Thursday, November 5, 2009
Modern Furniture
- Create spaces through the use of directed light. Lighting from the ceiling will seem to lower it. A reading lamp or down-shaded lamp will cast light only in its relative vicinity. Use incandescent rather than halogen or florescent lamps for a warmer glow.
- Choose strong colors for your walls and floor. They will tend to bring them in closer towards one another.
- A dark floor with walls of brown or deep red, blue or green tones will help create the feeling of a smaller, cozier space.
- Heavy, soft textures add warmth to a space. Use rougher textures for the hard elements in the room; iron instead of chrome, brick instead of glazed tiles.
- The use of pattern in a room can also lend a sense of coziness to the space. The subject of mixing patterns in a room will be covered at some future time.
- Choose dark finishes and fabrics to create a sense of the piece being larger than it actually is. Heavy textured fabrics and large patterns will add a cozy feeling to a sofa or chair.
- Place pieces away from the wall and use tall pieces to divide and define smaller spaces within a room for greater intimacy.
Interior Design
1)Use of decorative curtains.
These are called as valances and are a very good means to decorate the windows and other openings. These decorative curtains have 2 purposes. a) They define a window opening b) They diffuse the incoming sunlight and help the dispersion of light evenly. Valances can be easily be prepared at home with some basic knowledge of stitching.
2)Wall Hangings
Wall hangings are used as an alternative for wall paintings. These have a great advantage that they can be prepared from almost any material. Some possible options for material use could be matt finished paper, handmade paper, silk cloth, bamboo sticks, jeans cloth!, wool, plastic sheets, crape papers, etc…Small square pieces of these materials along with bits of mirrors pieces can be creatively used to prepare a wall hanging.
3)Wall Paintings.
The choice of the wall paintings in this case highly depends upon the likes/dislikes of the user. Also the nature of the surface on which the painting is going to be, is also important.
4)Photographs
Most people like to use framed photographs of the family members, ancestors, or some live stills from outside world. This method has got a great advantage. The user has got perfect control over which kind of photos to choose. Photographs of real people can greatly add a human touch to an interior space.
5)Statues
These greatly add to the quality of the space. In case of bedrooms the statues which can add some interest to the overall theme can be used. Some gift articles come in the form of statues or a watch embedded in it can serve two purposes at a time. They add some grace to the design and at the same time, become a useful functional piece.
6)Shade Loving Plants.
Depending upon the size of the bedroom, lots of varieties of shade loving plants are available today. If the plant is a flowering one, then this can be very creatively used. A flowering plant can greatly add to the mood of an space because of its changing nature of foliage and color.
7)Decorative Lamp Shades.
Decorative lamp shades have a very unique quality attached to them. Because they are functional mostly at night times, the shape of the lampshade itself can be chosen in such a way, that will add some interest in the bedroom. During its functional times a lampshade which is made of semitransparent cloth covers can add some wonderful ambience in the interior space.
8)Free standing wooden partitions.
These are used in large bedroom to define certain areas of the same space into different parts. for example a wooden partition can be used to segregate a study space inside a bedroom or a decorative wooden partitions can be used to hide the direct entry to the toilet, by creating a private area.
Contemporary design Theme:
These kind of design themes are very new as compared to the previously mentioned oriental design theme. But how did the designers came along using these kind of designs?
During the starting years of the 20th century, the “Industrial Revolution” in Europe changed the face of our planet. It was easy to design and manufacture goods on a mass scale with amazing speed and efficiency. This created a flood of industries in and around the cities. These cities attracted large amount of people to migrate from rural areas to city centers in search of a living.
Because of this migratory effect there was a sudden need of housing requirement for the workers. This is where the concept of an “apartment” was introduced. Because of the pressure of demand, a school of thoughts emerged within the architects, who believed that “simplicity” is the need of today’s era.
They thought that, the design of the building has to be simple and easy to build, then only we can compete with the growing demand of housing needs in cities. That’s why simple designs with mostly plane and square faces with square or rectangular openings were used. These forms and masses were easy to build and still beautiful. If everything from “safety pins” to “space ships” could be built on a mass scale, why not “buildings”.
The school of thought believed that a plane rectangular form is in itself beautiful and they proved this using infinite permutations and combinations of the basic square form. That’s why decoration was given a second preference. Today we call this school of thought as “contemporary”. In contemporary design every element has an order.
That’s why in today’s modern interior design, simplicity is the key to an efficient design. Unlike the previous oriental design theme, the contemporary design theme states that any kind of architectural decoration is always dependent on the basic form of the building. The form itself is so beautiful, that the need to further decorate it is not required. Today’s modern interiors spaces are simple to understand, simple to construct, and project a kind of simplicity.
By reading the above paragraphs some of you might say that, decoration is no more needed. But this is not true. I am not trying to force some ideas here. But most people confuse the whole concept of “Interior Design” and “Interior Decoration”. Both are quite different and both have a unique value in today’s complex society.
Decoration was something the primitive man learned, looking at the nature around him. He saw plants, flowers, birds, animals and tried to copy these elements. We still use “embroidery” on our dresses. But the modern design theory says that any sort of decoration can only “enhance” the existing form, but can not be an element of design.
Interior Design Furniture
Contemporary decor is a style that can be described as simpleast of all ecors, it conveys a sense of simplicity. It is generally categorized by neutral and earthy colours.
- This kind of décor uses distinctive outline, linear patterns, geometric shapes and black as the primary colour.
- There are striking colour patters like used of red with orange and this lies in this décor scheme.
- The furniture has the clean and fast lines and made up of smooth fabric or leather.
- Metal lights are generally the characteristics of this kind of décor.Casual Home décor
This particular style is very inviting and easy to maintain so very good for working family members.
* The casual style has generally textured patterns and fabric is always soft.
* The perfect symmetry is never there, instead there are gentle curves and rectangular shapes.
* The furniture is arranged in diagonal lines.
* The floors are generally wooden.
* The lightning fixture are very unusual kinds, may be a mixture of steel, iron, glass.
Rustic Home décor
This type of décor provides interest to a home while creating unique texture and warmth. Rustic décor provides sophistication, charm and trend.
* The fireplaces with polished logs and antique finish is characteristic feature of this décor.
* The furniture is highly textured and only few pieces should be put in a room.
* The pillows and cushions are necessary and they should be in rust, copper or burgundy colour.
* Rustic décor can be done by using garden benches or oak dining , ladder back chairs.
* The paintings are also particularly that of baskets of pine cones or landscape photo.
The shape and style of dining chairs alone can create an imposing or opulent impression for guests or a cozy and inviting one. Dining chairs can be made out of a variety of solid woods, wood composites and veneers, rattan, metal and even acrylic. Traditional Japanese dining rooms have low tables with chairs that have a back and cushion, but no legs. Japanese dining furniture sets featuring Zaisu chairs are popular as families adopt traditional Japanese ways of living in an effort to improve the connection a family feels while spending time together.