Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a
building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing
environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is
someone who plans, researches, coordinates, and manages such enhancement
projects. Interior design is a multifaceted profession that includes
conceptual development, space planning, site inspections, programming,
research, communicating with the stakeholders of a project, construction
management, and execution of the design.
In the past, interiors were put together instinctively as a part of the process of building.[1]
The
profession of interior design has been a consequence of the development
of society and the complex architecture that has resulted from the
development of industrial processes.
The pursuit of effective use
of space, user well-being and functional design has contributed to the
development of the contemporary interior design profession. The
profession of interior design is separate and distinct from the role of
interior decorator, a term commonly used in the US; the term is less
common in the UK, where the profession of interior design is still
unregulated and therefore, strictly speaking, not yet officially a
profession.
In ancient India, architects would also function as
interior designers. This can be seen from the references of Vishwakarma
the architect—one of the gods in Indian mythology. In these architects'
design of 17th-century Indian homes, sculptures depicting ancient texts
and events are seen inside the palaces, while during the medieval times
wall art paintings were a common feature of palace-like mansions in
India commonly known as havelis. While most traditional homes have been
demolished to make way to modern buildings, there are still around 2000
havelis[2] in the Shekhawati region of Rajashtan that display wall art
paintings.
In ancient Egypt, "soul houses" (or models of houses)
were placed in tombs as receptacles for food offerings. From these, it
is possible to discern details about the interior design of different
residences throughout the different Egyptian dynasties, such as changes
in ventilation, porticoes, columns, loggias, windows, and doors.[3]
Throughout
the 17th and 18th century and into the early 19th century, interior
decoration was the concern of the homemaker, or an employed upholsterer
or craftsman who would advise on the artistic style for an interior
space. Architects would also employ craftsmen or artisans to complete
interior design for their buildings.
Commercial interior design and management
In
the mid-to-late 19th century, interior design services expanded
greatly, as the middle class in industrial countries grew in size and
prosperity and began to desire the domestic trappings of wealth to
cement their new status. Large furniture firms began to branch out into
general interior design and management, offering full house furnishings
in a variety of styles. This business model flourished from the
mid-century to 1914, when this role was increasingly usurped by
independent, often amateur, designers. This paved the way for the
emergence of the professional interior design in the mid-20th
century.[4]
In the 1950s and 1960s, upholsterers began to expand
their business remits. They framed their business more broadly and in
artistic terms and began to advertise their furnishings to the public.
To meet the growing demand for contract interior work on projects such
as offices, hotels, and public buildings, these businesses became much
larger and more complex, employing builders, joiners, plasterers,
textile designers, artists, and furniture designers, as well as
engineers and technicians to fulfil the job. Firms began to publish and
circulate catalogs with prints for different lavish styles to attract
the attention of expanding middle classes.[4]
As department
stores increased in number and size, retail spaces within shops were
furnished in different styles as examples for customers. One
particularly effective advertising tool was to set up model rooms at
national and international exhibitions in showrooms for the public to
see. Some of the pioneering firms in this regard were Waring &
Gillow, James Shoolbred, Mintons, and Holland & Sons. These
traditional high-quality furniture making firms began to play an
important role as advisers to unsure middle class customers on taste and
style, and began taking out contracts to design and furnish the
interiors of many important buildings in Britain.[5]
This type of
firm emerged in America after the Civil War. The Herter Brothers,
founded by two German emigre brothers, began as an upholstery warehouse
and became one of the first firms of furniture makers and interior
decorators. With their own design office and cabinet-making and
upholstery workshops, Herter Brothers were prepared to accomplish every
aspect of interior furnishing including decorative paneling and mantels,
wall and ceiling decoration, patterned floors, and carpets and
draperies.[6]
A pivotal figure in popularizing theories of
interior design to the middle class was the architect Owen Jones, one of
the most influential design theorists of the nineteenth century.[7]
Jones' first project was his most important—in 1851, he was responsible
for not only the decoration of Joseph Paxton’s gigantic Crystal Palace
for the Great Exhibition but also the arrangement of the exhibits
within. He chose a controversial palette of red, yellow, and blue for
the interior ironwork and, despite initial negative publicity in the
newspapers, was eventually unveiled by Queen Victoria to much critical
acclaim. His most significant publication was The Grammar of Ornament
(1856),[8] in which Jones formulated 37 key principles of interior
design and decoration.
