Principles of Design

If you follow me on Facebook then you may have heard that I've just started a Diploma in Interior Design (I decided it was time to get serious about this hobby). So I thought I'd share my first assignment with you, it is about the principles of design and how they apply to these images, I chose the images on Pinterest

Relaxing & Calming Parents' Retreat

Space; For a bedroom this space is relatively big, however the use of furniture and rugs envelopes the space to make it feel a lot smaller than it is. Without making it feel restricted.

Line; The lines within the room are completely obvious because of the use of symmetry. The eye is drawn from one wall in the room, up the centre of the bed and lands on the artwork above the bed.

There is also a second line through the room, which creates the seperation of zones within the room, one being the 'sleeping zone', the second being the 'reading zone'.

Shape; The furniture used is mostly square angled, however it is softened by the use of round shapes in the lamps, the top of the chairs and even the round loops of the font in the rug.

Colour; Muted and restful, the use of mustard yellow instead of sunshine yellow helps to create a restful room. Yellow is a very cheerful colour, which is perfect for a parents retreat.

The only dominating colour is the use of the deep timber brown in the feet of the chairs, the bedsides, the frames of the pictures and the bottoms of the curtains. Again this helps to envelope the otherwise large space.

Fortunately the owner has done the rest of the space in neutral/earthy colours otherwise the space would become too busy. I find the colour scheme to be harmonious and help to create the relaxing mood in the room.

Pattern is not repeated, however similar colour tones are picked up in the cushions and footstool which helps to create harmony.

Texture; The textures in the room have evidently been well considered in this bedroom. The room is made to feel relaxing by the use of soft textures in the floor coverings, window treatments, reading chairs and cushions.

However the contrast of the bedside tables and reading table adds an element of sophistication to the space by adding the metallic reflective surface to the room.

Light; It is difficult to ascertain from this image what orientation the room is facing, however you can see a relatively large window to the right of the space, which has been dressed with a curtain, which is particularily important for sleeping in.

The room also has reading lights on the bedsides, as well as extensive use of downlights in the ceiling (maybe excessive use for a bedroom). It appears that the lights can be only partiallly turned on, which is beneficial for mood lighting.

Pattern; Within the room pattern is not obviously repeated, however it is in subtle ways. For example the lines of the zebra footstool is picked up within the black and white striped cushion on the bed.

Also the black and white patterned cushion is also slightly repeated in the yellow cushion on the bed, and if you look closely also repeated in the base of the candle holder on the left hand facing bedside.

Balance; The room is symmetrical, giving a formal feel to the room. Which should be expected in a sophisticated parents retreat. The designer has also created balance in the room by ensuring that the paintings almost meet the height of the curtains.

Rhythm and Repetition; The repetition within the room is evident in the symmetry, but also continued with the patterns in the cushions (previously mentioned) and the repetition of the curved angles in an otherwise square room.

Empthasis; Is on the bed, the room is designed to draw you into the bed to help relax and calm you.

Proportion and scale; Everything in the room has to compete with the scale of the bed, to stop the bed from dominating the room too much, relatively large pieces have been used eg. Largish reading chairs, with

Harmony; This room is completely harmonious, throught the balance of the symetry, the use of colour and scale. Because of this, the room is the ultimate parents retreat and is a visually calming space.

I would love to spend time relaxing in this space after a busy day at home with the kids.