Interior Design Secrets

By Lois Macaulay ASID

IT STARTS WITH THE CONCEPT

When working with a client, I enjoy the challenge of finding their unique look. To achieve this, I formulate a design concept to fit their personality. A design concept is a clear idea that directs choices. Whether you redecorate or move, you will know which furnishings to weed out, what to add, where to place things, and which colours will work by looking at everything through a design concept. I look for a phrase that sums up the individual's lifestyle and how the scene can be set to enhance it.

When changing a home we are adapting the environment to suit the resident's current and future identity. After interviews and observations, the search for a word impression requires playful thought. Combining two ideas works best for me: 'spa in Provence', 'young Churchill', 'Donghia meets Connecticut'. It doesn't have to have sense, only meaning. The right phrase has a "eureka" feeling.

TURNING THE CONCEPT INTO CHOICES

Here are some examples grouped by design preferences. Keep in mind that these 'design concepts' refer to outlook rather than age.

Interior Design Secrets - Design Concept #1: Young at Heart

Quirkiness, where exploration in interior design begins, is especially effective for the person using hand-me-downs and thrift store finds. Paint finishes personalize inherited furniture. Unexpected fabrics transform pecular armchairs and sofas with fun and newness. Dining chair seats usually pop out for easy recovering.

"I love it" is the guiding emotion, but one must adhere diligently to the colour scheme and design theme ('classics in crayon brights', 'white on white on everything' etc.) to avoid a mish-mash.

Moving up the executive ladder? We would shed a few hand-me-downs and replace them with important new pieces, like a dining room suite, a good sofa and custom draperies. These strong points in the decor carry mismatched smaller items without disturbing the impression of a 'serious professional' or 'cosmopolitan single'.

'Eclectic' can describe the clever combining of odd pieces, or it can be a term used to disguise the lack of any cohesive thought. Stick to the theme!

Interior Design Secrets - Design Concept #2: Family and Career

Are they fashion forward? Modern design has its roots in the 1930's. This peaceful elegant mood has a limited colour palette: predominance of the main colour and white, touches of a contrasting shade, and black accents. The shades are "mixed" or complex. The best are grey-green-blue, muted-brown-red, and khaki-tan. Drapes start right at the ceiling and fall in simple columns to the floor. The line of the architecture and wall backdrops is vertical. The line of the furnishings is horizontal. I select tables, sofas and chairs with fine clean lines and slender tapered legs. The space between things is more important than things themselves. The sparsely placed accessories are highly decorative to give the eye something to explore. There is absolutely no clutter. The concept is 'modern with glamour'.

Do they value relaxation in 'casual comfort'? The idea suggests natural wood grain. Sturdy fabrics in woven and rustic patterns. Soft upholstery. Leather trim. Coffee tables large enough to dine on. Entertainment units. Bookcases flanking a really comfortable chair, a beverage table and a good lamp. An earthy palette includes light stone, ochre, brown and faded red; or khaki, dark green and light stone with lacquer-coloured accents.

A cottage or chalet has a designated area in the main room for the families' favourite games. Ventilation, easy access to the outdoors, and transitional spaces where gardens are handled like rooms and rooms like gardens.

Moving equals paring down. Leave space between functional areas. They fill in with time.

Interior Design Secrets - Design Concept #3: Design Maturity

Does refinement and formality define their lifestyle? The classics can be broadly categorized as French furnishings such as those found in embassies and fine hotels, English furnishings found in country clubs and manor houses, or the Italian equivalent. These international benchmarks of style are the "all roads lead to Rome" of interior design. Even rock stars live in the aristocratic splendour preferred by most icons when they rise to the top!

How to create 'Jackie O'? With marble, mouldings on walls, windows, doors and ceilings, and blended decor. If any single item jumps out it's either a mistake or a terrific new piece that needs a better setting. Furnishings are up-graded slowly, selling off items as finer ones are acquired, perhaps antiques. Bear in mind that people were smaller in the 18th and 19th centuries and reproduction chairs are larger in scale and sturdier than the originals.

'Ritz hotel--hold the mayo'. Studying Greek art, architecture and philosophy trains the eye to perceive the principles of classic design: proportion, rhythm and balance. Living in the present while referencing the past is an artistic design attitude. Contemporary sofas and other functional pieces whose design rests on classical lines blend well with antiques. Lavish window coverings lend nobility; new fabrics keep them fresh.

'Cosseted richness'. For people who enjoy a full cosy room, traditional design has tried and tested ways to create warmth and timelessness. Tall cases filled with books and collections create library calmness. Framed prints of fox hunts, flora or fauna grouped in fours or sixes can flank doorways, top mantles or fill long unbroken walls that can't take furniture due to traffic flow. Remember the small round table covered with fabric and topped with glass? It's still a perfect lamp table for displaying framed photos.

Traditional patterns include fine stripes (strie), damask (same colour woven floral patterns), tree-of-life floral, and pastoral scenes (toile). Documentary prints, adapted from historic patterns, have endured as favourites for generations.

Connecting oneself to the best of the past and simultaneously reaching into the future leads into the depths of the Spirit of the Present (Zeitgeist).

CONCLUSION

Using the concept to make all interior design decisions leads to surprisingly effective results.

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