Jones was employed by some of the leading
interior design firms of the day; in the 1860s, he worked in
collaboration with the London firm Jackson & Graham to produce
furniture and other fittings for high-profile clients including art
collector Alfred Morrison as well as Ismail Pasha, Khedive of Egypt.
In
1882, the London Directory of the Post Office listed 80 interior
decorators. Some of the most distinguished companies of the period were
Crace, Waring & Gillowm and Holland & Sons; famous decorators
employed by these firms included Thomas Edward Collcutt, Edward William
Godwin, Charles Barry, Gottfried Semper, and George Edmund Street.[9]
Transition to professional interior design
By
the turn of the 20th century, amateur advisors and publications were
increasingly challenging the monopoly that the large retail companies
had on interior design. English feminist author Mary Haweis wrote a
series of widely read essays in the 1880s in which she derided the
eagerness with which aspiring middle-class people furnished their houses
according to the rigid models offered to them by the retailers.[10] She
advocated the individual adoption of a particular style, tailor-made to
the individual needs and preferences of the customer:
"One of my
strongest convictions, and one of the first canons of good taste, is
that our houses, like the fish’s shell and the bird’s nest, ought to
represent our individual taste and habits.
The move toward
decoration as a separate artistic profession unrelated to the
manufacturers and retailers received an impetus with the 1899 formation
of the Institute of British Decorators; with John Dibblee Crace as its
president, it represented almost 200 decorators around the country.[11]
By 1915, the London Directory listed 127 individuals trading as interior
decorators, of which 10 were women. Rhoda and Agnes Garrett were the
first women to train professionally as home decorators in 1874. The
importance of their work on design was regarded at the time as on a par
with that of William Morris. In 1876, their work – Suggestions for House
Decoration in Painting, Woodwork and Furniture – spread their ideas on
artistic interior design to a wide middle-class audience.[12]
By 1900, the situation was described by The Illustrated Carpenter and Builder:
"Until
recently when a man wanted to furnish he would visit all the dealers
and select piece by piece of furniture ....Today he sends for a dealer
in art furnishings and fittings who surveys all the rooms in the house
and he brings his artistic mind to bear on the subject."[13]
In
America, Candace Wheeler was one of the first woman interior designers
and helped encourage a new style of American design. She was
instrumental in the development of art courses for women in a number of
major American cities and was considered a national authority on
homedesign. An important influence on the new profession was The
Decoration of Houses, a manual of interior design written by Edith
Wharton with architect Ogden Codman in 1897 in America. In the book, the
authors denounced Victorian-style interior decoration and interior
design, especially those rooms that were decorated with heavy window
curtains, Victorian bric-a-brac, and overstuffed furniture. They argued
that such rooms emphasized upholstery at the expense of proper space
planning and architectural design and were, therefore, uncomfortable and
rarely used. The book is considered a seminal work, and its success led
to the emergence of professional decorators working in the manner
advocated by its authors, most notably Elsie de Wolfe.[14]
Elsie
De Wolfe was one of the first interior designers. Rejecting the
Victorian style she grew up with, she chose a more vibrant scheme, along
with more comfortable furniture in the home. Her designs were light,
with fresh colors and delicate Chinoiserie furnishings, as opposed to
the Victorian preference of heavy, red drapes and upholstery, dark wood
and intensely patterned wallpapers. Her designs were also more
practical;[15] she eliminated the clutter that occupied the Victorian
home, enabling people to entertain more guests comfortably. In 1905, de
Wolfe was commissioned for the interior design of the Colony Club on
Madison Avenue; its interiors garnered her recognition almost over
night.[16][17] She compiled her ideas into her widely read 1913 book,
The House in Good Taste.[18]
In England, Syrie Maugham became a
legendary interior designer credited with designing the first all-white
room. Starting her career in the early 1910s, her international
reputation soon grew; she later expanded her business to New York City
and Chicago.[19] Born during the Victorian Era, a time characterized by
dark colors and small spaces, she instead designed rooms filled with
light and furnished in multiple shades of white and mirrored screens. In
addition to mirrored screens, her trademark pieces included: books
covered in white vellum, cutlery with white porcelain handles, console
tables with plaster palm-frond, shell, or dolphin bases, upholstered and
fringed sleigh beds, fur carpets, dining chairs covered in white
leather, and lamps of graduated glass balls, and wreaths.[20]
Expansion
The
interior design profession became more established after World War II.
From the 1950s onwards, spending on the home increased. Interior design
courses were established, requiring the publication of textbooks and
reference sources. Historical accounts of interior designers and firms
distinct from the decorative arts specialists were made available.
