Transcripts
1. Trailer: We all live in
houses with rooms. Every room consists
of lines and shapes, curve and straight lines
create forms in a space, and a space can be filled
by those forms that we call furniture or left
empty as a negative space. Besides, all these forms
have color, texture, and maybe patterns,
and obviously, they should be believed
to be seen better. All these elements can
evoke different feelings. They can have calming
effects or stressful ones on So how can you mix
them to a perfect design? This class teaches
you exactly that. The recipe to a perfect design. In this class, you will learn the seven essential
design principles. So you can apply them
to your rooms and improve your interior
design enormously. Those seven principles are focal point, harmony, contrast, balance, rhythm, and repetition, scale and proportion
and details. In each lecture, I
discuss one of them and tell you how we can use
them to have a beautiful, peaceful eye catching home. Join me in this class to
learn them fast and easily. Now, without further
ado, let's speak.
2. Focal Point: Look at the screen. Where
are you exactly looking at? I'm pretty sure you are
looking at the black point. You're not looking
here or there. It's because when
you see a view, you automatically look
at the most interesting, most important or the most
strongly emphasized point, the point that grabs
most of your attention. We call that focal point. It's the same for
designing rooms. In every room, there
is a point that grabs most of the attention like
the star of the show, which is the focal
point of the room. Make sure to understand what your focal point is
because knowing it, enhancing it and
designing around it can really make
a huge difference. Your focal point can
be an oversized art. It can be a collage, bookshelves, a unique
piece of furniture, a window with a beautiful
view or a fireplace, sometimes TV wall and sometimes a mixture
of fireplace and TV. But remember, do not
use two focal points in one view because they start to compete and it makes
our brain tired. If you had two focal points, just combine them
or try to keep them far from each other
in different views. Now, to master designing
your focal point, keep watching this class. Okay.
3. Harmony: According to Gestalt psychology, your brain is always trying to make everything
easier to understand. Whenever you see several things to understand them easier, your brain tries to categorize them by what they
have in common, and then it recognizes
that group as a whole. After that, your brain can
focus on a smaller detail. So when you see things that do have harmony
with each other, it's comforting for your brain. On the other hand, when you see things that have no
harmony with each other, your brain gets confused and you're going to
feel uncomfortable. Whenever you enter a room, your brain starts to work and categorize the
stuff that you see. If there's no harmony
between elements of that room like
colors and styles, it's going to take more time for your brain to
understand and process it and it may cause stress and anxiety
in your unconsciousness. For example, if
this room was real, it would definitely
give me a headache. Surely, you don't
want that to happen. Let's see how you
can create harmony. It's easy. You can simply
create harmony by using furniture and accessories
from one specific style. Mode or color. By repeating one element
through your design, you can reach unity, so you can simply start
by one element that you love and then choose the other
elements consonant to it. Now that you make the room
comfortable for the eyes, let's make it more exciting by the next principle,
which is contrast.
4. Contrast: Now that you've created harmony
by repeating one element, it's time to espy things up
by adding a little contrast. Contrast is a secret rule that makes a room unforgettable. It prevents your home from seeming flat, boring or neutral. Contrast brings charm and
ties everything together. How can you create contrast? There are many different ways that you can create contrast. The easiest way is
to make it by color. You can do it by
complimentary colors or simply black and white, like we did here on ottomans pattern or just
an accent color like red. But remember to always use the sharper colors in
smaller proportions. Also, you can make contrast by different materials,
for example, rough polished woods can
be against a smooth metal. Or here we just added soft
fair texture on the cushions. You can also add a
curved accenture to this living room to
create contrast in forms. Be creative in creating
contrast because contrast can be in
anything like height, size, transparency, and so on. Now you may think contrast and harmony are
opposite to each other. How you can use them
at the same time? Well, do not use
these two rules 100% everywhere because it can make your room too boring
or too cluttered. Make the harmony rule as
a base for your design and then add some
contrary elements to add visual interest, just like we did earlier. The key to a perfect design is balance between
harmony and contrast.
5. Balance: In interior design, when we
talk about visual balance, we talk in terms
of visual weights. Every object has its
own visual weight. Some of them like this big
brown leather sofa are heavy, and some like this
airy sofa with a light color and exposed
legs are lighter. O these glass tables, for example, they take
less space and attention. We can see underneath them, so they are visually lighter. Distributing heavy
and light furniture equally in a space
is called balance. Balance makes a space more comfortable and makes
our brains happy. There are three
types of balance. Symmetry. Asymmetry and radial. Symmetry is more
formal and works better with classic
styles like transitional, traditional or french modern. Like I said before
in harmony lecture, brain likes symmetry because
it's easier to understand. Brain has to understand
just half of the whole image because the
other half is the same. On the other hand,
asymmetry is more complicated and it
feels more casual. Asymmetry is equal
weights on both sides, but not the same objects. Some people find asymmetry
more exciting and engaging. And finally, in radial balance, objects spread around one point, maybe around a chandelier around a rug or a circular table.
