A well-decorated interior is not only functional, it establishes a mood for anyone inside and allows you to show off your family’s personality. Interior decoration is more than just making a room appeal to the eye; it’s how to make a room work for you. Before you start to think about a room’s purpose and spatial awareness, as discussed below, try sitting down and exploring your inner style. Read up on design articles and review pictures to determine your likes and dislikes. Interior design is just as much about planning, as it is implementation. Continue reading below to learn about the purpose of a room and spatial awareness.
Room Purpose:
Contemplating the purpose of a room is a fundamental aspect of design. Sometimes a room may just hold one function, such as a bathroom. Other times, a room needs to be a social gathering space, a place to play, and a place to relax. Most rooms can serve multiple purposes, since sometimes it’s not easy to accommodate an entire family or budgetary constraints come into play. Examples of a multi-purpose room include:
• A child’s bedroom with a small desk where they can sleep, study, play, and relax.
• A dining room that can be used as a study due to limited distractions
• A play area in the lounge for the children
• A bedroom with a small couch, side table, and a lamp for when you want to stop and relax
Spatial Awareness:
This is the ability to be aware of oneself in a space, and is a key element of interior decorating. It is an organized knowledge of objects in relation to oneself in that given space. Spatial awareness also involves understanding the relationship of these objects when there is a change of position. The size of a room determines the size of furniture you should use and where you should put it. It’s important to always buy according to the scale of the room. When working with large rooms, you can really express yourself with patterns and textures. In a large room, work with shades and tones that are from the same color palette. If you’re working with the interiors of a small room, there are ways to maximize the limited space:
• Implement shades and tones from one single color
• Paint a light color shade on the ceiling, with a little darker shade on the walls
• Use more textures than patterns
• Keep all the wood the same color as the walls
• Direct floor lamps to the ceiling for more light and to create a greater sense of height
• Hang your curtains from the ceiling to the floor
• Use mirrors to enhance the space and reflect light