Organisations to regulate education, qualifications, standards and
practices, etc. were established for the profession.[18]
Interior
design was previously seen as playing a secondary role to architecture.
It also has many connections to other design disciplines, involving the
work of architects, industrial designers, engineers, builders,
craftsmen, etc. For these reasons, the government of interior design
standards and qualifications was often incorporated into other
professional organisations that involved design.[18] Organisations such
as the Chartered Society of Designers, established in the UK in 1986,
and the American Designers Institute, founded in 1938, governed various
areas of design.
It was not until later that specific
representation for the interior design profession was developed. The US
National Society of Interior Designers was established in 1957, while in
the UK the Interior Decorators and Designers Association was
established in 1966. Across Europe, other organisations such as The
Finnish Association of Interior Architects (1949) were being established
and in 1994 the International Interior Design Association was
founded.[18]
Ellen Mazur Thomson, author of Origins of Graphic
Design in America (1997), determined that professional status is
achieved through education, self-imposed standards and professional
gate-keeping organizations.[18] Having achieved this, interior design
became an accepted profession.
Interior decorators and interior designers
Interior
design is the art and science of understanding people's behavior to
create functional spaces within a building. Decoration is the furnishing
or adorning of a space with decorative elements, sometimes complemented
by advice and practical assistance. In short, interior designers may
decorate, but decorators do not design.
Interior designer
Interior
designer implies that there is more of an emphasis on planning,
functional design and the effective use of space, as compared to
interior decorating. An interior designer in fineline design can
undertake projects that include arranging the basic layout of spaces
within a building as well as projects that require an understanding of
technical issues such as window and door positioning, acoustics, and
lighting.[1] Although an interior designer may create the layout of a
space, they may not alter load-bearing walls without having their
designs stamped for approval by a structural engineer. Interior
designers often work directly with architects, engineers and
contractors.
Interior designers must be highly skilled in order
to create interior environments that are functional, safe, and adhere to
building codes, regulations and ADA requirements. They go beyond the
selection of color palettes and furnishings and apply their knowledge to
the development of construction documents, occupancy loads, healthcare
regulations and sustainable design principles, as well as the management
and coordination of professional services including mechanical,
electrical, plumbing, and life safety—all to ensure that people can
live, learn or work in an innocuous environment that is also
aesthetically pleasing.
Someone may wish to specialize and
develop technical knowledge specific to one area or type of interior
design, such as residential design, commercial design, hospitality
design, healthcare design, universal design, exhibition design,
furniture design, and spatial branding. Interior design is a creative
profession that is relatively new, constantly evolving, and often
confusing to the public. It is not an artistic pursuit and relies on
research from many fields to provide a well-trained understanding of how
people are influenced by their environments.
Color in interior design
Color
is a powerful design tool in decoration, as well as in interior design,
which is the art of composing and coordinating colors together to
create a stylish scheme on the interior architecture of the space.[21]
It
is essential to interior designers to acquire a deep experience with
colors, understand their psychological effects, and understand the
meaning of each color in different locations and situations in order to
create suitable combinations for each place.[22]
Combining colors
together could result in creating a state of mind as seen by the
observer, and could eventually result in positive or negative effects on
them. Colors make the room feel either more calm, cheerful,
comfortable, stressful, or dramatic. Color combinations make a tiny room
seem larger or smaller.[23] So it is for the Interior design profession
to choose the appropriate colors for a place towards achieving how
clients would want to look at, and feel in, that space.[22]
Specialties
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Residential
Residential
design is the design of the interior of private residences. As this
type design is very specific for individual situations, the needs and
wants of the individual are paramount in this area of interior design.
The interior designer may work on the project from the initial planning
stage or may work on the remodelling of an existing structure. It is
often a very involved process that takes months to fine-tune and create a
space with the vision of the client.[24]
Commercial
Commercial design encompasses a wide range of subspecialties.
Retail: includes malls and shopping centers, department stores, specialty stores, visual merchandising, and showrooms.
Visual and spatial branding: The use of space as a medium to express a corporate brand.
Corporate: office design for any kind of business such as banks.
Healthcare:
the design of hospitals, assisted living facilities, medical offices,
dentist offices, psychiatric facilities, laboratories, medical
specialist facilities.
Hospitality and recreation: includes hotels,
motels, resorts, cruise ships, cafes, bars, casinos, nightclubs,
theaters, music and concert halls, opera houses, sports venues,
restaurants, gyms, health clubs and spas, etc.
