Interior Design 30
1 Lesson 1

Interior Design 30 2 Lesson 1

When you have finished working through Lesson One in Interior
Design 30 , you will be able to:
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identify and explain the processes involved in interior design.
 tell the difference between personal taste and good design.
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identify the goals of interior design.
 recognize how lifestyle affects housing design and interior design.
 identify lifestyle trends and resulting changes in interior design.
 recognize how culture is reflected in housing style, housing design, and interior design.
 list the benefits of interior design.
Interior Design 30 3 Lesson 1

Education programs in interior design encompass both commercial design, such as planning and designing a store, a restaurant, and so on, as well as residential design.
Interior Design 30 is about the design process involved in residential or home design. Rather than learning about exterior environments and housing styles in this course, we will mainly focus on home design and planning interior spaces.
Interior Design 30 4 Lesson 1

Design refers to the purposeful and creative arrangement of parts and details.
To achieve a design plan, we use the elements of design.
We apply the principles of design.
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line
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shape
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form
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space
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texture
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pattern
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colour
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balance
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rhythm
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scale
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proportion
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emphasis
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harmony
Interior design is the art of creating rooms and other indoor areas that are attractive, comfortable, and useful. Interior design involves the careful selection of wall and floor coverings, window treatments, furniture styles, lighting, and accessories to suit the purpose of the area and to create an overall mood.
To achieve a desired effect in interior design, each of the elements and principles of design can be used to produce many different results.
Interior Design 30 5 Lesson 1

Generally speaking there are three goals of interior design: beauty, appropriateness, and harmony or unity with variety.
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Beauty
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Appropriateness
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Harmony or unity with variety
Beauty is something that every individual perceives differently. Beautiful objects give us pleasure when we see or touch them. What is beautiful to you may not be considered so by someone else. What you consider beautiful enough to put in your own home makes your home a unique place.
Taste is the particular likes and dislikes of an individual, a social group, a nation, a region, or a certain period of history. Taste is very important and must not be confused with the quality of design.
It is based on your personal values and is learned from family, friends, and the general public. For example, if you come from a familycentred home you may choose objects for your home that promote comfort, safety, and companionship.
If you come from a home that is achievement-oriented and upwardly mobile, prestige and nonconformity may be important values to you. They might be reflected in the interior design of your home by your choices and how you have arranged each interior.
Interior Design 30 6 Lesson 1

Taste develops and changes over the years as new experiences affect people's lives. To speak of "good taste" generally means one's own taste or the taste of those one admires most. Good taste may or may not be related to good design.
During different times and in various places in history, different things have been considered to be in good taste. Some have been good designs; some have not.
For example, in the 1950's, wall-to-wall carpeting covered up hardwood floors giving more comfort and greater options for interior design through colours and fibres.
Today, carpeting is being removed so that the hardwood floors reflect light and space. Hardwood floors are also easier to clean than carpets which require regular care. To some people, bare hardwood floors do not suit their taste; they may add area rugs for personal reasons but also to add to the décor.
Good design means something more permanent and more fundamental than being tasteful. It refers to the quality that can be recognized in an object whether it is in style or out, whether it is popular or unpopular. Even though you do not like something, you could still recognize that it is well designed. A well-designed piece of furniture is well-crafted, high quality, durable, functional, and appropriate for its purpose.
If you understand the use of the elements and principles of design effectively, you can make choices that are appropriate for your space, not only for today, but for a long time to come. You can also make your home appear beautiful, not just to yourself but to most other people.
Good taste is not related to price. There are some people who are impressed by how much they pay for things. However, price is almost totally invalid as a measure of values, especially today when everything costs so much. In addition, the expensive look may not be suitable to the way most of us live, regardless of our incomes.
Quality is always essential whatever the price. Good quality refers to something beautifully designed, well made, and durable whether it is antique or contemporary.
In assessing a room for beauty we look for evidence of personal taste and good overall design of the space including the arrangement of furniture, as well as the quality of the items occupying the space.
The following activity invites you to assess how beauty adds to the design of a room.
Complete Activity A and submit it along with your assignment for this lesson.
Interior Design 30 7 Lesson 1

