Interior Design

1)Use of decorative curtains.

These are called as valances and are a very good means to decorate the windows and other openings. These decorative curtains have 2 purposes. a) They define a window opening b) They diffuse the incoming sunlight and help the dispersion of light evenly. Valances can be easily be prepared at home with some basic knowledge of stitching.

2)Wall Hangings

Wall hangings are used as an alternative for wall paintings. These have a great advantage that they can be prepared from almost any material. Some possible options for material use could be matt finished paper, handmade paper, silk cloth, bamboo sticks, jeans cloth!, wool, plastic sheets, crape papers, etc…Small square pieces of these materials along with bits of mirrors pieces can be creatively used to prepare a wall hanging.

3)Wall Paintings.

The choice of the wall paintings in this case highly depends upon the likes/dislikes of the user. Also the nature of the surface on which the painting is going to be, is also important.

4)Photographs

Most people like to use framed photographs of the family members, ancestors, or some live stills from outside world. This method has got a great advantage. The user has got perfect control over which kind of photos to choose. Photographs of real people can greatly add a human touch to an interior space.

5)Statues

These greatly add to the quality of the space. In case of bedrooms the statues which can add some interest to the overall theme can be used. Some gift articles come in the form of statues or a watch embedded in it can serve two purposes at a time. They add some grace to the design and at the same time, become a useful functional piece.

6)Shade Loving Plants.

Depending upon the size of the bedroom, lots of varieties of shade loving plants are available today. If the plant is a flowering one, then this can be very creatively used. A flowering plant can greatly add to the mood of an space because of its changing nature of foliage and color.

7)Decorative Lamp Shades.

Decorative lamp shades have a very unique quality attached to them. Because they are functional mostly at night times, the shape of the lampshade itself can be chosen in such a way, that will add some interest in the bedroom. During its functional times a lampshade which is made of semitransparent cloth covers can add some wonderful ambience in the interior space.

8)Free standing wooden partitions.

These are used in large bedroom to define certain areas of the same space into different parts. for example a wooden partition can be used to segregate a study space inside a bedroom or a decorative wooden partitions can be used to hide the direct entry to the toilet, by creating a private area.

Contemporary design Theme:

These kind of design themes are very new as compared to the previously mentioned oriental design theme. But how did the designers came along using these kind of designs?

During the starting years of the 20th century, the “Industrial Revolution” in Europe changed the face of our planet. It was easy to design and manufacture goods on a mass scale with amazing speed and efficiency. This created a flood of industries in and around the cities. These cities attracted large amount of people to migrate from rural areas to city centers in search of a living.

Because of this migratory effect there was a sudden need of housing requirement for the workers. This is where the concept of an “apartment” was introduced. Because of the pressure of demand, a school of thoughts emerged within the architects, who believed that “simplicity” is the need of today’s era.

They thought that, the design of the building has to be simple and easy to build, then only we can compete with the growing demand of housing needs in cities. That’s why simple designs with mostly plane and square faces with square or rectangular openings were used. These forms and masses were easy to build and still beautiful. If everything from “safety pins” to “space ships” could be built on a mass scale, why not “buildings”.

The school of thought believed that a plane rectangular form is in itself beautiful and they proved this using infinite permutations and combinations of the basic square form. That’s why decoration was given a second preference. Today we call this school of thought as “contemporary”. In contemporary design every element has an order.

That’s why in today’s modern interior design, simplicity is the key to an efficient design. Unlike the previous oriental design theme, the contemporary design theme states that any kind of architectural decoration is always dependent on the basic form of the building. The form itself is so beautiful, that the need to further decorate it is not required. Today’s modern interiors spaces are simple to understand, simple to construct, and project a kind of simplicity.

By reading the above paragraphs some of you might say that, decoration is no more needed. But this is not true. I am not trying to force some ideas here. But most people confuse the whole concept of “Interior Design” and “Interior Decoration”. Both are quite different and both have a unique value in today’s complex society.

Decoration was something the primitive man learned, looking at the nature around him. He saw plants, flowers, birds, animals and tried to copy these elements. We still use “embroidery” on our dresses. But the modern design theory says that any sort of decoration can only “enhance” the existing form, but can not be an element of design.