Institutional:
government offices, financial institutions (banks and credit unions),
schools and universities, religious facilities, etc.
Industrial facilities: manufacturing and training facilities as well as import and export facilities.[24]
Exhibition: includes museums, gallery, exhibition hall, specially the design for showroom and exhibition gallery.
Traffic building: includes bus station, subway station, airports, pier, etc.
Sports: includes gyms, stadiums, swimming rooms, basketball halls, etc.
Teaching in a private institute that offer classes of interior design
Self-employment
Employment in private sector firms
Other
Other
areas of specialization include amusement and theme park design, museum
and exhibition design, exhibit design, event design (including
ceremonies, weddings, baby and bridal showers, parties, conventions, and
concerts), interior and prop styling, craft styling, food styling,
product styling, tablescape design, theatre and performance design,
stage and set design, scenic design, and production design for film and
television. Beyond those, interior designers, particularly those with
graduate education, can specialize in healthcare design, gerontological
design, educational facility design, and other areas that require
specialized knowledge. Some university programs offer graduate studies
in theses and other areas. For example, both Cornell University and the
University of Florida offer interior design graduate programs in
environment and behavior studies.
Profession
Education
Main article: Interior design education
There
are various paths that one can take to become a professional interior
designer. All of these paths involve some form of training. Working with
a successful professional designer is an informal method of training
and has previously been the most common method of education. In many
states, however, this path alone cannot lead to licensing as a
professional interior designer. Training through an institution such as a
college, art or design school or university is a more formal route to
professional practice.
In many countries, several university
degree courses are now available, including those on interior
architecture, taking three or four years to complete.
A formal
education program, particularly one accredited by or developed with a
professional organization of interior designers, can provide training
that meets a minimum standard of excellence and therefore gives a
student an education of a high standard. There are also university
graduate and Ph.D. programs available for those seeking further training
in a specific design specialization (i.e. gerontological or healthcare
design) or those wishing to teach interior design at the university
level.
Working conditions
There are a wide range of working
conditions and employment opportunities within interior design. Large
and tiny corporations often hire interior designers as employees on
regular working hours. Designers for smaller firms and online renovation
platforms usually work on a contract or per-job basis. Self-employed
designers, which make up 26% of interior designers,[25] usually work the
most hours. Interior designers often work under stress to meet
deadlines, stay on budget, and meet clients' needs.
In some
cases, licensed professionals review the work and sign it before
submitting the design for approval by clients or construction
permisioning. The need for licensed review and signature varies by
locality, relevant legislation, and scope of work. Their work can
involve significant travel to visit different locations. However, with
technology development, the process of contacting clients and
communicating design alternatives has become easier and requires less
travel.[26] They also renovate a space to satisfy the specific taste for
a client.
Best Way to Paint Kitchen Cabinets
Painting
cabinets is a great way to renovate old, dull, dark, or worn out ones,
or to recycle the cheap ones you've chosen for little money. It's a
fairly simple job that can give your kitchen cabinets a fresh look for a
paltry fee compared to new ones. Even if turning to a professional
could prove to be inexpensive, carrying out the project alone can cost
very little and you will have a practically new piece of furniture.
1. Preparation of the Workstation
Clean
the cabinet thoroughly. This is a very important step and should not be
ignored or hastily done. The furniture is mostly found in the kitchen,
which means it has probably absorbed moisture and grease. Any
accumulation of grease or dirt prevents the paint from adhering to its
surface, so good cleaning is essential. Wash the furniture thoroughly.
If
you can get hold of a product called TSP (trisodium phosphate), it can
help you. If not, use a soap or a suitable product with "elbow grease"
and water.
If there are some very oily accumulations of grease, try using a cloth soaked in white spirit to remove these stubborn stains.
Let
the cabinet dry completely before doing anything else. In wet
conditions, the paint or primer does not absorb and so wait until it is
completely dry.
Remove all furniture accessories. This includes
all doors, mounting accessories, drawer handles and pull-out drawers.
Take them off to fix them, making sure to label them methodically so you
know where each piece will go during assembly.
For best results, it is best to paint the doors and drawers separately, not together with the wall units.
Of
course, you also need to take out all the kitchen contents inside. If
you've never painted furniture before, you need to know that paint can
reach the strangest places, so it's a good idea to always remove all
objects from the furniture.
Prepare the work area. Preparation is
important for two reasons: you don't want paint splattering where it's
not supposed to, and you don't want to find yourself cleaning up a huge
mess afterwards.
