Transcripts
1. Introduction: You ever walked
into a restaurant, a cafe, a venue of any sort, and you were mesmerized by how the layout,
the architecture, the lighting, the artwork fits together perfectly
like a piece of art. This is the power
of interior design. In this current class,
I'll be sharing with you my expertise
as an engineer as projects manager who have used these principles that I'm
going to be sharing with you to transform projects
that I've worked on from being mundane
to something exquisite, in which we are going
to start off with the foundational
knowledge by learning about interior design
as a practice. What does an interior design then afterwards, we're
going to be diving into the core principles
of interior design, which most probably
you haven't heard of or you haven't been exposed
to in the first place, in which you're
going to learn how to apply them in order to transform spaces from being
regular to masterpieces.
2. Your Project: Your project for the class
revolves around applying the core interior
design principles that we have learned to
your own application, whether you're renovating
your own living room, your own a kitchen, you own a project,
whatever it is. Feel free to apply these core principles to
your own project. After which you're going to be sharing the before and after footage for the application with the rest of the
community for feedback.
3. What is Interior Design?: Oh, we need to get
some things in order, such as what is interior design. Often, there's a big
misconception that decoration and interior design
they mean the same thing. However, decoration is
part of interior design, and let's see what
do I mean by this. By definition, interior design
is the art and science of enhancing the interior
of a space to achieve functional and aesthetically
pleasing environment. So it combines two
different elements. We got the visual, that
the creative part, which is the artistic part. In addition to the
scientific part. When we say the science
of interior design, we're talking about psychology. We're talking about
graphic design. So these are
scientific approaches which are based on sciences. For example, psychology,
specifically color theory, is a science by itself,
and it's used as part of interior design to get the job done,
which is what? Developing a space, which is functional that you could
use it, and it's aesthetic. It means it looks
proper based on a certain vision. This
is very important. If you notice that sometimes when you pick up a
piece of furniture, for example, and you
place it randomly, it might get in the way of people trying to move
around or it might block your own visuals for
a garden, for example. So you are applying decoration. However, you're not
applying interior design. Or if you get a piece of furniture which looks
nice by itself, and it matches with other different colors within
the setting that you have, yet it does not fulfill the vision that you
have of the space. So you're applying decoration aesthetically
pleasing environment, yet you're not
fulfilling the vision of the space in terms of the
layout. What is the theme? What is the feel
behind the space, in terms of the
intent of using it? This is part of interior design. So what is the purpose
of interior design? First of all, simply put, to create spaces that are both practical and visually
appealing. Simply put. So you need to create
a space that you could use either as a
client or as an occupant, which looks proper based
on a certain vision. For example, if you have an
office space, obviously, you're not going
to decorate it the same way you decorate
a restaurant, right? Or if you have, for example, a health hospital waiting area, you're not going to be
decorating it like an office. So every single space
has a certain theme, and it's up to the interior
designer to actually take this vision for
the client or for their own preferences or for their own use and
try to take it from simply being an idea or a vision and to map
it to real life, ensuring two important things aesthetics and functionality, which leads us to the
interdisciplinary approach. This is one of the beautiful things
about interior design. You need to know a lot of
stuff from a different field. For example, you need to
know about architecture. Columns, layouts, plans. These are part of
technical elements within the architectural realm. Psychology, how to read
and learn about colors. For example, how they
evoke certain emotions. What are the energies drawn from such colors based on perception, how individuals would
interact within a space, based on a certain layout. This is part of pure psychology. And then you have
the decoration, which is the visual appeal, which is the artistic side, how colors blend together,
accessories blend together. So if you notice, we are
taking two main categories. We got the functionality, which is the technical
part and the appearance, which is the artistic
part of a space. And this is the whole
purpose of interior design, combining technicality
and the artistic appeal in order to make
spaces functional. So you as an interior designer, you are a professional
who analyzes clients' needs develops design concepts and
executes plans, transforms spaces effectively
such that the space achieves a certain
functional requirement and an aesthetic requirement, applying interdisciplinary
approaches from architecture psychology, decoration, which
is part of art, where you combine all of
these elements together under the definition of
interior design in order to transform spaces. Now at this current stage, your whole visual perception
of interior design has shifted completely instead of assigning it to
simply decoration, now you have a more
important in depth idea. What is interior design. And as you are building up your knowledge
within the course, you are going to learn that it extends beyond just
simply decoration. There are very
important principles, important concepts
that you need to cover because you're applying
a practical field. You're applying something
which is more than just simply how things look in
terms of visual aesthetics. You're applying something
which is based on science. Principles, best practices, combining interdisciplinary
approaches from psychology, architecture, in addition
to engineering as well, in addition to arts and the abstract visuals where you have a vision and you try
to apply it to real life, all of it just falls
under interior design.
