It has been my experience in listening to people and observing advertising medias over the years that much of the population is of the position that interior design means buying new furniture. All types of businesses who sell home furnishing items – furniture stores, department stores, floor coverings stores, drapery workrooms, paint stores, et cetera – advertise their design consultants, decorators, designers, experts, et cetera who really only sell their one type of merchandise.

There are many people who call themselves interior designers who brag not of what they have produced that is beautiful, but what and how much they have sold. Their mark of success is not professional aesthetics but dollars sold.

In a manner of speaking, it’s like saying buying food from a grocery store is the same as being served a delicious dinner in a fine restaurant.

Interior designing is way more than a financial transaction of merchandising items for a house. While there are some element items that are bought and sold in designing an interior, they are merely the ingredients for the recipe and not the served courses from the menu.

Interior designing takes talent, education, experience, imagination, creativity, thought, planning, and the coordination of many trades, businesses, and industries to produce a professionally design interior that manifest  function, aesthetics, and personality ambiance. Selling items of home furnishing is not in that league and does not cut it or produce those results.

Most of the public population is ignorant of this reality which is exploited by advertisements and sales people.

Food for thought.

“I don’t know anything about art, but I know what I like”. People who makes such a statement are usually very enthusiastically responsive is stating their position. How many time have you heard this cliche? What does it mean to know what one likes about art ( or anything else ) ?  If you like something, it is because it satisfies you, it gives you pleasure, and it is comfortable.

There are myriads of reasons why we like something from our current environment, our upbringing, and going back all the way to our DNA. What we like fits us like a comfortable shoe.

But shoes wear out after a period of use and we have to buy new ones. The same can be said for what we like or our taste (which is the same thing ) . Explore, experiment, go in a different direction. Shake things up. Life is constantly changing and evolving. Live in the present.

In farming, you rotate where you plant crops. Planting the same thing in the same field year after year gets soil and plants out of balance and produces poor results. Plants need cross pollination to grow. The same can be said for our tastes.

Choosing such a path creates a lively, nurturing, significant, and fulfilling lifestyle. Life is expressed. Not merely existed.

It is of merit to grow, expand, improve, and seek a higher level of expression. Raise your bar! Get out of your rut.

These changes should affect us intellectually, emotionally, psychologically, and physically in a very positive manner. If it doesn’t do that, you’ve missed the boat.

Live it, enjoy it, appreciate it, and never use it to snob, lecture, or make others uncomfortable.

Remember. You are your own unique personality. Respect the pollination of life.

Food for thought.

There has been a lot in the news lately about McMansions. Most of it unflattering. To achieve good to excellent aesthetics  for any building of any size, shape, or price range, the principles of design must be applied as in any designed project.

McMansions seem to have missed that part. They seem to want to express to the world what they have in location, size, price, and status in a most undignified manner without the required intelligent and aesthetic qualities. Beauty, quality of thought, and logic are not leading characters in their drama.

Too big houses are built on too small lots. How many tons of marble can we use? How big and glittering can we make that chandelier? The furniture should be big, of dark woods, ornately carved, and with a very shiny finish. How many swags and yards of fabric can we use to cover the windows? And we must use lots of velvets, damasks, and brocades. And the latest works from the current leading popular artists. And the kitchen must have the latest  equipment to keep the wine and celery at the right temperature. And the final touch, the crowning glory: On how many things can we put gold?

None of these things in and of themselves are bad. It is how, when, where, and why they are used. It’s like a recipe. If the ingredients do not have the right proportions and relationship to each other, the food doesn’t taste good. So, what’s the point?

To many people, and especially for those who build McMansions, one of the main purposes of building a house is to show the world what you have. And if you don’t, then there is something wrong with you.

Using the elements of design – line, form, mass, color, and texture – with intelligence,  imagination, creativity, and well thought out compositions will produce beautiful results in any manifestation.

As in many aspects of human behavior, people who build McMansions let emotions, ego, and arrogance rule their decisions. “If you’ve got it, flaunt it.”

Perhaps a more dramatic, profound, and direct way when you want to show the world what you’ve got would be to put on the front of your lot in a very distinct and easy to read attractive font form a statement of all of your financial assets and have it verified by a certified public accountant and that way you don’t have to build a McMansion for the world to see what you’ve got. You just show them.

Food for thought.

In the beginning, “God said ‘Let there be light.’. ” It was a very smart move on God’s part. It is, of course, referring to the Big Bang of Creation billions of years ago. Yet, it is relevant to life as we know it today.