Interior Design 30 8 Lesson 1

Examine the illustration below of a home office or computer centre. Look closely at the design of the room for its beauty including personal taste, good design, and quality of items in the space. Then, respond to the questions that follow. You may use your imagination for choice of fabrics and colours.
(4)
1.
Be sure to submit your work along with Assignment One.
Beauty a. Name two items in the room that would be pleasing to look at or to touch. Explain your choices.
Interior Design 30 9 Lesson 1

(2)
(2)
(2)
2. b. Beauty is also related to creativity or uniqueness. Name one item that expresses its uniqueness in this room. Explain your choice.
(3)
Interior Design 30
Taste a. Taste in room design is reflected in the particular furniture style, the accessories, and the organization of the space. Values, such as enjoying company, or organization for work, or privacy of the people who use the space, should be evident in a room’s design. i. Name one piece of furniture in the room and explain one value associated with it. (computer is not furniture) ii. An accessory is something nonessential, yet it adds to the overall design. Select one accessory in the room and explain one value expressed by it. iii. Comment either on the furniture style or the way the furniture is arranged in this room and explain a value that it shows.
10 Lesson 1

(4) b. Good design can be recognized in an object whether it is in style or out; whether it is popular or unpopular.
Select a piece of furniture in the illustration and imagine that it is given to a son/daughter who is moving into his/her own onebedroom apartment to attend school. Discuss two reasons for its usefulness.
(2)
3. Quality
(1) b.
_____
(20)
Interior Design 30
A good piece of furniture is beautifully designed and well made. a. Imagine that you are the son or daughter in the previous
question and you wish to sell the piece of furniture you received.
Write a newspaper advertisement to sell the piece. Describe it and identify two features that show it is a quality item.
Examine the chair in the illustration more closely. Explain one way that you might improve its quality.
11 Lesson 1

Interior Design 30 12 Lesson 1

The second goal of interior design is appropriateness. Things in your home should be appropriate for you and your personality. The furnishings, the use of space, and the theme of your rooms should suit your household; they should "belong," yet they should not lose their own special character and qualities.
Your home should reflect your personality, your lifestyle,and your tastes, as well as your needs and goals. Whether you are designing your own space or working as an interior designer you must consider colours, lines, textures, and leisure time activities that suit the person living in that space. A room should begin as an outgrowth of the person's personality and then become lovelier, more personal, and more welcoming with every year.
Beauty and appropriateness are two important goals of interior design. The third goal of interior design is harmony. A room looks harmonious when there is a unifying theme to it with some variety to add interest.
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Unity is a oneness. It occurs when parts are related by one idea. It is consistency of style or theme. Remember, however, that too much unity can lead to monotony.
Lack of unity in design may be seen in a home where different wallpaper, floor coverings, or decorating styles are used in each room of the house. Lacking unity or continuity, the house may look smaller than it is.
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Variety means diversity or differences. It is achieved by combining different styles and materials to add interest. Too much variety can result in confusion.
Unity and variety must work together for a harmonious design. Harmony is the end result of effective interior design. The elements and principles of design work best when one item dominates and the other items provide variety and contrast. An interior is best if it has one dominant line, one dominant colour, one point of emphasis and so on, but with some variety for interest.
Interior Design 30 13 Lesson 1

Can you see how harmony is achieved in the arrangement of this room? Examples of both unity and variety are evident.
Unity
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two rattan wicker chairs using curved lines
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curved lines on the chest
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natural materials, such as rattan wicker, wood, grapevine decoration
Variety
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the metal corners on the chest are intricate
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the style of the chest is Asian and the chairs are not
Exercise your understanding of harmony in room design by completing Activity B on the following page.
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Interior Design 30
(4) 1. Examine the cartoon below. Explain its humourous appeal by referring to the concept of harmony in room design.
“Oh, Linda, I’m home! Linda! Where are you?”
15 Lesson 1