4. The Role of an Interior Designer: And welcome back. So as
an interior designer, what do you do basically? Often, there's a
very basic level of understanding of the
role of interior design. And this is the whole point
of this current lesson for you to understand to
have something like this, like the representation
in front of us where something
looks quite great, looks visually and
aesthetically pleasing, looks organized, looks neat, sends a certain message,
a certain theme. It's very important to
understand what's happening behind the scene as
an interior designer. What do you do basically? So understood interior design. That's fine. But what
do you do basic now, to come up with an
end result like this, many things they have
to fall in place. For example, first of all, you need to consult
with your client. That's part of this
is the initial phase as an interior designer. You have a client
consultation where you understand what are they trying to achieve within a space. And often the space that you
have is completely blank. There's nothing. Open layout, and you have a certain vision. The space in front
of us right now, at one point in time, there
was nothing over here, right? Then it had to be filled up, which leads us to understanding
the stages of planning. Space. We need to
align the layout, the certain locations
of elements, how people are going
to be using the space, what are the key equipment that are going to
go into the space, the function of the space, which is part of space planning. Then you have to do
a design concept. Which is the foundational, let's say, visionary level. You're not building
anything yet. You're not constructing
the place yet. You're not adding
the elements yet, but you're coming up
with a design concept where you draw inspiration
from other spaces. You do some research, you
visit certain locations, and you bring up the elements of your inspiration,
could be textures, fabrics, could be colors, pieces of furniture, images, and you combine all of
them together in order to develop a design concept. You're not building
anything yet. You just simply coming
up with a concept, which leads you to
once you are done with designing the
concept and getting the approvals from your client
to material production and selection or material
selection and the product creation,
for example. So when you are
buying something, let's say, from a
furniture store, you have an idea what to buy. Or if you need to build a
custom piece of furniture, you have a clear idea
what to build, right? So it's very
important for you as an interior designer to
understand the sequence of steps and the things
that get involved in the whole process before you get an actually final result. So you consult with the client, you plan the space,
you design a concept, and you buy and purchase
the material or product, or actually produce it and manufacture it using
the help of others, which leads us to a very important part
budget management. So when you are using the skills that you have as an
interior designer, often you're limited by
your client's budget. How much are they able to spend in terms of
transforming the space, which by itself actually affects the design
concept development and the material and
product selection and the product manufacturing
if required. Some clients, they
have an open budget. Some of them, they have
a spot specific budget that they need you to stick to. So you're doing this as
an interior designer. You don't want to
overcross the budget, and your client's is not going to pay you
for the project. Why? Because they
cannot afford it. So basically, you created something and you made
a loss out of it, and you did not fulfill
the CLs requirement. So it's a loss
loss on both ends. So you have to be careful
with this. Which leads you to the core of
interior design. In addition to the
technical elements, the aesthetic enhancement. At the end of the
day, when someone hires an interior designer, the technicality is
part of the process, the ability to
manage your budget, to get the product,
to plan the space. But let's be quite realistic. We need the end result,
the end product, which is a visually, aesthetically appealing
space, which is functional. It could be functional, but it looks horrible, so
it's pointless. So we need to have the
aesthetic enhancement. So if you as an
interior designer combining the elements of art, psychology, you have the
ability to add that touch, which transforms a space. Now, as you're
developing through this, you get to understand what are the different hats as an
interior designer that you have to keep switching between them, including
collaboration. As an interior designer, you're not going to be working
by yourself on a project. Let's say if you have a
ready made apartment, a ready made villa house,
that's perfectly fine. Your client can invite
you for consultation, and you're able to
work on that project. However, let's say your client is constructing
something from scratch. You do have contractors. You do have engineers. You got other parties
involved in the project. So you as an interior designer, you have to collaborate
with them, the architects, the engineers, the fabricators, the carpenters, the
floor worksmanship. You got the tiles. All of these elements are
done by different parties, and all of them,
they collaborate together in order to
get final result, which is a fulfilled
functional space, which is aesthetically
up to the requirement of the client and functionally up to the requirement
of the client. So you have to get
to that level. And in order to
get to that level, you need to collaborate. As an interior designer, you're
not able to, for example, design HVAC systems, electrical power supplies,
and plumbing systems. This is not your
domain, for example. You have to collaborate
with people. And if you are collaborating
with the engineering side, where they're able to
design certain elements, you have the ability to assign certain fixtures as part
of the design process. Like this is a bit of
an advanced example. But the whole point is,
as an interior designer, you need to develop the ability to communicate with others, whether with your client
or with external parties. Technical drawings,
you get to the point where everything is
falling into place. You got the design in check,
the concept in check. You got the materials that
you're going to be using. You're collaborating with
other parties in the project. You have a clear
technical drawings. And once you get to
technical drawings, we are in the stage after
which we're going to build. Technical drawings often
they are finalized. It means they are good to go. They're approved,
everything is set. Now let's move forward and
make this project happen. So it's very important that
you have the ability to juggle these different roles and tasks as part of being
an interior designer, where you are someone
who's communicator, someone who's artistic,
someone who is technical, someone
who's managerial. So you're combining
all of these elements through various roles in
order to get something which is functional and
aesthetically pleasing for your client to get a developed
project from A to Z, not just simply decorating
here and there, but actually going
through a whole cycle of steps to get the
final end result.
