How many times have you heard that expression?

Have you ever noticed how many people make that comment when the commented upon is not a factor in their lives?

For what emotional, psychological, or intellectual reason is the comment made?

Why is it so important for some people to tell the world that they don’t like something that does not affect them?

When about a designed residential interior, it is of a higher experience to put aside one’s personal reaction and look at the space as a design and educate yourself to that which is not your own preferences.

Doing such can broaden your horizon, show a different perspective, and enhance your understanding and appreciations of aesthetics.

It might improve your enjoyment of all beauty.

Food for thought.

Decades ago there was a very popular song: “Everything is beautiful in it’s own way.”

The same can be said for residential interiors.

There is nothing physical inside a residence that cannot be enhanced aesthetically.

The design elements of line, form, mass, color, and texture are in all physical objects and can be used positively or negatively for aesthetic results.

Thinking of things, not as things, but as elements of design is the key. Intelligence, imagination, and creativity will determine the aesthetic results using these elements.

When you look at your residential environment what do you see? Things or designs?

Is what you see important emotionally, psychologically, and intellectively?

Food for thought.

As human beings we must eat to exist. Yet, much of what we eat is based upon how it taste rather than solely it’s nutritional merit.

The opposite position is prevalent for many choices for residences.

Outstanding examples of residences from around the globe come across my desk constantly. The concepts, materials, workmanship, and function are well done.

Looking at these photos, I keep asking myself: Is it beautiful?

Would you spend enormous resources on and eat food that was very healthy but had no flavor? For all of that expense, I would want something that was absolutely delicious.

For many residences, other aspects of the project trump aesthetics.

Function with out aesthetics for residential designs is incomplete.

How important is it for you to have a high aesthetic level of ambiance from your housing expenditures?

Food for thought.

There is a rapidly increasing use of the internet and electronic devices in all aspects of our lives and this movement will increase until the smart home is the basic standard practice.

Yet, there are some legitimate concerns about the emotional and psychological problems affected by smart houses.

Is there a feeling of lost control, privacy, and information to third parties and governments and businesses?

What about the potential for hackers, malware, and glitches on the internet?

Your personal behavior is private and sensitive and should remain such. How much do you want other people to know about how you live?

Would government relations be effective? With today’s electronic connections around the world it would have to be international, and who would be the designers, regulators, and enforcers of such?

Will makers and designers of such things used to make a smart homes step up to the plate and give us complete privacy, control, and no sharing of any data? Is such a thing physically possible?

There is much to be considered for smart homes to become completely comfortable and of merit.

What are your thoughts and feelings on such future states?

Food for thought.

The halo means that certain desirable qualities are give to something because of other traits.

For example: Some men are assumed to be intelligent because they are handsome.

For interior design some things are considered outstanding because they are rare, expensive, and challenging to use.

Such halo traits do not in and of themselves necessarily make for a good design composition.

Because something is rare makes it rare but not necessarily good design.

Because something is expensive makes it expensive and not necessarily good design.

All elements used in a design composition must manifest the necessary aesthetics to be of merit in the design composition and not because of their halo traits.

Halo traits may have socio-economic status or other reasons why they are used which can be important for some people.

Are the design elements in your residential environment there because of halo traits or because of aesthetics?

Food for thought.

Biophilic is described as the blur between indoor and outdoor spaces as related to the psychology of human health and environment.

People have an inborn need to experience nature.

The majority of our time is spend indoors and that length of time is expected to increase in coming years

Being indoors with no connection to nature affects our physical, mental, and emotional behavior.

Daylight, views, and access to nature affects positively people’s mood of well being and efficiency which manifest in better health and more productive results.

Living filled with life is worthy of merit for the expenditure of the resources involved.

How is biophilic manifest in your residential environment?

Food for thought.

The internet defines affluence as wealth, prosperity, opulence, fortune, richness, and luxury.

All of which are worthy and desirable traits and which in and of themselves do not necessarily and automatically manifest intelligent and quality aesthetics for the design of residential interiors.

Using as much marble and as much gold and other expensive materials can easily lead to a gaudy, excessive, and badly designed result.

If your goal is to show the world your wealth by over doing and flaunting it, you are projecting your insecurity and lack of emotional and intellectual intelligence.

All materials used in the creation of residential interiors should have their design elements at their best for a complete and balanced composition of function and beauty.

Quantity does not equal quality.

The completed results should be a symphony of physical diverse elements put together into a harmonious whole.

This approach can and should be used for the design of all residential interiors and is not limited to those of affluence.

Affluent interiors should be used, enjoyed, and appreciated for their intelligential beauty and not for their price tag.

Affluence give one the opportunity to create that which is outstanding for it’s intelligent aesthetics. If such is your situation, do it!

How much do you experience the quality and intelligence of your residential environment?

Food for thought.

If you are looking for that which comes at the end of a sentence, you are in the wrong place.

For the interior design profession, period means the time space in history in which a design was manifest.

Ideally, the designs of a period should represent the materials, techniques, life styles, arts, economics, government, politics, discoveries, religions, et cetera that express the best essences of it’s time space in history.

It may also include fads, fashions, popularity, et cetera which are not of the highest level of intelligent aesthetics.

It is usually the most intelligent and highest quality segments of past periods that last.

With intelligence, imagination, creativity, and knowledge of the elements and characteristics of aesthetics and how to relate each to the other in an organized and balanced manner, different periods of interior design can be used in the same composition.

Interior design, music, science, government, economics, life styles, medicine, the arts, religions, and all other aspects of human existence and civilization are all parts of what we know as history.

Is it of merit for you to know and be aware of this history? How could it affect your day-to-day existence? And your aesthetic experiences?

Food for thought.

More than one person who have called themselves an interior designer that I have encountered over the years I’ve been practicing this profession have been totally of the position that if you don’t sell anything you don’t make any money.

Of course, it is basic economics that a profit has to be made in any business transaction.

But which horse pulls the cart – buying and selling or designing?

You don’t go to a fine restaurant to buy groceries. You go there to be served a delicious meal.

Whom would you prefer to engage for your residential environment? One who applies aesthetic principles, functions, and your life style to the project, or one whose primary goal is to sell you things?

What is the ultimate final goal applying qualified standards of this professional business transaction? Buying and selling or designing?

Whom do you choose?

Food for thought.

A recently received prestigious shelter publication which has been around for decades featured several designed residential interiors in which the “rules” for interior design had been ignored or broken.

Who makes these so called rules, what are their qualifications to do such, and what are their reasons for doing it?

If you call yourself an interior designer you should design and not follow rules.

The rules of interior design are made by and for those people who are ignorant of it. And you may quote me on this principle.

Rules for interior design are a crutch for those people who are limited in their knowledge or know not what they are doing.

The principles of design, of which there are many, are a combination of the laws of physics and the highest levels of the consciousness of aesthetics by human kind.

In much of our current culture, ignorance, commerce, social-economic status, finances, time, popularity, relationships, et cetera are used to manifested designs as opposed to using principles.

As the old saying goes, “You usually get that for which you pay.”, so your residential interior design results will be determined by the level of intelligence used in designing it.

Beware of those in any aspect of aesthetic designing who follow rules.

Where are you and where do you want to be in your residential environment?

Food for thought.