____
(10)
(6) 2. Explain three changes you would make to this room and how the changes would improve the harmony of the room design.
Give specific detail rather than general comments.
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___________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________
 ___________________________________________________________
Interior Design 30 16 Lesson 1

How you live, spend your free time, entertain your friends, and relate to people with whom you live can be called your lifestyle . Whether you are designing your own space or the interior of another person's home, the more you know about the way you each like to live, the wiser your interior design decisions will be.
For example, a young working couple will have a different lifestyle from an elderly person living alone. People living in a large country home will have a different lifestyle from that of people living in a large city apartment building.
If you like to spend hours on the computer, or watching the sports channel, or reading or listening to music, your needs will differ from someone whose interests are primarily in outdoor activities.
To be successful, the design of an interior must take into account the person's lifestyle and must provide comfortably for her/his needs. Recall that the goals of interior design are beauty, appropriateness, and harmony. Lifestyle is also built on a person's values. For example, if you value comfort and family time then your living room would have soft couches and enough chairs for the family to gather for a visit.
You might have family photos on the walls.
On the other hand, perhaps you enjoy making furniture or watching your pennies so you might furnish your home with projects that you have completed, such as reupholstered couches and refinished wooden furniture. You might also use furniture that has more than one purpose or you might acquire furniture that gains in value, such as antique furniture. Sometimes spending more money on better quality furniture that is well made will make it last for several generations. Values are reflected in interior design.
What are your values as related to interior design? Which chair is valued because it is handcrafted? Which chair is valued because of the level of comfort it provides?
Complete Activity C which asks you to reflect on your lifestyle and values.
Interior Design 30 17 Lesson 1

“I value relaxation time at the end of a long day so
I chose a rocking chair and, a table for my music close by.”
Interior Design 30 18 Lesson 1

Take a close look at your own personal living space. Look at the wall, window, and floor coverings. Note any pictures or posters and items of interest to you. Look at the colours, patterns, and textures evident in the space. Reflect on the furniture
(4) 1. style and how the space is maintained. Is there a particular style or theme to the room?
Respond to the following questions.
Explain in a paragraph how you have arranged your personal living space (i.e. your bedroom) to reflect your interests.
Interior Design 30 19 Lesson 1

_____
(10)
(6) 2. Identify three of your values and explain how each is expressed in your personal living space.
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___________________________________________________________
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___________________________________________________________
 ___________________________________________________________
Interior Design 30 20 Lesson 1

There are some trends in the way people live that affect their choices about living space.
Mobility
Few people today expect to stay in the same area for their whole lives. After high school people often move to attend further education, or to gain work experience.
Marriage usually means a move; likewise, a move can be caused by a new job or a transfer in the same job.
Mobility greatly affects furniture selection. The weight and bulkiness of a king size bed, for example, makes it difficult to move. It may not fit through some doorways. Another consideration is how adaptable the furniture is. Can the same piece of furniture be used in a bedroom, living room, or hallway?
Reduced Housekeeping Time
Changes in lifestyle have resulted in less time available for housekeeping chores.
Often there are families where all people are working, or single parent families with one main person working and also caring for the home. Ease of maintenance is often a priority when choosing floor coverings, upholstery or furniture. Straight line designs catch less dust than do curved and carved designs.
Smaller Living Space
The high cost of living accommodations, property taxes, and energy to heat or cool our homes has resulted in a greater interest in smaller homes.
This lifestyle change has resulted in several interior design problems. Furniture pieces must be kept smaller if they are to look right in a smaller home. The furniture selected must often serve more that one purpose.
Interior Design 30 21 Lesson 1