5. All About First Impressions as part of Interior Design: First impressions.
You always got one chance to make
a first impression. It could help you
either win or lose a project if you are interior designer trying
to pitch for a project, or if you're a client
trying to sell a space, for example, sell an apartment, sell a villa, as a
real estate agent, when you take up your clients
and show them the space, if it hasn't been properly
interiorly designed, sort of speak, you're not going to be able
to sell it easily. Why? Because there's nothing to reflect what you're
trying to sell. So this leads us to a
very important point. Interior design by default, helps you enhance the
functionality and the perceived value of
a space or property. This is very powerful. If you
are an interior designer, trying to pitch for a project, if you present your
portfolio to your client and you got beautifully
designed projects. By default, you're able to increase the perceived
value of you as a designer, how powerful you
are as a designer, and from a client's perspective, if they're trying
to sell a space and that space has been
beautifully designed, then this increases
the perceived value of that space, which by default, gives them the ability to increase the price for the sales or for you as
an interior designer, you're helping your client
based on your skills, envision themselves living in the property based
on your portfolio, your ability to communicate, which can lead to quicker sales and
higher selling prices. By applying proper interior
design techniques, you're able to transform a space increasing
its perceived value. Whether if you're trying
to pitch for a project, the client is more likely to
hire someone with a lot of great interior design projects that show up the end result with powerful impression
from the first trial, or if a client is trying
to sell an apartment, for example, trying
to sell a space. Obviously, you're not going to sell something with a high price if it doesn't look proper, right? Let me give
you an example. You could have two apartments, both of them exactly
the same layout, same space, but one of them has been
beautifully designed. One of them has been
horribly designed. Both of them, they
are exactly the same in terms of
the square footage. Yet one of them will be sold higher and at a higher price
compared to the other. Why? Simply because
of interior design. It increases the perceived
value of the space. Your clients or you as
an interior designer, you have the ability
to make the clients envision themselves
in the space, compared to actually waiting just simply to escape the space. So you understand the power of impressions and
interior designs. Usually, they try to dominate first impressions when
it comes to delivering the project or pitching
for a new project, which leads us to a
very important point, once you are done with
the project, right? Once you are delivering
the project, or if you are a client
receiving the project, people are going to interact
the project, right? Guests, they are likely
to develop an idea about you as a designer,
based on your work, or as an owner of
the space based on the process that you have went through to
get such a result, based on the aesthetics
it is very important. Keep that in mind,
whether you are a client or you are
an interior designer, people are going to
engage with the space. So when they are going to
engage with the space, they're going to develop an idea about the level of
proficiency for that interior designer or you
as the owner of the space. What taste do you have? What is your aesthetic taste
in the sense of decor, fashion, visuals,
your artistic side? It reflects you. Think about the space as one big accessory
and often you find accessories within a space used the same way within
the fashion industry. You use accessories to make a certain statement
about your personality, and the same thing happens
with the space that you have. So if you're designing
a certain space with a certain visual, it represents what
kind of a designer you are or what kind
of a person you are. So this is very important
to keep in mind. First impressions when it
comes to interior design from both ends from the
interior designers end and from the client's end. Both of them, they make a very, very important aspect of
the whole design process, and they should be considered before even beginning
the project. What are you trying to achieve from that space? What
is the end goal? What is the end theme you're trying to
achieve through hiring interior designer or through being the owner of a property? Because at the end of the day, you got one chance to
make a first impression.
