Having a natural flair and love for interior design is the most important part of being an interior designer, however with everything there are rules to follow. Knowing interior design principles will give you a guide of important factors to consider when shaping your interior. Following the steps will give you a great stepping stone in making the right choices however it won’t always be the same as with the eye of a designer.
Hiring an interior designer to give you a spark of their creativity and guide you during the process will be an unforgettable experience, followed by a beautiful interior.
An interior designer works with clients, hearing their visions and ideas and using their skills to transform them into real interior spaces.
Interior Design companies in Belfast like Ian Thompson Interiors are a dedicated team of creative professionals, following the key principles of interior design to create your space.
Below you’ll find some of the most important elements.
- Balance
With everything in life, you need balance. There’s little to no point in designing a space if there is too much, too little, or a mix of too many things. You can be the best interior designer, but if you don’t have a sense of balance in your work, then all will go to waste.
Balance is an evenly distributed weight, to keep everything steady and this can be directly translated into designing an interior – remember to distribute everything with balance.
- Emphasis
Creating emphasis on a piece of the interior will draw attention to that element and make it a central piece to build around. Not knowing where to look can create a sense of chaos, and so creating the most important area using furniture, colours or textures draws your eyes automatically in that direction.
- Scale/Proportion
We’ve talked about balance, and this element is very closely related when creating that. Being aware of the scale of objects within your space and knowing how to work with different sizes to create a proportional interior is important.
It’s not as complicated as it may seem and you’ll find that you can easily spot if something feels off. Placing a tiny table next to a giant sofa for example will create chaos within the proportions, and while not everything in a space needs to be the exact same size, it needs to look right.
Having furniture and other elements of contrasting sizes is key in creating a comfortable living space, it’s just important not to go too crazy with the differences.
- Harmony/Unity
While you can study every design element in the rule book, it takes a passionate interior designer to be able to master the sense of harmony within a space. While unity refers to elements belonging together, harmony is to do with the entire environment feeling just right.
- Contrast
This is what makes things interesting. Creating strong contrasts really gives life to the space and makes it unique from any other.
Contrast in Interior Design can be achieved using simple strategies like playing with dark and bright, contrasting colours or even shapes. Not only is this creating an interesting and visually appealing space, but is joining everything together and forming a sense of balance.
Learning about the principles of interior design can be really interesting, and if you’re enjoying reading about it then you’re in the right space.
You should know however that you don’t need to memorise everything as there are amazing interior designers like Ian Thompson who can guide you along the way-adding a touch of creative spark to your space.
If you’d like to find out more and speak with Ian and his team, you can catch us here.