXTURE
Texture is everywhere, whether it be rustic & rough, soft & silky or sleek & straight. It can be brought in with finishes like wood or stone, & can give patterns.
DETAILS
The attention is in the detail. It is the difference between a good & a stunning finish. This can be piping on a cushion, shadow lines on kitchen cabinetry or metal trimming on furniture. It is the strawberry on the top.
UNITY & VARIETY
Unity is the same thing, variety is different things. This brings the both together with similar colours, shapes, finishes & textures. It is a way to assemble a set with collection of items. So find a unifying theme, like all white vases, candles or sculptures with the variety being the different shapes or sizes.
RHYTHM / VISUAL INERTIA
Rhythm is repetition to draw your eye through a space. This can be done with colours, shapes, lighting, balance & proportion. Visual Inertia is similar, with the rhythm of the items making the illusion of movement, like zebra stripes in a group.
A well designed room considers all these elements which creates a balanced, interesting space. And sometimes all it takes is a small candle on the side table to tie it all together. Designing can be technical but also loads of fun!