Interior design encompasses all interior spaces.

All interior spaces will have what we call a floor, ceiling, and walls.

The space in a room is a whole space.

Yet, in most residential interior design situations, the largest design expenditures are on furnishings and especially on the furniture.

The furniture, in and of itself, is only about six per-cent of the total area of the total space.

Does making this choice manifest into the highest level of aesthetics for a space?

To achieve the best results, is it not of merit to equally design all parts of the whole rather than concentrating on the smallest part?

In reality, we have to accept the roles that finances, time, schedules, availability, practicality, et cetera play in our lives.

How much, and what part, does seeking to manifest the ideal residential interior design approach take place in the personal spaces where you more fully express your being?

Food for thought.

Other than to be protected from the elements, why do we build housing?

Before construction begins, every interior space should have a purpose and that purpose determined by the designing process.

What activities are to take place in the space?

Who, and how many, will participate in these activities?

What are the physical requirements, including size and needed spaces, for these activities?

What is the best placement of this space in relation to other interior spaces and to the outside for light, view, weather conditions, et cetera?

What will be the traffic patterns for entering, using, and leaving this space?

What are the heating, cooling, air flow, humidity, and air quality needs for this space?

What needs to be considered for the maintenance, upkeep, and repair/replacement of this space?

What is to be the flavor, mood, feeling, ambiance, et cetera of this space?

What are the financial considerations for this space as a unit and as a part of the whole building?

What is to be the quality level of this space?

What is to be the lifetime of this space and the activities therein?

Being aware of, and fulfilling, these reasons results in the best use and most practical, comfortable, and cost-effective investment for this space and for avoiding future problems.

When these purposes have been finalized, then the process of fulfilling them begins, by using the principles of aesthetics, to manifest the most beautiful space.

How many of these aspects were considered, and fulfilled, for the interior design of your personal environment?

Food for thought.

Entertainers, athletes, chiefs, authors, politicians, and anyone with influence having large numbers of followers is a trait of our current culture.

It has been said that in this country we have such because we have no royalty.

The contributions of computers, the internet, cell phones, et cetera has resulted in such a massive consequence.

Because of this phenomenon, such persons having the capability to affect a large portion of the population result in what they do being copied or imitated.

This process often manifests into a phase where these celebrities will come out with a personal line of clothing, furnishings, other items, or lifestyle options available in the market.

They become a brand.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Popularity, status, and newness, in and of themselves, are not determining factors of quality.

Current cultural influences are not always long-lasting values.

Trends come and go.

The laws of physics and the principles of aesthetics, and not who did them, determine the quality of results.

Life continues and evolves, and many different influences affect the results.

What role have celebrity designs, or other such factors, played in the aesthetic choices of your personal lifestyle?

Food for thought.

A long-time international residential interior design publication recently published, as acknowledgement of such existence, an article about the interior home design style of certain persons in a municipality well-known as “sin city”.

My immediate quick reaction was, as gently as can be expressed in professional polite conversation, was strong repulsion.

The mission of said publication is to highlight the best of residential interior design internationally and not as a cultural history of what exist.

Design characteristics of said “sin city” are brash, gaudy, overtly sexual, money-oriented, addictive, attention-seeking, and low ebb ambiance.

Interior design, as well as all other professions, should seek was is best as quality and not just as status.

Over the past few decades, what does our personal knowledge and appreciation of what is beautiful say, and in what direction has such gone?

The goal, while preserving what is the best of the past, of civilizations should be to grow and advance the level of quality in all aspects of our lives.

During your lifetime, what have you experienced, noticed, and expressed about aesthetics in your personal living environment?

Food for thought.

Billions of years of growth, expansion, and evolution have resulted in the current people population on this planet.

We are all the end result of this process.

Almost all animals, during this procedure, have expressed physical beauty in some way, shape, or form as a part of their being.

Why?

What is there about aesthetics that attracts and fulfills us as human beings?

Physical objects, in and of themselves, cannot affect non-tangible experiences in humans.

It is our reaction to these things which determine how and what we feel.

Is this feeling intellectual, emotional, spiritual, scientific, a combination of all these, or something else?

Including what we find beautiful, all that has gone into our individual make-up can be a factor in how we respond to life.

Have you ever become aware, appreciative, and expressive of what you, as individual you and not as a part of the majority, find attractive, beautiful, and fulfilling, and how knowing such could make your life more complete and fulfilling?

Food for thought.

“a person who pretends to have social importance, is intellectually superior, etc” Random House College Dictionary

Notice the definition says pretends to have and not has.