Apply masking tape to all areas adjacent to
walls and edges so the paint doesn't accidentally stain these spots.
This is especially important in order to be able to paint all the way to
the edge of the furniture - make sure the tape fits snugly against the
edge of the surface you don't want to paint.
Put some paper tape
over the kitchen countertop and secure a plastic sheet over the tiles
between the countertop and the cabinet.
Place newspaper or
wrapping paper on the floor around the work area. This will collect all
the drops of paint that fall and you will only have to roll it up and
throw it away once finished.
A protective hemp sheet also works very well and is commonly used for painting large spaces.
Fill
any holes with wood or body putty if necessary. If you want to replace
the cabinet hinges or drawers, close the old screw holes. Mix the
product in small amounts so it dries quickly, and make sure you fill the
holes thoroughly, as the product shrinks as it dries. Sand well once it
dries completely.
Gather your tools. Make sure you have everything you need to do the job.
Place
your brushes, rollers, trays, and paint in an easily accessible center
spot that you can easily reach during the painting process.
Wear gloves if you prefer; protect your hands from color and allergic reactions to the products contained in the paint.
2. Sanding, priming and patching
Sand
the furniture using 100-grit sandpaper. Use sandpaper, and do this
manually, as a hand sander cannot push the paper into the grain. The
hand sander can also be too aggressive, leaving uneven surfaces.
With
a vacuum cleaner remove the sawdust. Any un-vacuumed or uncleaned
residue remains when you give the last coat of paint - and that's not a
good thing.
After vacuuming, wipe the furniture with a swiffer,
making sure to remove all residue. Open it and then dust to remove any
more residue.
Primer. Base paint is very important when painting
furniture, because raw wood can discolor or stain the paint if it has
not been properly sealed. If you're priming narrow-grained wood like
maple or cherry, choose an oil-based or shellac-based primer. If the
wood has open grain such as oak, it may be necessary to use a thicker
primer, such as cementite.
Start at the top of the cabinet and work
down. Apply the first brushstroke against the grain and then work back
following the line of the grain.
Let the primer dry for at least one day.
Use
a nylon-polyester type brush to apply the primer. Be aware that you may
throw the brush away after each coat, depending on the type of primer.
Once the primer is dry, sand the uneven surfaces with an orbital sander and 220 grit paper.
Patch
any holes with putty and close any tears with putty. Use vinyl putty
and a putty knife to fill in any large holes, dents, holes, or
scratches. Close the holes in the wood with a waterproof latex material,
applying it with a moistened finger.
Apply the primer where
needed and sand several times. If you have not painted all areas, or are
finished with the product, you can apply primer spray on these areas
and let dry. Once dry, wipe it with 280 grit sandpaper, making a light
motion. Vacuum and wipe the area with a new swiffer cloth.
3. Painting
Paint.
You're finally ready to apply the paint. Use brushes and / or rollers,
depending on how much surface you need to paint. Paint the edges of the
cabinet first. Be careful, you have to reach all difficult corners well.
Also
do long strokes to avoid a blotchy result. Be careful to remove brush
hairs or your hair that may fall into the paint while you paint - they
can leave unsightly marks, and the paint will peel off when you touch
them.
Paint the interior of the cabinet before the exterior. Use a
mini roller to paint the interior and wait for it to dry. Then go over
the starting layer with a new brush.
Don't forget to paint the
bottom of the cabinet. It won't be that comfortable and you'll have to
squirm a little, but it's worth it to get a nice piece of furniture.
Paint
the doors separately from the cabinet. You decide where it is most
convenient for you to do this job, but you could lay on the floor on top
of a cloth or perhaps put the shelf on something else, such as a
workbench. Paint one side at a time of each door (allowing one side to
dry before painting the other).
Let the furniture shelves dry
before putting them back together. You can hire professionals to
reassemble the shelves and cabinet doors once they are dry, to prevent
scratches or chafing from occurring. It is often a good idea to wait
until there is good daylight (even if that means waiting until the next
day) to check that you have not forgotten any corners or stained
irregular paint.
Advice
Use a shellac-based primer. It smells stronger than water-based ones, but it seals the wood grain infinitely better.
Mark the cabinet doors, handles, drawers, etc., with duct tape so you won't have any problems putting them back in place.
Experiment with different finishes, such as stain paint, faux finish, and stencil.
Warnings
Keep
the room well ventilated; leave the windows open and swirl the air in
the room as you paint to avoid breathing in the paint gases.
Make sure you clean the brushes and rollers very well after using the primer and before using them for paint.