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Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordinates, and manages such enhancement projects. Interior design is a multifaceted profession that includes conceptual development, space planning, site inspections, programming, research, communicating with the stakeholders of a project, construction management, and execution of the design.


History and current terms

In the past, interiors were put together instinctively as a part of the process of building.Pile, J., 2003, Interior Design, 3rd edn, Pearson, New Jersey, USA The profession of interior design has been a consequence of the development of society and the complex architecture that has resulted from the development of industrial processes. The pursuit of effective use of space, user well-being and functional design has contributed to the development of the contemporary interior design profession. The profession of interior design is separate and distinct from the role of ''interior decorator'', a term commonly used in the US; the term is less common in the UK, where the profession of interior design is still unregulated and therefore, strictly speaking, not yet officially a profession. In ancient India, architects would also function as interior designers. This can be seen from the references of Vishwakarma the architect—one of the gods in Indian mythology. In these architects' design of 17th-century Indian homes, sculptures depicting ancient texts and events are seen inside the palaces, while during the medieval times wall art paintings were a common feature of palace-like mansions in India commonly known as havelis. While most traditional homes have been demolished to make way to modern buildings, there are still around 2000 havelis in the Shekhawati region of Rajashtan that display wall art paintings. In ancient Egypt, "soul houses" (or models of houses) were placed in tombs as receptacles for food offerings. From these, it is possible to discern details about the interior design of different residences throughout the different Egyptian dynasties, such as changes in ventilation, porticoes, columns, loggias, windows, and doors. Painting interior walls has existed for at least 5,000 years, with examples found as far north as the
Ness of Brodgar The Ness of Brodgar is an archaeological site covering between the Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stenness in the Heart of Neolithic Orkney World Heritage Site in Orkney, Scotland. Excavations at the site began in 2003. The site has provide ...
, as have templated interiors, as seen in the associated Skara Brae settlement. It was the Greeks, and later Romans who added co-ordinated, decorative mosaics floors, and templated bath houses, shops, civil offices, Castra (forts) and temple, interiors, in the first millennia BC. With specialised guilds dedicated to producing interior decoration, and formulaic furniture, in buildings constructed to forms defined by Roman architects, such as Vitruvius: De architectura, libri decem (The Ten Books on Architecture). Throughout the 17th and 18th century and into the early 19th century, interior decoration was the concern of the homemaker, or an employed upholsterer or craftsman who would advise on the artistic style for an interior space. Architects would also employ craftsmen or artisans to complete interior design for their buildings.


Commercial interior design and management

In the mid-to-late 19th century, interior design services expanded greatly, as the middle class in
industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...
countries grew in size and prosperity and began to desire the domestic trappings of wealth to cement their new status. Large
furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...
firms began to branch out into general interior design and management, offering full house furnishings in a variety of styles. This business model flourished from the mid-century to 1914, when this role was increasingly usurped by independent, often
amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
, designers. This paved the way for the emergence of the professional interior design in the mid-20th century. In the 1950s and 1960s, upholsterers began to expand their business remits. They framed their business more broadly and in artistic terms and began to advertise their furnishings to the public. To meet the growing demand for contract interior work on projects such as offices, hotels, and
public building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and funct ...
s, these businesses became much larger and more complex, employing builders, joiners, plasterers, textile designers, artists, and furniture designers, as well as engineers and technicians to fulfil the job. Firms began to publish and circulate catalogs with prints for different lavish styles to attract the attention of expanding middle classes. As department stores increased in number and size, retail spaces within shops were furnished in different styles as examples for customers. One particularly effective advertising tool was to set up model rooms at national and international
exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibition ...
s in showrooms for the public to see. Some of the pioneering firms in this regard were
Waring & Gillow Waring & Gillow (also written as Waring and Gillow) was a noted firm of English furniture manufacturers and antique dealers formed in 1897 by the merger of Gillows of Lancaster and London and Waring of Liverpool. Background Gillow & Co. The firm ...
,
James Shoolbred James Shoolbred and Company was a draper and later a department store, located on Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Cam ...
, Mintons, and Holland & Sons. These traditional high-quality furniture making firms began to play an important role as advisers to unsure middle class customers on taste and style, and began taking out contracts to design and furnish the interiors of many important buildings in Britain. This type of firm emerged in America after the Civil War. The Herter Brothers, founded by two German émigré brothers, began as an upholstery warehouse and became one of the first firms of furniture makers and interior decorators. With their own design office and cabinet-making and upholstery workshops, Herter Brothers were prepared to accomplish every aspect of interior furnishing including decorative paneling and mantels, wall and ceiling decoration, patterned floors, and carpets and draperies. A pivotal figure in popularizing theories of interior design to the middle class was the architect Owen Jones, one of the most influential design theorists of the nineteenth century. Jones' first project was his most important—in 1851, he was responsible for not only the decoration of
Joseph Paxton Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
’s gigantic Crystal Palace for the
Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...
but also the arrangement of the exhibits within. He chose a controversial
palette Palette may refer to: * Cosmetic palette, an archaeological form * Palette, another name for a color scheme * Palette (painting), a wooden board used for mixing colors for a painting ** Palette knife, an implement for painting * Palette (company), ...
of red, yellow, and blue for the interior ironwork and, despite initial negative publicity in the newspapers, was eventually unveiled by Queen Victoria to much critical acclaim. His most significant publication was ''The Grammar of Ornament'' (1856), in which Jones formulated 37 key principles of interior design and decoration. Jones was employed by some of the leading interior design firms of the day; in the 1860s, he worked in collaboration with the London firm Jackson & Graham to produce furniture and other fittings for high-profile clients including art collector
Alfred Morrison Alfred Morrison (1821 – 22 December 1897) was an English collector, known for his interest in works of art, autographs and manuscripts. Life The second son of James Morrison (1790–1857) the textile businessman, he inherited from his father a ...
as well as Ismail Pasha,
Khedive Khedive (, ota, خدیو, hıdiv; ar, خديوي, khudaywī) was an honorific title of Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Kh ...
of Egypt. In 1882, the London Directory of the Post Office listed 80 interior decorators. Some of the most distinguished companies of the period were Crace, Waring & Gillowm and Holland & Sons; famous decorators employed by these firms included
Thomas Edward Collcutt Thomas Edward Collcutt c.1890 Thomas Edward Collcutt (16 March 1840 – 7 October 1924) was an English architect in the Victorian era who designed several important buildings in London including the Savoy Hotel, Lloyd's Register of Shipping ...
, Edward William Godwin, Charles Barry,
Gottfried Semper Gottfried Semper (; 29 November 1803 – 15 May 1879) was a German architect, art critic, and professor of architecture who designed and built the Semper Opera House in Dresden between 1838 and 1841. In 1849 he took part in the May Uprising in ...
, and
George Edmund Street George Edmund Street (20 June 1824 – 18 December 1881), also known as G. E. Street, was an English architect, born at Woodford in Essex. Stylistically, Street was a leading practitioner of the Victorian Gothic Revival. Though mainly an eccle ...
.


