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There are many facets to interior design and successful interior designers tend to blend the right mixture of creativity with technical prowess. There are right ways and wrong ways to go about designing an interior. It is a process that yields to a systematic approach in which the designer must understand the goals and budgetary constraints, undertake background research including a detailed analysis of all the relevant factors, and integrate these within the framework of the designer’s fundamental knowledge of the field.
Although some of the top interior designers can be very expensive, there are also some excellent ones around who do not charge a fortune. If you are planning to restyle your living space and you are a little uncertain of what it is you wish to achieve and how to actually achieve it, then paying for a few hours consultation with an interior designer can be very worthwhile and can save you from making expensive mistakes. You might love that three seater leather sofa or suite of furniture in the furniture stores, but if it does not coordinate with the rest of your style then you might be in for a disappointment.
Of course you might be one of those lucky people with a natural flare for styling interiors. If you are, then one of the talents that you will possess is the ability to visualise, to create a mental image of how your space will appear before you actually create it; it is a talent that many artists and successful sportsmen also share. You will also have a natural instinct for creating and applying styles and themes.
Applying a theme or style to a living space implies creating a look that is consistent throughout and when viewed produces a sense of completeness. There will always be many elements, and each element will have a specific function and form, but these should be combined in order to create the overall design that people find they can connect to.
It also pays dividends to look at the work of some of the great interior designers of the moment, and their best work is often featured in printed magazines and on the web. Some of today’s top interior designers include Kit Kemp, famous for her wonderful hotel foyer and room designs; Amanda Rosa who has received numerous awards for her stunning interiors where furniture and light are used to their ultimate; Tara Bernard with her emphasis on planning space to combine function with style; and Jamie Drake with his flair for getting the very best from colour and form. Their work, and that of other top designers, is inspirational and even though you may not be able to create such stunning interiors yourself, it is a great way to start to form your ideas and to see what it is possible to achieve.
In interior design, space, light, shape, form, colour and function are the building blocks that we meld together to create a whole thing. It is a special skill but something that is accessible to most of us. It might take some effort, but the effort is worthwhile in order to make a unique space that we can connect with and of which we can be proud.
