When homes have well-designed interiors, they can transform any space from bare to aesthetically functional, making the most out of the house. You may notice that regardless of which interior designer you hire or company they’re from, they follow a couple of “basic principles,” ensuring they make the most out of it. These principles play a crucial role that can bring any space to a whole new level.
Some of the most common and widely used principles in interior designing include the following:
Unity and Harmony
When it comes to interior designing, it’s necessary to think of a home as a “totality,” a series of different spaces linked together using halls and stairways. Therefore, it’s not appropriate that common styles and themes run throughout it. Instead, they should complement each other while working together, strengthening the entire composition. An excellent way to create a theme or storyline is by using colors.
Color schemes are perfect for unifying a collection of spaces. For instance, you can choose three to four colors and use them in various shades throughout the house. The color schemes should include everything, from the commercial garage door that most businesses use for secure and easy access to vehicles, flooring, walls to the tiniest home decoration.
Balance
All designers, regardless of the industry they’re in, understand how crucial balance is. That’s because the concept of design focuses on the visual weight of a space and how to divide it. When things are balanced in one room, it will provide a fitting atmosphere, making everything “feel right.” Some designers also believe that it’s everything in design. That’s why if you mess this up, everything falls apart.
Balance in interior designing is the even distribution of elements throughout a room to create a visual balance and can be made by introducing different aspects. These include forms, colors, textures, or building literal space symmetry with one another, and the most common types of balance in interior designing are symmetrical, radial, and asymmetrical.
Depending on what type you go for, it can have a massive effect on clients’ perception within the face, making balance a crucial principle to remember when it comes to the overall unity of a room. So, make sure you make the right impression by having the “right” amount of balance in all rooms.
Focal Point
A well-designed room always needs to have one or more focal points to make it more interesting, drawing attention and encouraging viewers to venture further into the room, leaving a lasting impression. This principle advocates that the focal point is an integral part of the decoration, linked through scales, styles, colors, and themes. For instance, TVs and fireplaces are the most common ones.
If you don’t access any of these, such as a fireplace, you can create a natural focal point highlighting a piece of furniture or decor in the room by contrasting colors in one room.
Rhythm
In interior design, rhythm refers to the repetition of visual patterns, sticking true to its definition of continuity and organized movement. However, to apply perfect rhythm to interior designing, you need to think about repetition, contrast, transition, and progression. Using these can impact a sense of movement in any space, bringing the eyes of onlookers from a decorative element to the next.
Scale and Proportion
Scale interior designing refers to the concept used when an object size is known, such as the standard wall height and the average length of tables and chairs. Meanwhile, the proportion pertains to the general size relationship between two objects, subtly describing how different items relate to one another in a room. For instance, coffee tables need to be at least two-thirds as long as the sofa is paired up with a more balanced feel.
When discussing scale and proportion, you’ll notice interior designers mentioning the 1:618 golden ratio, which essentially describes the human body, and you can find it in most design arenas.
Details
Finally, the most vital element and principle in interior designing is “detail.” Everything from the lampshade trimming to the color of cushions used on sofas needs thorough attention. However, many individuals find this boring compared to the other elements, resulting in it getting skimmed over or entirely neglected. But remember that details are just as important when it comes to perfecting interior designs, helping enhance the overall “feel” of a room.
Interior designers always try to create spaces reinforcing a client’s message, theme, or brand. It generally tells other people who you are, expressing yourself through your surroundings—and the principles mentioned can guide you to come up with the best setup possible for anyone—and anything.
