What does it mean to design someones home?
Well first, let’s take one step back. What is a home? A place where we keep our loved ones safe. We can hide away from the world in our homes when we need to. More importantly, it is a place where you can express yourself, and we have an emotional connection to our homes because of this.
So why is Interior Design important? Because we all live and work somewhere and these spaces affect our bodies, our minds, our energy levels, and even our productivity levels. Small, cramped spaces make us feel uncomfortable and can even cause injuries when furniture and lighting is not placed in the right locations. Low lit places (especially those without windows) make us feel lethargic and slow, even depressed- directly affecting our energy levels and our productivity. Overly loud places can make completing a task challenging and cause you to loose focus.
Good Interior Design addresses all of these needs, whereas bad interior design meets none, and can actually worsen a space. Interior Design is the study of understanding peoples behavior to create functional spaces within a building to enhance their experiences by addressing efficiency and energy levels of those inhabitants.
So how do we react to design? Everything that is man-made is designed. From the shoes you wear to the buildings you walk into. But you don’t notice good design, you simply use it. You don’t feel it, you just feel content in the space. And it looks nice, therefore you like it.
Bad Interior Design is like a pebble in your shoe. When you have a pebble in your shoe, its all you can think about; where can you sit down and take care of it? Bad design is like the pebble in the shoe- its annoying and you notice it all the time. It’s annoying to have to move around furniture in order to sit down. It’s annoying to not be able to reach the top shelf. It’s annoying to have to bend uncomfortably low to reach a sink basin.
Don’t let bad design happen to you. Hire a professional.
You can learn all the tricks of the trade, but this might take you years if you don’t already have some education in this area. There are some people who have a knack for this type of thing, but even those who have a knack for design don’t have the qualifications or education to give great advise on how to make your space the best it can be. This is why hiring a professional is so important.
One of my favorite discussions is when I work with an architect, drafter, or manufacturer and I begin to talk about furniture. Most of the time, furniture is an afterthought for people in these professions, but it should be the most forefront thought since the furniture that you place within your space will make or break the space. It will either make it feel large, cozy, and welcoming, or it not designed well, it could make it feel small, cramped, and uncomfortable.
When placing doors and windows within your space be sure to consider not only the placement, but also the furniture that will be going into the space. For instance, you don’t want a door swing to open and hit your sofa. And you don’t want half your headboard in a window, making it inaccessible and unusable.