Transition to professional interior design

By the turn of the 20th century, amateur advisors and publications were increasingly challenging the monopoly that the large retail companies had on interior design. English
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
author
Mary Haweis Mary Eliza Haweis, née Joy (21 February 1848 – 24 November 1898) was a British author of books and essays, particularly for women and a Victorian scholar of Geoffrey Chaucer, illustrator and painter. As the daughter of genre and portrait pain ...
wrote a series of widely read essays in the 1880s in which she derided the eagerness with which aspiring middle-class people furnished their houses according to the rigid models offered to them by the retailers. She advocated the individual adoption of a particular style, tailor-made to the individual needs and preferences of the customer: :"One of my strongest convictions, and one of the first canons of good taste, is that our houses, like the fish’s shell and the bird’s nest, ought to represent our individual taste and habits.'' The move toward decoration as a separate artistic profession, unrelated to the manufacturers and retailers, received an impetus with the 1899 formation of the Institute of British Decorators; with
John Dibblee Crace John Dibblee Crace (1838 – 18 November 1919) was a distinguished British interior designer who provided decorative schemes for the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Royal Academy, Tyntesfield and Longleat among many other notable bu ...
as its president, it represented almost 200 decorators around the country. By 1915, the London Directory listed 127 individuals trading as interior decorators, of which 10 were women. Rhoda and Agnes Garrett were the first women to train professionally as home decorators in 1874. The importance of their work on design was regarded at the time as on a par with that of William Morris. In 1876, their work – ''Suggestions for House Decoration in Painting, Woodwork and Furniture'' – spread their ideas on artistic interior design to a wide middle-class audience. By 1900, the situation was described by ''The Illustrated Carpenter and Builder'': :"Until recently when a man wanted to furnish he would visit all the dealers and select piece by piece of furniture ....Today he sends for a dealer in art furnishings and fittings who surveys all the rooms in the house and he brings his artistic mind to bear on the subject." In America,
Candace Wheeler Candace Wheeler (née Thurber; March 24, 1827 – August 5, 1923), often credited as the "mother" of interior design, was one of America's first woman interior and textile designers. She is noted for helping to open the field of interior design to ...
was one of the first woman
interior designers Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...
and helped encourage a new style of American design. She was instrumental in the development of art courses for women in a number of major American cities and was considered a national authority on home design. An important influence on the new profession was '' The Decoration of Houses'', a manual of interior design written by
Edith Wharton Edith Wharton (; born Edith Newbold Jones; January 24, 1862 – August 11, 1937) was an American novelist, short story writer, and interior designer. Wharton drew upon her insider's knowledge of the upper-class New York "aristocracy" to portray ...
with architect
Ogden Codman Ogden Codman Jr. (January 19, 1863 – January 8, 1951) was an American architect and interior decorator in the Beaux-Arts styles, and co-author with Edith Wharton of ''The Decoration of Houses'' (1897), which became a standard in American inter ...
in 1897 in America. In the book, the authors denounced Victorian-style interior decoration and interior design, especially those rooms that were decorated with heavy window curtains, Victorian bric-a-brac, and overstuffed furniture. They argued that such rooms emphasized upholstery at the expense of proper space planning and architectural design and were, therefore, uncomfortable and rarely used. The book is considered a seminal work, and its success led to the emergence of professional decorators working in the manner advocated by its authors, most notably Elsie de Wolfe. Elsie De Wolfe was one of the first interior designers. Rejecting the Victorian style she grew up with, she chose a more vibrant scheme, along with more comfortable furniture in the home. Her designs were light, with fresh colors and delicate Chinoiserie furnishings, as opposed to the Victorian preference of heavy, red drapes and upholstery, dark wood and intensely patterned wallpapers. Her designs were also more practical; she eliminated the clutter that occupied the Victorian home, enabling people to entertain more guests comfortably. In 1905, de Wolfe was commissioned for the interior design of the
Colony Club The Colony Club is a women-only private social club in New York City. Founded in 1903 by Florence Jaffray Harriman, wife of J. Borden Harriman, as the first social club established in New York City by and for women, it was modeled on similar ...
on
Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...
; its interiors garnered her recognition almost over night. She compiled her ideas into her widely read 1913 book, ''The House in Good Taste''.Lees-Maffei, G, 2008, Introduction: Professionalization as a focus in Interior Design History, Journal of Design History, Vol. 21, No. 1, Spring. In England, Syrie Maugham became a legendary interior designer credited with designing the first all-white room. Starting her career in the early 1910s, her international reputation soon grew; she later expanded her business to New York City and Chicago. Born during the Victorian Era, a time characterized by dark colors and small spaces, she instead designed rooms filled with light and furnished in multiple shades of white and mirrored screens. In addition to mirrored screens, her trademark pieces included: books covered in white vellum, cutlery with white porcelain handles, console tables with plaster palm-frond, shell, or dolphin bases, upholstered and fringed sleigh beds, fur carpets, dining chairs covered in white leather, and lamps of graduated glass balls, and wreaths.