Can you imagine what life would be like if there were no light? Basically, most of what we experience as physical life today would not exist.

The same principle applies to a designed residential interior of today. Light is the most important, biggest, versatile, and determining element of any interior space.

Light includes not just natural light – direct sunlight, indirect sunlight, seasonal light, reflective light, weather light, time of day light, et cetera. All of these different types determine what we experience as natural light in our lives.

Then, there is man made light which is all light not natural. Man made light has advanced from fires, torches, candles, gas jets, and electric bulbs to to a menu of constantly evolving new sources and types of lighting today.

The combination of these two is what determines the light that is seen in residential interiors. There are two mistakes that many people make here. They do not take into consideration the effects of all of the different kinds of natural light, how to use these different lights effectively, and how to combine them with man made light to produce a functional and beautiful lighting result.

The second biggest mistake that most people make is that many of the sources of man made light in the room are decorative and emotional and are designed as if they were still flames, have to have a base to hold it up (decorative bases and arms), and a shade to hide the flame and diffuse the light (of which there are a multiple choices). Light should be treated as light and not as a homage to a past design era.

As time passes, new sources are getting away from such and it is a good thing and is progress being made. Intelligence some times over comes emotion. We live in the 21st century and not in past eras. Treat light as such.

Then, there is the difference between functional and decorative lighting which is another area too big to cover here.

Remember!  All colors you see any where and at any time are determined by the light. The sizes, lines, shapes, and textures of what you see are determined by the lighting.

Look at light. Think about light. Analyze light. Appreciate and enjoy light.

Food for thought.

Art is to a designed interior space as seasonings are to food. It’s a small element in the overall composition, but it makes a world of difference in the final flavor and ambiance.

Surrounding your self with beautiful works of art makes you feel good psychologically, emotionally, and intellectually. Art can satisfy you like an excellent meal only it lasts for ever (and you don’t have to do the dishes.).

Art is not just paintings, drawings, printed, and other two dimension  objects, but comes in all shape and sizes. An entire room and all of the furnishings and objects in it can be works of art.

The more you look and educate yourself (in what ever way that might be) the more you will become sensitive to what is beauty and what is you. You will react positively to what works aline with the atoms in your brain and thus you find attractive and satisfying.

One should view, analyze, study, and appreciate art not only for it’s physical characteristics of aesthetics, but also for the intelligence, imagination, spirituality, thought, and creativity that goes into making it and is part of it’s merit. In viewing, all of these characteristics should “grab” you which great art always does and is timeless.

Some people can afford to purchase a single work of art for over four hundred million dollars. I am not one of those people. Any one on any budget can collect art and have it in their residential environment even if it means just cutting out pictures from publications and buying posters. Then, there are art fairs, local shows,  galleries, and auctions for works of arts. You can also hire artists to make specific works for you.

I started collecting what was for me works of art a small boy. Any attractive picture in any printed medium I would cut out and put on my walls. In college, I went to student exhibits and studios. In the work world, I went to auctions and galleries. When you start looking and acquiring, things will come to you, and you will find your own pathway to art and beauty. It is a life long journey of seeking, learning, exploring, growing, appreciating, and enjoying the trip and the stops and rewards along the way.

You should always buy the best art that you can afford and keep it for as long as you can. It is important to purchase art that attracts you, but try to grow and expand your horizons in your purchases. Don’t let your self get comfortable and in a rut.

It never rings true for those people who buy art for status and instant ancestry. The same applies for people who purchase art as an “investment” and are always telling you what they paid and how much it s worth now. They never “get” the work of art and always appear as a hypocrite.

Through out all history, art has lasted through all pulls and thrusts of religions, politics, governments, economics, races, climates, and through all physical aspects of time. Art reflects the level a civilization has reached.

Art endures!

What is the status of art in your residential environment, life, and our civilization?

Food for thought.

As you drive, look, walk, and see residential neighborhoods around this United States of America, what do you see almost always? How many houses have been constructed as representative of the time in which they were built? Most residential development is planned using the design of past time periods. The newest technology and materials, the best climate control systems, up-to-date features, and the most efficient and green energy systems are used. But, the aesthetics of the house go back to a previous era. Such is very popular and sells all over. Many of these houses are not even even considered for where they are built for climate and terrain.

What does all of this say about our personalities as a population and our place in the progress of civilization and intellectual growth? It is a very strong characteristic of human behavior that most often as a choice emotion will trump over intellect. People are drawn to and comfortable with what they know. The new and unknown are not generally as attractive. The seeking and desire of growth to a higher level of aesthetics is not there.