6. Rhythm and Repetition: Okay. I'm sure you've heard
about rhythm in music. But what does it have to
do with interior design? Well, rhythm and repetition can bring your design
to the next level. This principle is a
very subtle touch that can make your
home sophisticated. Rhythm is a repetition
of pattern, colors, shapes, or other elements of
design through space. It can create visual interests and make your eyes move with it. Again, according to Gestalt, our brains Understand
repetition faster, so it finds our decoration
aesthetically more pleasing. We can create rhythm
by four techniques, repetition, progression, rhythm, and contrast
and transition. Repetition like
the repetition of lighting pendants,
columns, windows, one accent colors through the
room or just repetition of a few small accessories in odd numbers like three or five. This is a pro type. Odd numbers are usually preferred
to even numbers because our brain likes odd numbers more since it can
find the middle one. The next technique
is progression. It means decreasing or
increasing one quality, like using different shades of one color from bright
to dark in one room, or using objects in three different sizes from
a large to small one. Sometimes you can make
rhythm by using contrast. For example, using different
shapes, styles, or colors, like black and white chairs in your dining room is both
rhythm and contrast. The last technique, which is transition is the hardest one. It means some uninterrupted
fellow leads or eyes in a path like these
parametric eye catching walls.
7. Scale and Proportions: Okay. This role is really practical, but it's very common for
people to neglect it. In this lecture, we want
to talk about the size and the relation between the size of the furniture and the
size of the room, and also the relation
between the size of the furniture and the
size of other pieces. The first thing is, if
you have a big room, go with larger
furniture and patterns. If you have a small home, stick to visually
lighter furniture. It's so easy, but there are
many common mistakes that people often make about this
role. Let's check them out. Measure. Always measure
your empty space and do width before
buying anything, and always keep in
mind that you should keep some spaces
empty for walkways. By the way, human
shoulder length is about 60 centimeters and 90 centimeters is a minimum
space for walkways. 120 is perfect and two people
can easily walk through it. To a small or too big. In any room, no
either big or small, your furniture should be a combination of
small and big pieces. If you have a small home, don't fill your
home with lots of small pieces because you make
sure that everyone thinks, yes, your home is actually tiny. Instead, buy one
or two furniture in normal size like
your sofa and your rug, so you can treat people's brain. This sofa and this
rug fitted well. This room is not that small, but go a small and a
with other furniture. Artworks and mirrors. Always hang artworks in the
height of the human eye. It means the center
of the artwork should be in 165 centimeter height. The width of the
artwork should be around two thirds of
the furniture below it. If your artwork is
smaller than that, or it's too small in height, use other artworks
or create a collage. When you're creating a collage, always remember to align centers of the artwork or maybe
one of the edges. The shape of the mirror or the artwork is better
to be the same as the shape of the empty
wall you want to hang on. Area rugs. It's really common to choose rugs that are small
for your room. You can place a rug in
many ways, but remember, you always want to put your feet on the rug
whenever you are sitting on the sofa by the dining table or your
bed in your bedroom. In this living room, all the front legs of the
furniture should be the rug. And in the dining room, all the chairs should
be on the rock too, even when they are moved back. Because you don't want to be a steady on your
chair while eating. In the bedroom, at
least two third of the bed is better
be on the rock. The bigger, the better. Finally, always remember to put some empty space
around the room, about 20 to 45 centimeters.
8. Details: As miss Vander Roy once said, God is in details. They may seem tiny, forgettable, and non important, but they have a huge impact
like dessert decoration. There is no perfection
without details. Don't be lazy in this last step. Details include accessories, curtains, paneling,
lights, rugs, railings, partition,
and much other stuff like styling your
tabletops and bookshelves. Just remember all
the seven rules been buying and designing
all these elements. As an example, I'm going
to quickly show you how to style this super minimal
casual console table. I have chosen these accessories. They are simple and
casual as well. They are also in pastel
colors or black and white. First, I hang the artwork, about 25 centimeters
above the console table. The width of it is two
third of the table, which is very nice. And then I add the lamp on
the right side of the table. After that, I group my three vases and put
them on the opposite side. It really looks nice when they're in three
different heights. Right now, I want to
show them a little bit taller and maybe a
little more cohesive. So I add these books under them. Make sure you put the box
from the biggest one to the smallest one and align
them to the left side. Next, for creating
contrast in heights, I put this cute
clock in the middle. And at last, these black
candles in both sides. Always remember two
layer accessories, put them back and forth to
add dimension. And it's done. You can see there is
asymmetric balance, contrast in colors and heights. There is harmony in
style and colors. Scale and proportion
is also considered. You see some kinds of rhythm in pastel colors and black and also these three vases and
it's all about details.
9. Last Words: Congratulations on
finishing this class. Now that you know the rules, you can break them whenever
you feel it's necessary, like when you want to create
a specific emotional impact. I thought about two
projects for you, so you can choose the one which
is more suitable for you. Number one, we can choose a tabletop for a
fireplace mantel, bookshelf or a consultable and style it by applying
the design principles. The second project is
a little bit harder. Choose one of your rooms
in your home or office. Find the focal point
and try to enhance it by making balance
harmony, and contrast. Don't forget about rhythm
proportions and details. May want to replace pieces with other room pieces
or do some DI wise. For more interior
design tips and tricks, please follow my account
and share it with anyone who needs this or
is into interior sling. Thank you for joining
me and goodbye for now.
Arch Ba Saba, Interior designer