6. The 5 Principles of Interior Design: And now it's time to learn about some core principles of interior design that every
single interior design should be familiar with
in order to build up their knowledge base and to
tackle projects with ease. First of all, let's use the current finalized project as a reference to help us understand the concepts
of interior design, the principles of
interior design. We're going to be tackling
five of them, right? The first principle
that we have, which is considered to be a very crucial one, the harmony. If you translate the word as is, when things go hand in hand in a way which they
are in sync, right? So it ensures that everything is working together cohesively, creating a sense of unity
and visual satisfaction. This is very important. Take a look at the
image in front of you the end result should be mentally,
everything makes sense. The location of the items, the sofas, the outdoor table, you got the benches, you got the carpets, everything, even though you got
different accessories, different items, different
pieces of furniture. But from a macro view, they are in sync. And once you achieve
that word in sync, it means you have reached that harmony principle that
we're trying to achieve. So as an interior design
is important for you. To place items in locations,
use certain colors, certain arrangements, which
makes sense visually. This is what we call as harmony. And once you view this and you have that sense
of satisfaction that, you know what?
It's a good place. The first thing
that comes to mind, it's a great place that's
part of a harmony. Then you get the
element of contrast. So the second
principle is contrast. Think about it like clothing. If you are going to pick up two pieces of clothing to wear, do they go hand in hand? For example, if you
are going to be wearing a pair of
pants which is yellow, are you going to be matching
it with a shirt which is brown or purple or turquoise? As I'm going through
these examples, at the back of your mind, some of the options,
they would click. Some of them, they are no nos. Why? Because you have developed throughout your life
that visual contrast, you're able to actually
distinguish colors that go together and colors
that don't go together. Not just that. Contrast
applies to textures. Sometimes you could
wear the same clothing. For example, you got a black
sweater with black pants, yet they look quite different, even though the
color is the same because one of them
is a fabric texture, the other one is
a wooden texture. They add that contrast. So think about contrast as
the difference in terms of texture or color
in addition to light. You could have two
different lights, you got dim light,
you got bright light. So these textures, these lights, the textures of the
fabrics of the elements, in addition to the
nature of the surfaces, whether smooth or
rugged surfaces, all of these add
elements of contrast. So in summary, contrast
is the difference between certain elements
within a certain category. The differences between colors once they are aligned together, differences between
textures, rough or smooth, where they are aligned together. Differences in
lighting, you got warm, you got bright, you got
dim, you got bright light. So within a certain category, the different layers that you could use from
a certain element. This is what we call as This
is what I would like to call or present contrast with because often when you
say the word contrast, individuals they get confused. Whether interior design
or not interior design, the word contrast,
how do you apply? Take whatever category and take a look at the different elements within that category. And when you align them
together, do they mesh, or do they look proper together, or do they provide that complimentary aspect
where they make sense? So once you get to the point, you're achieving harmony,
you're achieving contrast. It means you are building up the space from the ground
all the way to a new level, because now when someone
walks into the space, that space makes sense, which takes us to proportion. After we take a
look at proportion, the first thing that
should come to mind is the actual physical proportion between the elements that
you have within the space. For example, you got
a sofa over here and you got the table
outdoor over here. Notice this is not too big,
this is not too small. They are proportional
to each other. Is very important.
Now, if I take a look at the chairs over here, now imagine if that hair is this big from this part to this part. If you compare it to the sofas on the table,
what do you notice? It's out of proportion. So when you are talking
about proportion, it means the relationship physically between the elements. Are they size wise, in sync with each other, or you do have one element which is
bigger than the other, which is out of proportion, and you got the element which
is smaller than the other, which is, again,
out of proportion. So proportion refers to the connection between the
elements that you have, the furniture pieces,
do they look? Proper together, like
they make sense. If you have a huge chair and a huge sofa and a huge table, and you got a small space, obviously, they are
out of proportion. So proportionality takes
into account the furniture, the space, and how they are connected with each
other based on sizes. This is very important.