Fewer Storage Spaces
To save costs, builders have eliminated or reduced the size of closets, cupboards, pantries, and shelves in homes. Single open spaces are being used to fill several needs, such as a living-dining-family room, or den-guest bedroom. The use of dual-purpose furniture, like the sofa-bed or a bed with drawers underneath it, helps to achieve maximum comfort, minimum crowding, and easy maintenance.
Changing Patterns of Entertaining and Hobbies
Today, people tend to entertain more casually and tend to entertain smaller groups of people. More entertaining is also done outside of the home and, because of this trend, less furniture and tableware is needed.
With an emphasis today on the wise use of leisure time, stress reduction, and healthy lifestyle, it may be necessary to arrange certain rooms to suit the activity that will be performed there. For example, some people create a space to exercise with equipment, or others consider a room for sewing, furniture making, photography, games, and so on.
Increased Use of Technology
Technology use has greatly affected our living space.
Stereo, television, and systems for DVD and video affect both living space and patterns of home entertainment.
Often, space-saving furniture is a consideration as well as dual-purpose furniture. Many people today also maintain computer technology for entertainment, communication, or a home-based business. Furniture for the computer, fax, scanner, etc. now must also be considered in designing living spaces. Sometimes these items are placed in a separate room, such as a den.
At other times, the computer becomes part of a living room area.
Today, consumers have access to a variety of styles of furniture specifically designed for home entertainment systems or for a computer and its accompanying technological systems.
Interior Design 30 22 Lesson 1

If you are interested in a history of Interior Design there are several internet sites you can look at to learn more.
You might also check out the latest trends in interior design by consulting the websites for a variety of magazines and home decorating shows.
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Better Homes and Gardens
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Country Living
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House and Garden
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Canadian House and Home
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Designer Guys
Housing varies in different parts of the world and within different cultures. Culture may impact on the design of the floor plan, materials used in building the house, materials used in furniture design, style of the furniture, and use of the room, as well as the guiding principles in furniture arrangement.
There are several factors which influence housing in different cultures.
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population density
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traditions and religious beliefs
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geography and climate
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economic levels
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family living patterns
Population Density
Throughout the world the population density of an area has affected the types of housing found and the conditions in which people choose to live. Large cities contain a variety of housing complexes and economic levels of housing. City dwellers accept crowded spaces as one of the facts of living in the city. The type of housing that a person selects may be based upon what is available rather than on values and lifestyle.
Interior Design 30 23 Lesson 1

Traditions and Religious Beliefs
Traditions and beliefs influence housing in different ways throughout the world. Moslem homes always have a window facing East;
Buddhist homes have an alcove for their ancestors' shrines.
Many cultures contain home decorations relating to their religious icons, such as plaques or crucifixes, or to their spiritual practices, such as burning sweetgrass or incense for prayer. Some cultures purposefully do not decorate their homes at all. One such group, the Quakers, are a very plain-living people. Some religious groups may stress "community," such as the Hutterites, who build their homes with communal living spaces.
Native peoples throughout the world have created living spaces according to needs and spiritual principles. Sometimes the architectural design reflects their beliefs.
Building designs created by noted First Nations architect Douglas Cardinal, for example, emphasize the circle, curved lines, and designs related to nature, such as flowing water. The new building of the First Nations University of Canada, located at the University of Regina, and designed by Douglas Cardinal, reflects nature in its aqua tinted windows and curved balconies. A multilevel tipi structure is part of the design of the main entrance to the college.
First Nations University of Canada (photo by Pam Bocking)
The interior design of a building usually complements its architectural style.
Some Asian cultural groups and, some Westerners today, like to use Feng Shui when arranging their rooms. They place furniture and decorations according to good energy or "chi." Feng Shui practitioners use colour, the elements of water, wood, metal, and light and the four directions to adapt their living space to certain values, such as abundance, happiness, good health, and positive living.
Interior Design 30 24 Lesson 1