Expansion

The interior design profession became more established after World War II. From the 1950s onwards, spending on the home increased. Interior design courses were established, requiring the publication of textbooks and reference sources. Historical accounts of interior designers and firms distinct from the decorative arts specialists were made available. Organisations to regulate education, qualifications, standards and practices, etc. were established for the profession. Interior design was previously seen as playing a secondary role to architecture. It also has many connections to other design disciplines, involving the work of architects,
industrial designers Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advance of the manufactur ...
, engineers, builders, craftsmen, etc. For these reasons, the government of interior design standards and qualifications was often incorporated into other professional organisations that involved design. Organisations such as the Chartered Society of Designers, established in the UK in 1986, and the American Designers Institute, founded in 1938, governed various areas of design. It was not until later that specific representation for the interior design profession was developed. The US National Society of Interior Designers was established in 1957, while in the UK the Interior Decorators and Designers Association was established in 1966. Across Europe, other organisations such as The Finnish Association of Interior Architects (1949) were being established and in 1994 the International Interior Design Association was founded. Ellen Mazur Thomson, author of ''Origins of Graphic Design in America'' (1997), determined that professional status is achieved through education, self-imposed standards and professional gate-keeping organizations. Having achieved this, interior design became an accepted profession.


Interior decorators and interior designers

Interior design is the art and science of understanding people's behavior to create functional spaces, that are aesthetically pleasing, within a building. Decoration is the furnishing or adorning of a space with decorative elements, sometimes complemented by advice and practical assistance. In short, interior designers may decorate, but decorators do not design.


Interior designer

Interior designer implies that there is more of an emphasis on planning,
functional design Functional Design is a paradigm used to simplify the design of hardware and software devices such as computer software and, increasingly, 3D models. A functional design assures that each modular part of a device has only one responsibility and perf ...
and the effective use of space, as compared to interior decorating. An interior designer in fine line design can undertake projects that include arranging the basic layout of spaces within a building as well as projects that require an understanding of technical issues such as window and door positioning,
acoustics Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...
, and lighting. Although an interior designer may create the layout of a space, they may not alter load-bearing walls without having their designs stamped for approval by a structural engineer. Interior designers often work directly with architects, engineers and contractors. Interior designers must be highly skilled in order to create interior environments that are functional, safe, and adhere to building codes, regulations and ADA requirements. They go beyond the selection of color palettes and furnishings and apply their knowledge to the development of construction documents, occupancy loads, healthcare regulations and sustainable design principles, as well as the management and coordination of professional services including mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and life safety—all to ensure that people can live, learn or work in an innocuous environment that is also aesthetically pleasing. Someone may wish to specialize and develop technical knowledge specific to one area or type of interior design, such as residential design, commercial design, hospitality design, healthcare design, universal design, exhibition design, furniture design, and spatial branding. Interior design is a creative profession that is relatively new, constantly evolving, and often confusing to the public. It is not an artistic pursuit and relies on research from many fields to provide a well-trained understanding of how people are influenced by their environments.


Color in interior design

Color is a powerful design tool in decoration, as well as in interior design, which is the art of composing and coordinating colors together to create a stylish scheme on the interior architecture of the space. It is essential to interior designers to acquire a deep experience with colors, understand their psychological effects, and understand the meaning of each color in different locations and situations in order to create suitable combinations for each place. Combining colors together could result in creating a state of mind as seen by the observer, and could eventually result in positive or negative effects on them. Colors make the room feel either more calm, cheerful, comfortable, stressful, or dramatic. Color combinations make a tiny room seem larger or smaller. So it is for the Interior design profession to choose the appropriate colors for a place towards achieving how clients would want to look at, and feel in, that space.