You actually get a measuring tape to
measure the space. If you're going to
be measuring it, let's say, from here to
here, this is the length, and this is the width, and you're going to take a
look at the size of the sofa, take a look at the
size of the table, and are you able to place
them such that you do have some sufficient space between
the sofa and the table, you got some walkways over here where you have the
ability to leave some path. That way, you're able to understand how
proportionality is crucial. How about the space from
this part over here? Now you're adding some metrics, dimensions, meters,
inches, centimeters, wherever it is to make sure that the
sizes of the pieces of furniture and the layout of the space is actually
proportional to each other. We're going to discuss this, by the way, with more details. In the upcoming lessons, how to achieve proportion, how to achieve
ultracol as balance. These are very
important concepts that you need to understand, which leads us to a rhythm. Rhythm, think about
it as the flow. When someone is walking
into the space, what kind of flow are they
going to be applying? How are they going to be moving? How are they going to be
engaging with that space? So it establishes a sense of movement and flow
in a room through repetition and progression of elements like colors,
patterns, or shapes. So when you locate certain
pieces of furniture, certain pieces of accessories. Somehow, you are
dictating to individuals, how are they going to be moving around the
space and using it? For example, I have the sofa over here
placed in the middle. Obviously, when
someone walks in, they are not going to be walking over the sofa
to the end, right? They're going to either go this way or they're going
to go this way. So when they are following this layout, I have planned it. Now, take a look at the external table.
The outdoor table. So when you place it in such
an orientation, this way, you are implying
that individuals are going to be sitting in
those locations, right? Where the chairs are
facing each other. You have the option
to tilt it the other way around, it's quite doable. How about here? If you notice, we got two chairs over here. If someone is passing by, they would like to sit
for a cup of coffee, for example, they can
use these chairs. However, you could place them in a different location,
one over here. But what would happen, you're
going to block the pathway, so it's not going
to be a good idea. This is part of the rhythm, the flow of the space. How are you planning on having people engage with
the space that you have, this is considered to be
the rhythm of the space, which leads us to a very
important part which is balance. And the way I would like to explain this and
think about this, because often when you try to understand
the word balance, the explanation is quite vague. The way I would like you to visualize this is
actually a scale. Imagine if you got a scale, and when you put one
element on this side, the scale will tilt, right? And if you put it
on the other side, it will balance each other out. This is part of
literally balance, but when I apply it
to interior design, it should be visual balance, such that if you put a certain piece of furniture
which is too big over here, you need to balance it
out on the other side. Or if you locate a certain piece of equipment at one
part of the room, how would you balance it on
the other part of the room? And we're going to be diving
into this with very, very, very extensive detail to
help you understand this because proportion and balance. Literally, they could destroy the project
that you're working on. You could achieve harmony.
You could achieve contrast. You could achieve rhythm, but you could easily fall out of proportion and fall out
of balance, simply put. So they require some
important attention. And for balance, you got
two different examples which we're going
to be discussing. You got the symmetrical
and asymmetrical. So the symmetrical, also
known as the formal balance, and asymmetrical is
the informal balance. What do they mean? This is something we're
going to be covering definitely in the
upcoming lectures. So to sum things up, the core principles of interior design, they
are mainly five. We got V harmony where
everything is unified, everything makes sense
from a macroview. Contrast, you got different
layers of colors, lighting, textures which
complement each other. You got proportion where
you've actually measured up the size of the pieces
of furniture and the space, and you allocate
them in a way where they actually
complete each other. Then you get rhythm
which dictates the flow, how individuals are going
to be utilizing the space. And finally, you get balance, which is the allocation of the pieces of furniture
and elements in a way which provides the
cohesive look where no piece of furniture looks
odd or not properly placed. I'm going to give you a
small hint about a balance. You're going to
dive into details. Placing two pieces of two chairs over here
is not by coincidence. You could place one, right? But if you place two pieces
of two chairs over here, notice, I've added an element
or two elements over here. So how would I counter act that by placing
the stove over here. So if I draw a line from the middle and I split
the space in half, whatever I'm putting
on the left side, I'm trying to balance
it on the right side. And you would notice
that the distance between the mid line over here and the outdoor stove and the chairs is going
to be almost the same, which is part of balance and definitely quite interested
to know about this. So we got dedicated lessons
upcoming next in order to help us understand about balance and proportion.
