An Empty Room is a Story waiting to Happen, and an Interior Designer is the Author.

Elements of Design

An interior designer’s role is to create indoor spaces that satisfy the client’s needs for aesthetics, safety and function. Elements such as artwork, lighting, window treatments and flooring must work together to contribute to an overall look that will satisfy the client’s needs. Without style, spaces would be bland and boring, but interior design is not only about making a room look good with colour, soft furnishings and furniture, it is crucial for it to work on a practical level too.

Function

This depends largely on how the room will be used and the lifestyle and habits of the people using the space. Quite often a room will have more than one function, such as a kitchen that is also used as a dining room, or a guest-room that is also used as an office. With that in mind, you don’t want to create a space full of unimportant items just because they look good. Form should always follow function, so its is equally efficient as it is appealing.

Spatial Awareness

The key to understanding how to use a space in an effective way. Line, shape, proportion, scale and balance are paramount. Elements can be placed in all sorts of unconventional ways, yet still work. Clever placement of furniture divided into different zones can give definition to large spaces. Small spaces maybe more awkward to design but they usually bring more creative ideas, helping to maximise limited spaces.

Focal point

The focal point of a room is one of the most fundamental elements in interior design, it’s the first place your eyes land when you enter the room and from which you build the rest of your design. A window, fireplace or strong architectural detail like an exposed brick wall, can all serve as the focal point. Other times when there aren’t any built-in features it’s necessary to create one of your own. An accent wall with a bold paint colour or patterned wallpaper, A large mirror or a statement piece of furniture or art, can also serve as a focal point just as well.

Lighting

Interior lighting is an important aspect of any living space. A successfully designed room needs a mix of three basic types of lighting – ambient, task, and accent. Ambient lighting gives aesthetic appeal and creates the mood and ambiance of a living space. Task lighting helps you perform specific tasks, such as reading, preparing, and cooking food, for working or hobbies. Accent lighting serves mainly for highlighting specific parts of a room directed toward an item of furniture or a particular wall hanging through the creation of contrasts in light and shadow.

Storage

Having sufficient storage is crucial to organised living. Clutter closes down space, reduces the perceived size of a room and blocks circulation. Homeowners seek and need a certain level of organization and order, so using spaces efficiently should have top priority. Storage can come in all shapes and sizes and creative storage solutions can

Colour, Texture & Personality

My 3 favourite elements of Interior Design. I have so much to say, I will probably write a blog on each subject at some point, so, for now, I’ll keep it short and sweet!

Colour is one of my favourite things in the world. Colour can create specific moods and looks and can completely transform a room. There is so much you can achieve with colour, the list is endless!

Texture can come through in a wide range of ways. Building up layers and combining contrasting textures will add visual weight and depth to a room.

Personality Staying in touch with the latest fashion trends is key for interior designers, but it’s just as important for the designer to create a unique space that is as one-of-a-kind as the client. Good communication between both interior designer and client is key to creating a home that is full of personality.

If you’d like a helping hand in combining colour, light, and texture in your room, why not book a consultation with me.

I’ll leave you with one of my favourite ever quotes…

Create your own visual style, let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable to others

Orson Welles

Emma ❤️