Specialties


Residential

Residential design is the design of the interior of private residences. As this type design is very specific for individual situations, the needs and wants of the individual are paramount in this area of interior design. The interior designer may work on the project from the initial planning stage or may work on the remodeling of an existing structure. It is often a very involved process that takes months to fine-tune and create a space with the vision of the client.Piotrowski, C, 2004, Becoming an Interior Designer, John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey, USA


Commercial

.Commercial design encompasses a wide range of subspecialties. * Retail: includes malls and shopping centers, department stores, specialty stores, visual merchandising, and showrooms. * Visual and spatial branding: The use of space as a medium to express a corporate brand. * Corporate: office design for any kind of business such as banks. * Healthcare: the design of hospitals, assisted living facilities, medical offices, dentist offices, psychiatric facilities, laboratories, medical specialist facilities. * Hospitality and recreation: includes hotels, motels, resorts, cruise ships, cafes, bars, casinos, nightclubs, theaters, music and concert halls, opera houses, sports venues, restaurants, gyms, health clubs and spas, etc. * Institutional: government offices, financial institutions (banks and credit unions), schools and universities, religious facilities, etc. * Industrial facilities: manufacturing and training facilities as well as import and export facilities. * Exhibition: includes museums, gallery, exhibition hall, specially the design for showroom and exhibition gallery. * Traffic building: includes bus station, subway station, airports, pier, etc. * Sports: includes gyms, stadiums, swimming rooms, basketball halls, etc. * Teaching in a private institute that offer classes of interior design. * Self-employment. * Employment in private sector firms.


Other

Other areas of specialization include amusement and theme park design, museum and exhibition design, exhibit design, event design (including ceremonies, weddings, baby and bridal showers, parties, conventions, and concerts), interior and prop styling, craft styling, food styling, product styling, tablescape design, theatre and performance design, stage and set design,
scenic design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...
, and
production design In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wor ...
for film and television. Beyond those, interior designers, particularly those with graduate education, can specialize in healthcare design,
gerontological design Gerontechnology is an inter- and multidisciplinary academic and professional field combining gerontology and technology. Sustainability of an aging society depends upon our effectiveness in creating technological environments, including assistive t ...
, educational facility design, and other areas that require specialized knowledge. Some university programs offer graduate studies in theses and other areas. For example, both Cornell University and the University of Florida offer interior design graduate programs in environment and behavior studies.


Profession


Education

There are various paths that one can take to become a professional interior designer. All of these paths involve some form of training. Working with a successful professional designer is an informal method of training and has previously been the most common method of education. In many states, however, this path alone cannot lead to licensing as a professional interior designer. Training through an institution such as a college, art or design school or university is a more formal route to professional practice. In many countries, several university degree courses are now available, including those on interior architecture, taking three or four years to complete. A formal education program, particularly one accredited by or developed with a professional organization of interior designers, can provide training that meets a minimum standard of excellence and therefore gives a student an education of a high standard. There are also university graduate and Ph.D. programs available for those seeking further training in a specific design specialization (i.e. gerontological or healthcare design) or those wishing to teach interior design at the university level.


Working conditions

There are a wide range of working conditions and employment opportunities within interior design. Large and tiny corporations often hire interior designers as employees on regular working hours. Designers for smaller firms and online renovation platforms usually work on a contract or per-job basis. Self-employed designers, who made up 32% of interior designers in 2020, usually work the most hours. Interior designers often work under stress to meet deadlines, stay on budget, and meet clients' needs. In some cases, licensed professionals review the work and sign it before submitting the design for approval by clients or construction permitting. The need for licensed review and signature varies by locality, relevant legislation, and scope of work. Their work can involve significant travel to visit different locations. However, with technology development, the process of contacting clients and communicating design alternatives has become easier and requires less travel. They also renovate a space to satisfy the specific taste for a client.