So let's get right
7. Achieving Proportion within Interior Design: Welcome back. So now
we're going to be tackling two
important principles, how to achieve them as part of the interior design principles. We got balance and
we got proportion. And we have said
proportion, by definition, is maintaining appropriate
relationships between objects, furnishings, as well
as the overspace. When we're referring
to maintaining the appropriate relationships
between objects, we are taking a look at
the physical dimensions. Get a measuring tape. You measure the
pieces of furniture, you measure the space, the length and the width, and you are comparing the pieces of furniture in
terms of their dimensions and sizes and physical attributes to the other pieces of furniture which are
present in the space, and then you compare them
to the space as a whole. So this is very important in terms of achieving proportion. Because correct
proportions, they ensure that the furniture
and the decor, they complement the
room's size and layout. Literally, you don't
buy a piece of furniture and
install it directly. You measure the
size of the room, the size of the layout. You have a small
draft of a plan, and you measure the sizes
of the pieces of furniture, the dimensions in terms
of how they are arranged, the length and the width, and then you compare
them to each other such that when you place
them, they should make sense. So let's take a look
at these examples for you to understand
this practice. So over here, let's say, I do have the current
coffee table. If I measure the entire room, you notice the placement of the coffee table was
placed in the middle. The dimensions of the
coffee table from this wall to this wall
are proportional. Do you see how it
works right now? Now, if I take a look
at the sofas over here, notice the sizes and
the dimensions of the sofas and the physical
attributes of the sofas, they are proportional
to each other. They make sense. In other words. If I take a look
at the location of this sofa and the location of the sofa and the
spacing between them, you will notice that it
actually makes sense, so they are proportional. Proportionality is the
comparison between the dimensions and
physical attributes of pieces of furniture. And the space, and how are they aligned with each other
based on their dimensions? For example, you could get
a humongous sofa till here. What do you notice?
It's out of proportion. Right? You got a small
sofa over here and you got a humongous sofa which
takes up the entire space. So this is part of
proportionality. Let's take a look
at this example. Over here, we got
a bigger space. We got a living room. So notice in terms
of proportionality, at this part on the left side, let's split the
layout or the space in half for you to understand
things more technically. So if I'm going to split the space over here in
terms of the middle, notice the location of
the turquoise sofa. Literally, it's at the midpoint. So we got half of it on the left side and half
of it on the right side. These are some pro tips. So take up some notes
which are really helpful. Now, if I take a look
at the left side from the mid line and the right
side from the mid line, you would notice that almost
we got the same dimensions, the same length from this point to this point and from this
point to the other point. So this gives me the ability to actually measure the pieces
of furniture that I have. I got one over here
and one over here. Notice they are
from the same type. We got the same
physical attributes, and on the other hand, we got different types of sofas, one armchairs, with similar
physical attributes. They have been located literally from the same
distance away from each other. And at the middle, you got these two
coffee tables in order to add some sort of
symmetry between them, and they have been placed
at the middle, as well. Notice how many
windows do we have? We got one, two, and three, and we have placed them the sofas facing
the first window and the other ones
facing the other window, and the other one over here, we try to place
it in the middle. And to avoid having a gap, we got a small
piece of art to add some proportionality
and to balance it out. So it's very important
to understand the importance and
significance of proportion, where you take one element, you measure its
dimensions and take a look at the physical
attributes and compare it to another element and take a look at the
sizes between them, how to determine their location. So if you do this, for every
single piece of equipment, and by the way, you cannot get this right
from the first time. It involves trial and error. You measure the
space that you have you start off by measuring
the dimensions over here, the length, the width, and then before you buy
the pieces of furniture, you visit the furniture store, measure the sizes of the
pieces of furniture, get back to your drawing, put them over there visually
either in two D or three D, it's up to you, and then you're able to move them
and shift them. That way you have a clear idea how to achieve that
level of proportion.
8. Achieving Balance within Interior Design: Now let's take a look at a
very important principle, which is balance we
tackled proportion. But what is balance? The way I would like you
to think about it, it's literally like
having a scale. Whever you put on one side, you need to achieve
it on the other side. Now, there are two
different types of balance. We get the symmetrical balance equal visual weight
on both sides, asymmetrical balance unequal,
yet visually balanced. What does that mean? Let's
take a look at this. For asymmetrical
balance, literally, you cut the space in half. Whatever you put on one side, you put it on the other side. Now if I take a look at this, and by the way, as you're
going through this, you're going to have a lot of eureka moments
which you realize, it's like, Yeah, it makes sense. Why? Because you're
understanding now what's happening behind the scenes of interior design, such that whenever you
walk into a space, you have a clear idea
what's going on. So over here, you got the
space in front of you. If I split it in half from here all the way to here,
what would you notice? Think about it as a scale. Whatever you have
on the right side is going to be on the
left side, right? So we got a chair
on the right side, similar chair on the left side, similar distance between them. The coffee table is
almost split in half. We got the desk at the back or a small library where you
go in the mid section, you got a fireplace. Whatever components I
have on the left side, take a look at the elements on the left side,
the decoration. I'm trying to counter them with other elements
on the right side. I got a window on the left side and a window on the right side. This is what we call as
a symmetrical balance. You try to do as
much as possible. Put wherever on the right side, you put it on the left side, literally, you
duplicate the elements. Here's another more
vivid representation. So, this is the
layout. Let's split it in half. Here we go. Right? What would you notice? Start from the ceiling. You
got a spotlight over here, we got a spotlight over here. We split the decoration
and texture, the wooden texture at
the back into halves. We got a small TV as
well, split in half. We got a small sitting
chair on the right side, small sitting chair
on the left side. Coffee table here,
coffee table here. We got a sofa over here. We got a sofa over here. So what do you notice?