Mass production is geared toward a mass market for mass consumerism. Mass purchases reflect the level of aesthetics, intelligence, education, and life style of it’s buyers and in general are geared toward the average person (Who  or what is the average person?). Houses that reflect a past design era sell.

To many people, a house of a past period design is a higher level of status than a contemporary one regardless of the quality of the aesthetics and design. Status is a very important emotional expression for these people and they will promote and fight and defend that position from all comers. It is not the quality of the design but the perceived status that rules them.

A reproduction of any kind is never of the same aesthetic or intellectual or civilized level as an original. Some people chose a very high level of quality and design for a contemporary house over an expensive reproduction house. They have what becomes a classic. The other house becomes an old house of no intellectual or historical merit. Even them, some people are attracted to a house because it is old as it is their position that such is of a higher level of status. Emotion rules even when lots of money is involved.

It is good to study, learn, be aware of and appreciate the past for the life of it’s time. It not good to be in the present and live in the past.

Older is not always better. It’s just older.

Food for thought.

I have had potential clients say to me upon receiving my contract for interior design services: “I know and can order from people who sell furniture. My wife knows how to buy furniture.”. So, what’s the point? So, what does such information have to do with the designing of an interior?  In reality – nothing. Furniture is only about 7 % of a designed residential space. And yet, so many people think interior design is the buying and selling of furniture. To them, if they have new furniture, they have a new space.  In viewing the inside of such a house, you will often find a few pieces of furniture in other wise bare rooms, but they can tell the world how savvy they are because they got “such a deal” on the furniture purchase and how much money they didn’t spend.  So what about the other 93 % of the space? Doesn’t it count for anything? How does such behavior reflect their priorities, life style, and personality? Their doing such is much like their saying we don’t eat out because my wife knows how to buy groceries.

So, you say, your wife knows how to buy furniture. Does that mean that she has training and experience as a purchasing agent? She knows how to deal with manufacturers, shipping companies, and delivery firms?

She is familiar with the selection, grading, treatment, construction, assembly, and finishes for wood furniture?

She knows what is good design in the style of furniture?

She knows all of the various materials available, types, and methods in padding upholstered furniture, how such relates to comfort and longevity, and which is best for each individual piece of furniture? What are standard features and what are special or custom made?

She is familiar with all of the fibers, weaving, patterns, colors, and weights of fabrics and which are appropriate for what type of furniture and how they are to be seamed, finished, and treated.

And, of course, she knows what is the best design of furniture to fit into the composition of the room for the best aesthetic results.

So, if you have all of these contacts for furniture and your wife has all of this knowledge, experience, and savvy, why are you contacting an interior designer for just one element of a designed interior?

And, what does  buying furniture “wholesale” have to do with the planning, selection, and types of lighting used for natural and man made light in the room,  the construction, materials, and finishing of wall floors, and ceilings,  the designing, selection, materials, placement, and installation of windows, doors, and other construction features, the size, selection, placement and finishing of moldings, trims, et cetera, the treatment of windows, choosing the fiber, weaves, colors, patterns, and installation of floor covering, the genre, quality, and selections of the art and accessories in the room, knowing how to use line, form, mass, color, and texture for everything in the space to plan and execute a complete aesthetic composition for the room.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating and not in the price. You usually get what you pay for. Why should you go to a fine restaurant where you can select, be served, and enjoy eating a delicious meal ( and you don’t have to do the planning, shopping, cooking, cleaning, or dishes) when you can go to a grocery store?

Food for thought.

The colors that we see are determined by the light that reflects off of a surface.  If all of the light is reflected off of the surface, what we see is white. If all of the light is absorbed by the surface, what we see is black. The colors that we see in between are determined by the chemical composition of the surface on which the light shines. Since the beginning of civilization, mankind has experimented and sought to find chemical compositions to produce colors to expand our expression of aesthetics. And the search still continues. Color is a big part of all physical objects in existence.

Colors are determined by the laws of physics. Colors are totally physical. They have no non-physical elements, traits, or characteristics. Yet, as human beings, we attribute emotions and psychological traits to our reactions to them. As such, we project our reactions on to colors and behave accordingly. Color is a very big factor in human behavior.

Which brings us to the color black. In theory, one could say that black and white are not colors because they don’t reflect colors, but how else would you describe them?

Coco Channel said that every woman should have a little black dress. And there are a lot of women still wearing black dresses to dress up events. The primary color for men’s tuxedos is black. There are social events described as “black tie”. Black is thus used for chic fashion and formality.