Styles


Art Deco

The Art Deco style began in Europe in the early years of the 20th century, with the waning of
Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
. The term "Art Deco" was taken from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes, a world's fair held in Paris in 1925.Tinniswood, Adrian. The Art Deco House: Avant-Garde House of the 1920s and 1930s. Watsonguptill publishing company. New York. 2002 Art Deco rejected many traditional classical influences in favour of more streamlined geometric forms and metallic color. The Art Deco style influenced all areas of design, especially interior design, because it was the first style of interior decoration to spotlight new technologies and materials.Striner, Richard. "Art Deco: Polemics and Synthesis". WInterthur portfolio, Vol 25. No. 1 spring, 1990. PP. 26-34. Art Deco style is mainly based on geometric shapes, streamlining, and clean lines.Beusterien, John. Rodriguez, EduardoLuis. Narciso G. The Architectural Avant-Garde: From Art Deco to Modern Regionalism. The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts, Vol. 22, Cuba Theme Issue (1996), PP. 254-277Stanley, Meisler. ’Art Deco: High Style. Smithsonian’, Nov 2004, Vol. 35 Issue 8, PP 57-60 The style offered a sharp, cool look of mechanized living utterly at odds with anything that came before.Bayer, Patricia, Art Deco Interiors: Decoration and Design Classics of the 1920s and 1930s, Thames & Hudson, London 1990 Art Deco rejected traditional materials of decoration and interior design, opting instead to use more unusual materials such as
chrome Chrome may refer to: Materials * Chrome plating, a process of surfacing with chromium * Chrome alum, a chemical used in mordanting and photographic film Computing * Google Chrome, a web browser developed by Google ** ChromeOS, a Google Chrome- ...
, glass,
stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
, shiny fabrics, mirrors, aluminium,
lacquer Lacquer is a type of hard and usually shiny coating or finish applied to materials such as wood or metal. It is most often made from resin extracted from trees and waxes and has been in use since antiquity. Asian lacquerware, which may be ca ...
, inlaid wood, sharkskin, and zebra skin. The use of harder, metallic materials was chosen to celebrate the machine age. These materials reflected the dawning modern age that was ushered in after the end of the First World War. The innovative combinations of these materials created contrasts that were very popular at the time – for example the mixing together of highly polished wood and black lacquer with satin and furs. The barber shop in the Austin Reed store in London was designed by P. J. Westwood. It was soon regarded as the trendiest barber shop in Britain due to its use of metallic materials. The color themes of Art Deco consisted of metallic color, neutral color, bright color, and black and white. In interior design, cool metallic colors including silver, gold, metallic blue, charcoal grey, and platinum tended to predominate. Serge Chermayeff, a Russian-born British designer made extensive use of cool metallic colors and luxurious surfaces in his room schemes. His 1930 showroom design for a British dressmaking firm had a silver-grey background and black mirrored-glass wall panels. Black and white was also a very popular color scheme during the 1920s and 1930s. Black and white checkerboard tiles, floors and wallpapers were very trendy at the time. As the style developed, bright vibrant colors became popular as well. Art Deco furnishings and lighting fixtures had a glossy, luxurious appearance with the use of inlaid wood and reflective finishes. The furniture pieces often had curved edges, geometric shapes, and clean lines. Art Deco lighting fixtures tended to make use of stacked geometric patterns.


Modern Art

Modern design grew out of the decorative arts, mostly from the Art Deco, in the early 20th century. One of the first to introduce this style was Frank Lloyd Wright, who hadn't become hugely popularized until completing the house called Fallingwater in the 1930s. Modern art reached its peak during the 1950s and '60s, which is why designers and decorators today may refer to modern design as being "mid-century." Modern art does not refer to the era or age of design and is not the same as contemporary design, a term used by interior designers for a shifting group of recent styles and trends.


Arab Materials

"
Majlis ( ar, المجلس, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning "sitting room", used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural conne ...
painting", also called nagash painting, is the decoration of the
majlis ( ar, المجلس, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning "sitting room", used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural conne ...
, or front parlor of traditional Arabic homes, in the
Asir The ʿAsir Region ( ar, عَسِيرٌ, ʿAsīr, lit=difficult) is a region of Saudi Arabia located in the southwest of the country that is named after the ʿAsīr tribe. It has an area of and an estimated population of 2,211,875 (2017). It is ...
province of Saudi Arabia and adjoining parts of Yemen. These wall paintings, an arabesque form of mural or
fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...
, show various geometric designs in bright colors: "Called 'nagash' in Arabic, the wall paintings were a mark of pride for a woman in her house."Yunis, Alia, "The Majlis Painters,"
Saudi Aramco World Magazine, July/August 2013, pages 24-31.
The geometric designs and heavy lines seem to be adapted from the area's textile and weaving patterns. "In contrast with the sobriety of architecture and decoration in the rest of Arabia, exuberant color and ornamentation characterize those of Asir. The painting extends into the house over the walls and doors, up the staircases, and onto the furniture itself. When a house is being painted, women from the community help each other finish the job. The building then displays their shared taste and knowledge. Mothers pass these on to their daughters. This artwork is based on a geometry of straight lines and suggests the patterns common to textile weaving, with solid bands of different colors. Certain motifs reappear, such as the triangular
mihrab Mihrab ( ar, محراب, ', pl. ') is a niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the ''qibla'', the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca towards which Muslims should face when praying. The wall in which a ''mihrab'' appears is thus the "qibla w ...
or 'niche' and the palmette. In the past, paint was produced from mineral and vegetable pigments.
Clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, ...
s and
alfalfa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...
yielded green. Blue came from the indigo plant. Red came from pomegranates and a certain mud. Paintbrushes were created from the tough hair found in a goat's tail. Today, however, women use modern manufactured paint to create new looks, which have become an indicator of social and economic change." Women in the Asir province often complete the decoration and painting of the house interior. "You could tell a family’s wealth by the paintings,"
Um Abdullah UM or um may refer to: Universities * U of M (disambiguation) or UM, abbreviation for various universities Businesses * Universal McCann, a global advertising and media agency * United Motors Company, a former name of American automotive parts s ...
says: "If they didn’t have much money, the wife could only paint the motholath, the basic straight, simple lines, in patterns of three to six repetitions in red, green, yellow and brown." When women did not want to paint the walls themselves, they could barter with other women who would do the work. Several Saudi women have become famous as majlis painters, such as
Fatima Abou Gahas Fatima Abou Gahas ( ar, فاطمة علي ابو قحاص, ) was a famous female Saudi artist from 'Asir Province. The style of painting that she is famous for is called "nagash painting", or a fresco wall painting in the majlis, or front parlou ...
. The interior walls of the home are brightly painted by the women, who work in defined patterns with lines, triangles, squares, diagonals and tree-like patterns. "Some of the large triangles represent mountains. Zigzag lines stand for water and also for lightning. Small triangles, especially when the widest area is at the top, are found in pre-Islamic representations of female figures. That the small triangles found in the wall paintings in 'Asir are called banat may be a cultural remnant of a long-forgotten past." " Courtyards and upper pillared
porticoes A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cul ...
are principal features of the best Nadjdi architecture, in addition to the fine incised plaster wood ( jiss) and painted window shutters, which decorate the reception rooms. Good examples of plasterwork can often be seen in the gaping ruins of torn-down buildings- the effect is light, delicate and airy. It is usually around the
majlis ( ar, المجلس, pl. ') is an Arabic term meaning "sitting room", used to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups of administrative, social or religious nature in countries with linguistic or cultural conne ...
, around the coffee hearth and along the walls above where guests sat on rugs, against cushions. Doughty wondered if this " parquetting of jis", this " gypsum fretwork... all adorning and unenclosed" originated from India. However, the Najd fretwork seems very different from that seen in the Eastern Province and Oman, which are linked to Indian traditions, and rather resembles the
motif Motif may refer to: General concepts * Motif (chess composition), an element of a move in the consideration of its purpose * Motif (folkloristics), a recurring element that creates recognizable patterns in folklore and folk-art traditions * Moti ...
s and patterns found in ancient Mesopotamia. The rosette, the star, the triangle and the stepped pinnacle pattern of dadoes are all ancient patterns, and can be found all over the Middle East of antiquity. Al-Qassim Province seems to be the home of this art, and there it is normally worked in hard white plaster (though what you see is usually begrimed by the smoke of the coffee hearth). In Riyadh, examples can be seen in unadorned clay.Mostyn, Trevor. 1983. Saudi Arabia. London: Middle East Economic Digest. Pages 257-258.