Url, 50, 50 on each side. So this is part of
symmetrical balance. However, a more
delicate approach is the asymmetrical balance, and you could easily mess this up by the way, so you
have to be careful. So asymmetrical balance is
where you get different pieces of furniture that you try
to make sense out of them, where you put one on
the other side and you try to balance it visually
on the other side. So, for example, over here, if I split this in Notice, I got two different
sitting chairs over here and a sofa over here. However, based on their
physical proportions and appearances and dimensions,
they would make sense. Why? Because I got
two sofas over here, two small armchairs and
one sofa over here, which is a two seater
for two individuals, and I got two chairs for two individuals. So
that makes sense. I split the coffee
table in half. Now, take a look
at the left side. I got a mirror and half of
the piece of art, right? So I try to balance this by adding extra accessories
on the right side. On the left side, you got
the mirror and the windows. On the right side, I
don't have windows, but I'm not going to
be leaving this empty. So you got a small column with
a small desk under it that way to counteract the windows and the mirrors on
the other side. So this is part of asymmetrical
balance where you try to utilize different
pieces of furniture which are not the same and
you split the room in half. But you place them in a way that they would
balance each other out, even though they
are not the same. Visually, this is the
whole core of balance. This is the visual balance. The way I would like
you to think about it, just follow my approach. This is coined by your
instructor, yours truly. So you're going to be using it as a balance, like
a literal balance. Whatever you put
on the right side, you're going to be putting it on the left side. This
is symmetrical. For asymmetrical, you're going to be using the same approach, but with different
pieces of furniture. They do not have to be the same. Symmetrical is easier because literally just simply
duplicate the pieces of furniture that you but asymmetrical could
actually add some vibe, add some uniqueness
to the space, but you have to be careful
with it because you could easily fall out of
bounds with that one.
9. Visual Weight Simplified: Create balance and proportion, we need to understand the
core concept behind it, which is a visual weight.
What does that mean? If I take a look at the
definition of visual weight, it means various objects
or elements in a room. They have different visual
weight like literally a scale. Larger objects or
darker objects, they look or appear
to be heavier, like a scale, like stepping
up on the weight scale. The bigger the object, the darker the object,
it looks heavier. Properly distributed
weight visuals helps create balance
and proportion. So if we're going to manipulate
balance and proportion, we need to understand the
element of a visual weight, where you have bigger
objects look heavier, darker objects look heavier. Smaller objects,
they look lighter, light objects,
they look lighter. Now let's take a look at
the images over here. Notice for a second, which
object looks the heaviest? If the first thing
that pops to mind is the chandelier over here, the ceiling light,
then you are right. Why? Because, first of all, it looks metallic
and overly sized. Yet, you'll notice on the left side from
this part over here, we have allocated the
majority of our furniture. So in order to add some visual
weight to balance it out, we have this light ceiling towards the right side
to create the visual. These are advanced interior
design tactics, by the way. When you try to apply
them by trial and error, you get to the
ability to manipulate the visual weights of various elements to achieve
very powerful designs. Now, if I ask you what is within the same
project over here, what object looks
very, very light? If the first thing that pops
to mind is the white chair, white sofa over here, and the small vase over
here, then you're right. Why? Because, first of all, it's very small in size
and very bright in color, which is the color white
compared to the other elements. So you can see the extreme ends. We have the heaviest
visual weight, which is the light ceiling
on the chandelier. We got the light object, which is the white sofa, simply based on dimensions, physical attributes,
and the color. Now, let's take a look at
the other example over here. Now, take a moment. Which
object looks the heaviest? So if the first thing that pops to mind is the coffee table, you're perfectly right
because first of all, it looks metallic and the
size is quite enormous, which indicates
heavier visual weight. Now, if I ask you object, which is the second object
which looks heavy as well? If the answer that comes to mind is the ornament over
here, then you're right. First of all, it
is bigger in size, and it's very dark in color, compared to the other elements or pieces within the space. So it adds some visual weight. So for a pro interior designer,
this would make sense. Why? Because you put a heavy
visual element over here, you're countering this with a heavy visual
element over here. So you understand
now that you have a certain weight associated with objects based on
their visual appeal, where larger objects
and darker objects, they look heavier compared to lighter objects and
smaller objects, which helps you allocate
or achieve the elements of balance and allocate proportionality or
achieve proportionality. That way, when you're
measuring the sizes based on the space and the layout for the
furniture that you have, and you achieve physical
proportionality and relationship in terms of dimensions between
the furniture, the spaces, and the layout, now you have the ability
to move them within the space in order
to achieve balance. Always keep at the
back of your mind the metaphor that I use, which is created by
me in that sense, to utilize a scale, like a mental scale, such that whenever you put one
element on the right side, it should be placed
on the left side, whether symmetrically
or asymmetrically, as we have discussed in the previous lessons
about balance. So supplemented by your understanding
about visual weights, you have the ability now to pick up pieces of furniture
and you have at the back of your mind the
visual layout of the space, which will help you to create
very powerful designs.
