Are there any special considerations that i should keep in mind when selecting furniture and accessories for my home’s design project?
In the interior design process, space planning is paramount, says Nesen. According to the American Institute of Architects, space planning includes blocking interior areas, defining traffic patterns, and developing plans for arranging furniture and placing equipment. It is important to adjust the scale of the furniture to the size of a room. A deep sofa can easily overwhelm a small space, and narrow chairs can get lost in a wide-open loft.
Before you start designing, measure the length and width of each room you want to decorate, along with the ceiling height and any elements that might get in the way — stairs, pillars, radiators, and other obstacles. It is also a good idea to measure window openings along with the wall area below, above, and on the sides of each window opening to prepare the window coverings. Balance becomes the most important aspect when arranging furniture, as furniture affects the sense of balance and stability in a room. Let’s imagine a hotel lobby where all the furniture is placed only on one side of the room.
How do you feel about this arrangement? It’s like standing on a sinking boat, isn’t it? Instead, interior designers aim for a well-distributed visual weight in a room. The function determines which furniture and furnishings (such as appliances, furnishings, and accessories) are required to use the room. This is because the arrangement of furniture is both an expression of personal style and an expression of function. When a designer combines different materials, shapes, patterns, and textures, the differences between them can improve their innate properties.
The designers then create a furniture plan or layout that illustrates the arrangement of the furniture. The last step to finishing a room is adding art and accessories, but there’s no silver bullet. Once designers have an idea of how the space should work, they combine these requirements with the aesthetics and atmosphere desired by the customer to create a concept for the space. All good interior design processes start with answering questions about layout, process, focal points, styles, and other conceptual elements.
Whether it’s the size of a lampshade or the frame width of a closet door, a good designer must be detail-oriented and specify every detail to best support the overall vision. It is also important for interior designers to know furniture retail brands, manufacturers and products, as well as consumer trends and preferences. Decisions about materials and surfaces really determine how the entire design comes together and whether it meets the customer’s needs and feels complete, coherent, and intentional. Once you have your room’s measurements, it’s time to use them with a floor plan that gives you a bird’s-eye view of the entire house.
For example, pieces are arranged according to size, scale, and proportion; rhythm is used by repeating furniture; unity, by harmonizing furniture with other spatial features, such as a fireplace; or emphasis, by using a group of furniture as a focal point. Interior designers focus on the purpose of the furniture, the need for adjustability, flexibility, surface requirements, durability, and size. Decorating a house for someone who regularly hosts large dinner parties should be different from decorating a house for someone who eats in restaurants every night, for example. The furniture specifications describe the technical nature and procurement of furniture, and the furniture plan lists the items that must be delivered and installed.
You need to understand whether your customer has strong preferences when it comes to using sustainable materials and how they can impact the design, project timeline, and overall costs.
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