Media popularization

Interior design has become the subject of television shows. In the United Kingdom, popular interior design and decorating programs include '' 60 Minute Makeover'' (
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
), ''
Changing Rooms ''Changing Rooms'' is a do-it-yourself home improvement show broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC between 1996 and 2004. The series was revived on Channel 4 in 2021. The show was one of a number of home improvement and lifestyle shows p ...
'' ( BBC), and ''Selling Houses'' ( Channel 4). Famous interior designers whose work is featured in these programs include Linda Barker and Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen. In the United States, the TLC Network aired a popular program called '' Trading Spaces'', a show based on the UK program ''Changing Rooms''. In addition, both
HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, appr ...
and the DIY Network also televise many programs about interior design and decorating, featuring the works of a variety of interior designers, decorators, and home improvement experts in a myriad of projects. Fictional interior decorators include the Sugarbaker sisters on ''
Designing Women ''Designing Women'' is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS from September 29, 1986, to May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomason M ...
'' and Grace Adler on '' Will & Grace''. There is also another show called ''Home MADE''. There are two teams and two houses and whoever has the designed and made the worst room, according to the judges, is eliminated. Another show on the
Style Network Esquire Network was an American pay television network that was a 50/50 joint venture between NBCUniversal and the Hearst Corporation. The network carried programs aimed at a metrosexual audience centering on travel, cooking, sports and fashio ...
, hosted by Niecy Nash, is '' Clean House'' where they re-do messy homes into themed rooms that the clients would like. Other shows include ''
Design on a Dime ''Design on a Dime'' is a decorating television series that aired on HGTV from 2003-2013. In this long-running series, a design team demonstrates how problem areas can be revitalized on a budget of only $1,000. The show was based in Chicago, Ill. ...
'', '' Designed to Sell'', and '' The Decorating Adventures of Ambrose Price''. The show called ''
Design Star ''HGTV Star'', named ''HGTV Design Star'' for the first seven seasons, is an American reality competition show that premiered on July 23, 2006, on the cable television network HGTV. Clive Pearse served as host for Seasons 1-4, then judge Vern Yi ...
'' has become more popular through the 5 seasons that have already aired. The winners of this show end up getting their own TV shows, of which are ''
Color Splash ''Color Splash'' is an American television show on the U.S. cable network HGTV, hosted by David Bromstad. The series was created for Bromstad after winning season one of ''HGTV Design Star''. It debuted March 19, 2007, on HGTV. The show focuses ...
'' hosted by
David Bromstad David Reed Bromstad (born August 17, 1973) is an American designer and television personality. In 2006, he became the winner of the debut season of ''HGTV Design Star''. He has hosted a number of HGTV shows, including ''Color Splash'', ''Beach Fli ...
, ''Myles of Style'' hosted by
Kim Myles Designers *The winning Design Star was Kim Myles, who went on to host ''Myles of Style''. Kim and Todd each also won a new Mercury Mariner. *1 Age at the time of the show's filming Contestant progress : (WINNER) The designer won America's v ...
, ''Paint-Over!'' hosted by
Jennifer Bertrand Jennifer Bertrand is the host of Home & Garden Television's ''Paint-Over! with Jennifer Bertrand'' and the season three champion of ''HGTV Design Star ''HGTV Star'', named ''HGTV Design Star'' for the first seven seasons, is an American reality ...
, ''
The Antonio Treatment ''The Antonio Treatment'' is a one-hour weekly Interior design#On television, docu-design series show on HGTV and is hosted by Antonio Ballatore, who won Season 4 of the HGTV reality show ''Design Star''. The pilot episode aired on January 1, 2010 ...
'' hosted by
Antonio Ballatore Antonio Ballatore is a television personality and designer who was the winner of the fourth season of the reality show ''HGTV Design Star''. Television career ''HGTV Design Star'' In 2009, Ballatore was one of eleven contestants on season four of ...
, and finally ''Secrets from a Stylist'' hosted by Emily Henderson.
Bravo Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...
also has a variety of shows that explore the lives of interior designers. These include '' Flipping Out'', which explores the life of Jeff Lewis and his team of designers; ''
Million Dollar Decorators ''Million Dollar Decorators'' is an American reality television series that premiered May 31, 2011, on Bravo. ''Million Dollar Decorators'' follows interior designers — Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Kathryn Ireland, Jeffrey Alan Marks, and Mary ...
'' explores the lives of interior designers
Nathan Turner Nathan Turner is an Australian rugby player who played rugby league professionally for the South Queensland Crushers and Oldham Bears and rugby union professionally for Leinster. He is now a criminal defence lawyer and partner in the law firm ...
, Jeffrey Alan Marks, Mary McDonald, Kathryn Ireland, and
Martyn Lawrence Bullard Martyn Lawrence Bullard is an English interior designer, author and television personality based in Los Angeles. Martyn has been consistently named as one of the world’s top 100 interior designers by ''Architectural Digest,'' featured permane ...
. Interior design has also become the subject of radio shows. In the U.S., popular interior design & lifestyle shows include ''
Martha Stewart Living ''Martha Stewart Living'' is a magazine and former television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of ...
'' and ''Living Large'' featuring Karen Mills. Famous interior designers whose work is featured on these programs include Bunny Williams, Barbara Barry, and Kathy Ireland, among others. Many interior design magazines exist to offer advice regarding color palette, furniture, art, and other elements that fall under the umbrella of interior design. These magazine often focus on related subjects to draw a more specific audience. For instance, architecture as a primary aspect of ''
Dwell Dwell may refer to: * ''Dwell'' (album), a 2020 album by Recondite * ''Dwell'' (magazine), a monthly American publication focused on modern architecture and design * Dwell (retailer), a leading UK furniture and accessories company * "Dwell" (s ...
'', while '' Veranda'' is well known as a luxury living magazine. '' Lonny Magazine'' and the newly relaunched, '' Domino Magazine'', cater to a young, hip, metropolitan audience, and emphasize accessibility and a do-it-yourself ( DIY) approach to interior design.


Gallery

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Grand Central Terminal Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
in
Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan and serves as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Buildin ...
File:Hotel San Domenico-Taormina-Sicilia-Italy - Creative Commons by gnuckx (3667442268).jpg, Hotel San Domenico in Taormina File:Apothecary room - Arppeanum - DSC05136.JPG, Apothecary room File:Lenno Villa Balbianello wnetrze 3.jpg,
Villa del Balbianello The Villa del Balbianello is a villa in the comune of Lenno ( province of Como), a province in the north of the Lombardy region of Italy, overlooking Lake Como. It is located on the tip of the small wooded peninsula of Dosso d'Avedo on the weste ...
File:Johan Zacharias Blackstadius, Interiör, salong med läsande flicka, 1850.jpg, Lounge (1850) File:Bar in de Rotterdamzaal.jpg, Bar in Rotterdam File:Balboa Bay Club 9 Photo D Ramey Logan.jpg, Balboa Bay Club File:12-03-01-axel-springer-by-RalfR-28.jpg, , Berlin