The persons, businesses, and professions where snobbishness has been the strongest encountered during my career have been with residential interior design, etiquette, and aesthetics.

Those who reach a certain level of success pontificate that their position is the ultimate one.

And many will use that position to regulate and control certain aspects of their professions.

In much of life, there are many situations where quality is an important factor for value.

Usually, the higher the quality, the higher the value.

In many of these situations, the discernment of quality is non-negotiable after a certain point or level and the only difference is personal taste or preference.

It is at this point that snobs really start to show their true colors.

Their insistence and nitpicking about what is really irrelevant to quality becomes their theme song and behavior pattern.

At this stage, the snob is at their glorious peak.

Grandma is quoted as saying there is more than one way to cook chicken.

Human behavior is not my major area of professional expertise, but does such behavior not suggest that these snobs have a problem with their identity, lack of confidence, socioeconomic status, insecurity, et cetera or maybe, as many people are, they are just are, as one might say in polite society, disgusting, undesirable, uncouth, not welcomed, and not good people for the preservation and advancement of human society.

What do you think, how do you react, and how is your behavior affected when in the presence of snob behavior?

And, surely, you never manifest snobbish behavior?

Food for thought.

Residences are most often described, and evaluated, by the number of square feet with the quantity determining the value.

While the number of square feet is a big factor in its value, there are other aspects which should be seriously considered.

How much of said space is really usable, or will actually be used, by occupants?

What is the quality of construction of all spaces?

What is the aesthetic level of all spaces?

What is the layout of the spaces for function, convenience, and practicality?

What is the daily, monthly, and year-to-year cleaning needed for these spaces?

What are the short and long term requirements for replacements and upkeep on the property?

What is the life-time of the residence?

How adaptable to the different seasons is it?

How will different personality traits react to living in these spaces?

What is the intelligent and emotional character of the residence?

What are the most important financial, practical, uses, and ambiance aspects to the purchaser?

What are the survival aspects of this structure to natural disasters such as fires, floods, storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, et cetera?

What will be the state of being, and what changes may occur, for this property after future decades?

What to, and how, do you respond when analyzing and evaluating, residential properties?

How many of these aspects did you consider for where you live?

Food for thought.

Observing and analyzing designs, beginning as a child over many decades, results in the development of acute sensitivities and awareness of aesthetics.

Designs are:

natural and man-made,

expensive and cheap,

professional and amateur,

mass-produced and unique,

of the highest and the lowest economic-social status,

internationally renowned and unknown,

of different countries, historical periods, locations, purposes, ambiences,

and celebrities and unknown people.

The question: Is it beautiful?

It matters not, to be successful, who designed it.

“The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

How well, when viewing, does it manifest beauty?

The who, what, where, when, why, and how of who designs it matters not.

The manifesting aesthetic result is what counts.

Do you ever observe a well-presented design, of residential interiors or any other thing, and are not positively impressed or motivated to experience a sense of well-being and beauty?

How does this approach related to your life and your personal living spaces?

Food for thought.

If your mind is in sync with your desired goals, your interior living spaces can be designed effectively.

If in your mind, there are fears, doubts, and questions, you are headed for trouble.

When you know the users of the spaces, what are the functions, what is the life style, who is financially responsible, and what is the desired ambiance, then, you have the route to take.

The positions, opinions, likes, et cetera, of any one not in the above sentence should be ignored.

If trends, popularity, styles, fashions, traditions, and demand do not take you to your planned goals, they should be ignored.

Research, experiment, get facts and figures, and then go with what you like that best fits into the plan.

Then, be calm, composed, confident, and enjoy the process as the plan in your mind becomes your reality.

Never have I encountered a situation where this planet stopped spinning because someone chose the “wrong” color or piece of furniture.

You are you. Be you. Be home.

Food for thought.

A video, about luxurious living from an interior design college, recently came across my desk that emphasizes the importance of healthy residential environments.

A healthy residential environment is, or should be, a basic requirement for all persons.

It’s not just physical health but also mental, emotional, psychological, spiritual, and an awareness of nature that are necessary for a complete and healthy life.

The art and science of interior design are important routes for achieving such goals.

Their video points out the unhealthy damage caused by toxic chemicals and materials used in much of our current physical environments and the healthy alternatives

This planet is manifest by the laws of the universe.

When the intelligence, knowledge, and experience of mankind are used, in accordance with and in cooperation with these universal laws, our lives can be more healthy, balanced, happy, and fulfilled.

Think about everything you eat, wear, touch, or use every day.

Of what is it made? What happens over the lifetime of its existence?

Food for thought.