10. Mastering Focal Points within Interior Design: Let's take you one
level further by learning about a very
important concept, which is the focal points.
What does that mean? So focal point is
basically the process of identifying a focal
element in a room, grab the attention for
that specific element, such as a fireplace, artwork which helps guide and helps guide
the viewers' eyes. This is very important and establishes a sense of
proportion and balance. So we've learned about balance and proportion, visual weights. Now, once we place everything
together within the space, we need to guide the
visual attention of the individual
walking into the space. And the first thing
that you need to utilize is the concept
of a focal point. What is the centerpiece, whether fireplace, an
artwork or an accessory? It could be an
ornament, an artifact, whatever it is that you would
like to grab the attention of the individual as soon as they step foot
into that space. This is the whole concept
behind a focal point. So when you have a
certain balanced layout, which is within proportion, take a moment to identify
what is the focal point? It could be an external view, gray windows, for example, open layout, or it
could be a fireplace, or it could be a piece of art. Now, if you notice at the
beginning of this lesson, I've popped in front of you various these
sample projects. Now, after explaining this, take a look at
them for a second. And what's the first thing
that got your attention? Or before actually learning
about focal points at the moment that these projects they pop
in front of you, what's the first thing
that got your attention? So if we take a look
at the first project, if the first thing that got your attention on the
spot is the wall art, it means the space has achieved its vision in that sense,
creating proportionality. By placing the elements
properly, creating balance, and placing a focal
point to draw the viewers attention,
which is the wall art. Now, if I take a look
at the other example, what's the first thing
that got your attention? Now, it could be two
things, by the way, I could have two focal points to supplement each other,
but no more than two. It could be either the fireplace or the wall art, the accessory. Now, how would I
shift my focal point? I could just simply eliminate
this and light up the fire. And the first thing we
grab your attention would be the fireplace. So this is how would
you manipulate the focal points as you achieve
proportion and balance. These are very powerful interior design tactics
and principles. Whether you are a
complete beginner in the world of interior design
or you are an expert, you need to be equipped
with such expertise to help you excel in the
field of interior design, whether at professional level, or if you're working
on your own, do it by yourself project, renovating your home,
whatever it is. So a focal point
is basically when you identify you as a designer, certain element in a room
that you would like to use to grab the attention of the individuals interacting
with the space. And it could be it could
be a garden, a backyard, it could be a pool, it could be a terrace where you
have clear windows, you can just simply
have great curtains to complement that view such that when someone
walks into the space, they're able to see
the first thing that pops in front
of them as part of your effort to create
proportionality and balance, or you could have a certain
pieces of art work art, a canvas, ornaments.
It's up to you. Sky's the limit. You could
have mirrors, for example, and the go to option or the norm would be to have a
fireplace or firepit, which is by default, a great focal point, which is used often in many
interior design practices. I'm giving you various options that you could use
that you could apply. To help you develop the ability
to create focal points, captivate the attention of the viewers as soon as
they step into the space, helping you achieve balance, helping you achieve
proportionality. So if you apply all of
these concepts that we have covered so far as part of the
interior design principles, you are going to elevate your interior design game and take it to a
whole new level.
11. Wrapping Up: What do you think? I truly hope that you found the
class helpful. If it helped you level
up your interior design knowledge to
a whole new level. It's a job well done, and I look forward to receiving your feedback on the
current class and make sure to follow
my profile for the latest releases and updates, and I'll see you
in the next class.
Engr. Hussein Attié, Entrepreneur I Engineer I Educator