Notable interior decorators

Other early interior decorators: * Sibyl Colefax *
Dorothy Draper Dorothy Draper (November 22, 1889 – March 11, 1969) was an American interior decorator. Stylistically very minimalism, anti-minimalist, she would use bright, exuberant colors and large prints that would encompass whole walls. She incorporated b ...
*
Pierre François Léonard Fontaine Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French language, French form of the name Peter (given name), Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via ...
* Syrie Maugham *
Margery Hoffman Smith Margery Hoffman Smith (1888–1981) was an American painter, craftsperson, interior designer, and lecturer, known as the "grande dame of arts and crafts" for her design work at the Timberline Lodge. Early life and education She was born August ...
* Elsie de Wolfe *
Arthur Stannard Vernay Arthur Stannard Vernay (11 May 1877 – 25 October 1960) was a noted English-born American art and antiques dealer, decorator, big-game hunter, and naturalist explorer. He sponsored and took part in expeditions across the world to collect bi ...
* Frank Lloyd Wright Many of the most famous designers and decorators during the 20th century had no formal training. Some examples include Sister Parish, Robert Denning and
Vincent Fourcade Vincent Gabriel Fourcade (27 February 1934 – 23 December 1992) was a French interior designer and the business and life partner of Robert Denning. "Outrageous luxury is what our clients want," he once said. Family and youth "Born...to a fa ...
,
Kerry Joyce Kerry Joyce is an interior designer, designer of houses and product designer. He directs the firm Kerry Joyce Associates, which is located in Los Angeles California. In addition to his line of furniture, lighting, rug and textile designs, Joyce's ...
, Kelly Wearstler, Stéphane Boudin,
Georges Geffroy Georges Geffroy (1903–1971) was a post-war French interior designer. Biography "An eighteenth-century gentleman, a figure from another era, one of a breed of decorators that is extinct today,” remembers couturier Hubert de Givenchy; Geffroy wa ...
,
Emilio Terry Emilio Rene Terry y Sánchez (1890–1969), known as Emilio Terry was a French architect, artist, interior decorator and landscape designer of Cuban-Irish ancestry. Creating furniture, tapestries and objets d'art, he was influenced by the château d ...
, Carlos de Beistegui, Nina Petronzio,
Lorenzo Mongiardino Lorenzo "Renzo" Mongiardino (; 12 May 1916 – 16 January 1998) was an Italian architect, interior designer and production designer. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. Biography In 1936, Renzo Mong ...
,
Mary Jean Thompson Mary Jean Thompson is an American honorary consul appointed by the ruling monarch and prime minister of the Principality of Liechtenstein and accredited by the Department of State of the United States of America. She serves the Pacific Northwest ...
and David Nightingale Hicks. Notable interior designers in the world today include
Scott Salvator Scott Salvator is an American interior designer. Early life Salvator was born in Rome, New York and raised in Lawrenceville, NJ. He began his education in building and design by joining his grandfather's businesses in construction and historic ...
,
Troy Adams Troy Adams (born 1961) is a real estate developer and award winning interior designer based in Los Angeles, California. He’s renowned for his grand scale thinking, and fusion approach taking the best materials from around the globe and combining t ...
, Jonathan Adler, Michael S. Smith, Martin Brudnizki, Mary Douglas Drysdale,
Kelly Hoppen Kelly Elaine Hoppen (born 28 July 1959) is a South African-born British interior designer, author, and proprietor of Kelly Hoppen Interiors. From 2013 to 2015, she was a "Dragon" on BBC Two's ''Dragons' Den''. Family Kelly Hoppen was born o ...
, Kelly Wearstler,
Nina Campbell Henrietta "Nina" Sylvia Campbell (born 9 May 1945) is an English interior designer and businesswoman, whose clients include the Duke and Duchess of York, Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart and the Capital Hotel in Knightsbridge. She is known for her he ...
,
David Collins David Collins may refer to: Persons * David Collins (Hampshire cricketer), 18th-century cricketer * David Collins (New Zealand cricketer) (1887–1967) * David Collins (Scottish footballer) (1912–?) * David Collins (Australian footballer) ( ...
, Nate Berkus,
Sandra Espinet Sandra Espinet (born October 31, 1964 in Trinidad and Tobago) is a luxury interior designer who resides in and has offices in both San José del Cabo, Mexico and Los Angeles, California. Sandra is an HGTV personality, and has appeared on epis ...
, Jo Hamilton and
Nicky Haslam Nicholas Ponsonby Haslam (born 27 September 1939) is an English interior designer and socialite, and founder of the London-based interior design firm, NH Studio Ltd. Early life and education Haslam was born at Great Hundridge Manor, Amersham, ...
.


See also

*
1960s decor 1960s décor refers to a distinct style of interior decoration that became prominent in the 1960s and early 1970s. Green, (such as pea green and drab), yellow, pink, and orange (such as peach and saffron) hues were popular for wallpaper, carpets, c ...
* American Society of Interior Designers * Blueprint *
British Institute of Interior Design The British Institute of Interior Design (BIID) is a professional organisation for commercial and residential interior designers in Britain. The current president of the institute is Lester Bennett. Establishment Founded in 1965 as the Interior De ...
* Chartered Society of Designers * Environmental psychology *
Experiential interior design Experiential interior design (EID) is the practice of employing experiential or phenomenological values in interior experience design. EID is a human-centered design approach to interior architecture based on modern environmental psychology emphasi ...
* Fuzzy architectural spatial analysis * Interior architecture *
Interior design psychology Interior design psychology is a field within environmental psychology, which concerns the environmental conditions of the interior. It is a direct study of the relationship between an environment and how that environment affects the behavior of its ...
*
Interior design regulation in the United States Interior may refer to: Arts and media * Interior (Degas), ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * Interior (play), ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * The Interior (novel ...
* Japanese Interior Design *
Primitive decorating Primitive decorating is a style of decorating using primitive folk art style that is characteristic of a historic or early Americana time period, typically using elements with muted colors and a rough and simple look to them. Decorating in the primi ...
* Wall decals * Window treatment


References


External links


Candace Wheeler: The Art and Enterprise of American Design, 1875-1900
a full text exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which includes a great deal of content about early interior design {{DEFAULTSORT:Interior Design Architectural design Decorative arts Home economics