Black is a very popular color for women’s under garments  and stockings and is promoted for it’s sex appeal. It is suggested that such black items make a woman alluring, desirable and feminine. Black is sexy.

Religious orders often use standard black uniforms for their personnel to give an air of dignity and seriousness. Black limousines are used much the same plus as a symbol of money and status. College caps and gowns used for graduation ceremonies are traditionally black. Black is serious and dignified.

Black is in our culture considered the appropriate clothing for funeral wear and is often used as being associated with death. There have been times in our culture when there was an industry exclusively for mourning attire. The disastrous plague that killed much of Europe was known as the black death. Bad and depressing feeling are often described as black moods. When certain living organisms die, they turn black. Black is death.

Black is used some times as a “catch all” in some situation, especially clothing, because it is a”neural color” and thus goes with every thing. Black is often used in maintenance places because it”doesn’t show dirt” and thus is easier to maintain. “In the black” is used to describe a business that is making money and profitable. Black is versatile.

Black is thus classified as a color that is chic, fashionable, serious, sexy, formal, dignified, goes with everything, doesn’t show dirt, mourning, versatile, and is still neutral and profitable. Can something be mourning and sexy at the same time? What a mouthful. Black is inanimate and is not affected by any of this. It’s all in our head.

Food for thought.

Aesthetic design is the creation, thinking, imagination, planning, and putting together of various elements and components to achieve a desired end result of beauty which is whole and complete and which is more than the sum of the individual parts.

For aesthetics, the elements are line, form, mass, color, and texture which are descriptive of all physical objects. Each of these elements has it’s own characteristics and reactions when used with the other elements. The results are determined by the laws of physics.

The most aware element is light followed by proportions.

How we perceive and react to aesthetics is determined by every aspect of our mind, body, emotions, DNA, experience, and anything else that makes up our existence. Emotion probably plays the biggest role for most people.

Over the course of the evolution of humankind, certain traits, characteristics, standards, and methods of what is beautiful have developed and formed and are most often found in classical art. We continue to explore and seek new levels of aesthetics. New discoveries, products, and inventions add to the potential of what can be done.

For residential interior design, this means that all of the above is applied to the walls, floors, ceilings, furnishings, and every other aspect of the space to achieve aesthetic results.

In general, most people spend a large amount of their income on where they live either as a mortgage or rent. It fulfills the basic requirement of shelter.Many people also spend a large amount of their income on cars. There is a need for transportation, but the amount of money spent on cars goes way beyond that basic function. Some people spend more of their finances on cars than they do on their housing. What does such say about their priorities in life? To them, a residence is shelter, but a car is a social-economic statement, a status symbol that one can show to the world, being “in” with what is the latest fashion and design, and what’s new. It matters not what the rest of my life is like, look at my car! In some parts of this nation, one is evaluated by the car one drives.

Eating is required to survive. We all have to do it to live. We have to have a certain number of calories, nutrients, vitamins, minerals, et cetera to meet this basic need. Our physical health is affected by the food we choose to eat. Our body is literally what we eat. Yet, think about it. What is primarily taken into consideration in fulfilling this basic  need? Taste. We primarily base our food choices on taste. We choose to eat food that we like how it taste to us. We will seek to fulfill cravings for certain flavors. We spend hours shopping, cooking, using different  recipes. methods of cooking, seasonings, ingredients, et cetera. Are all of these resources expended for nutritional value? No. Not to fulfill our basic nutritional needs, but because we like the way it taste to us. Such is the way most of us live.

So what does all of this comment have to do with residential interior design? We expend resources up and above what is needed to fulfill our transportation and our nutritional needs. What happens when it comes to our needs for shelter. Is all that we do to primarily fulfill that need? Or is our residence just to be a financial investment with all expenditures to be exclusively on a financial returns basis or a service station where we eat, sleep, and dress?

For human beings, a residence should be more than a shelter. It should be our home. It should be the base from which we go out into the world and to which we return from the outside world. It should be our haven and refuge. It should be our place of emotional and behavioral expression. It should be where we live and have our being in the fullest meanings of the words.

If we do what we do for transportation and food, would it not be of merit to use the same approach for our residence? The physical need for shelter and other wants and desires can both be satisfied.  The principles of choosing different ingredients, methods, and results for food can also be applied to our residential interior. If you want your house to be  a social-economic status symbol, that can be done. If you want to show the world your level of design and taste, that can also be done.

You have to decide what are your priorities in life and how do you want to experience your basic needs on this planet? Think about it.

Food for thought.