If you are interested in learning more about Feng Shui, there are several Internet sites and books published on the topic.
SIAST (Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Sciences and
Technologies) offers several workshops on Feng Shui in their extension division.
Geography and Climate
The type of land environment and the climatic conditions throughout the world affect the type of housing and the materials used to build houses. The danger of earthquakes in Japan accounts for their traditional very light-weight bamboo homes, which could easily be rebuilt if an earthquake strikes. Modern Japanese construction makes use of building materials that are resistant to earthquakes.
Houseboats are found in areas with lots of rivers, and along the coast.
Furniture materials may also be chosen according to the climate.
Because furniture materials may be affected by humidity or extreme cold, people may choose furniture that is more suited to a particular climate and lifestyle.
Economic Levels
Different economic levels influence the type of home and the type of furnishings that we can afford, and may also affect our interests and the amount of space we need. In some countries housing may range from palaces to one-room cabins. Often when a country is wealthy, and has a high standard of living, many more citizens have comfortable housing than in a poor country which contains some very wealthy people and many poor people who have totally inadequate housing.
In the cycle of our lives, we may live in many different types and sizes of homes.
For example, a student attending university may fit quite well in an affordable bachelor suite. On the other hand, a large family requires a home that provides some space to play, gather, and relax.
Our housing reflects fulfillment of our needs.
Interior Design 30 25 Lesson 1

Family Living Patterns
Our family living patterns influence our housing and the design of our interior space.
Some cultures encompass several generations in their immediate household. This extended family lives in a large home with different individual families having their own quarters. This type of family structure is found in many Eastern and African countries.
On the other hand, a nuclear family consists only of parents and their children. When the children marry they are expected to find their own homes. Elderly grandparents seldom live with their children. This is a
Western family pattern caused, perhaps, by industrialization and increased mobility. A nuclear family needs a much smaller home than a multigenerational family.
However, changes in economic conditions and health care systems, along with more support for caring for the elderly at home today, may see more of the elderly being provided for in the homes of their adult children and families. Canadian statistics indicate that children in their late teens and early twenties are staying longer in the family home. Changes in interior design may include more multipurpose furniture, special needs furniture, such as a hospital bed, and multipurpose rooms that appeal to all the ages of the members of the household.
Interior Design 30 26 Lesson 1

For as long as you live, you will be housed in a dwelling of some sort, whether it be a room, an apartment or a house. How you furnish these rooms will always be important to your personal growth and happiness.
Becoming skilled in effective interior design can make you feel good. You will find a room that is arranged to suit your lifestyle is attractive and comfortable.
Consequently, you will feel good about yourself and about life in general. Similarly, a room that you don't like can make you feel irritable and dissatisfied.
Everyone enjoys the feeling that comes from being able to control the environment. This gives people a sense of power. We cannot change the whole world, but we can make choices and changes in our own little corner.
Approval of others is also important. Making your home pleasant, attractive and comfortable will bring approval from others and that will help you feel good about yourself.
To break monotony we all need change in our lives. A working knowledge and an understanding of the basics of interior design will help you to make changes so that your room, apartment or house is as attractive, comfortable, and efficient for your stage of life as it can be. It will help you to make your place uniquely yours.
Interior Design 30 27 Lesson 1

Interior Design 30 28 Lesson 1

 use the elements of design
 apply the principles of design
 the goals of interior design beauty appropriateness harmony (unity with variety)
 some trends in lifestyle that affect interior design mobility reduced housekeeping time smaller living spaces fewer storage spaces changing patterns of entertaining and hobbies increased use of technology
 culture influences housing design and interior design population density traditions and beliefs geography and climate economic levels family living patterns
 the benefits of interior design feeling good controlling your environment obtaining approval from others breaking monotony
Interior Design 30 29 Lesson 1

Can you find each of the following terms in Lesson One?
Do you know what each term means? appropriateness mobility beauty benefits of interior design commercial design cultural influence on interior design elements of design good design harmony hobbies housekeeping time interior design living space patterns of entertaining principles of design quality residential design storage space taste trends in interior design unity technology in the home variety
Interior Design 30 30 Lesson 1