As a professional London Interior Designer, I meet with clients all the time who simply crave more originality and personality in their interior spaces. It is such a delight for the interior designer to be able to transform a house into a home by judicious use of lighting, stencils, photo frames, rugs and frames, to name just a few. Each of the different classes of accessories allows the professional interior designer to lean into a certain style, emotion or personality framework in order to create stunning results. In this article, I will draw on my experience in London's design community to suggest a few great options if you're looking to spruce up your home this winter with some interior designer magic.
LIGHTING. If there are nooks and crannies that just don't get enough light, interior designers may recommend low-voltage illumination to make your interiors look larger and more welcoming. This can also boost your mood - perfect for the gloomy and overcast London skies that are all too common this time of year. Some professional interior designers will recommend theatrical lighting moods, so that you can flip between settings to choose either relaxed, or atmospheric and edgy, or task-orientated, all according to your needs.
COLOUR. The hue of the lighting system can substantially impact the overall look of a room. Incandescent filaments are now being phased out across the European Union, and London interior designers are having to rely instead on compact fluorescents or halogens to create custom effects.
SCONCES. Wall-mounted sconces slide over lightbulbs to give a gentle fuzzy glow to a room. Interior designers sometimes combine glass outer sheaths with paper diffusers to create unique effects and soften the overall feel.
ARTWORK. Art is great, but well-lit artwork is even better - and interior designers are often specially-trained in how to perfectly illuminate choice pieces of art. Recessed lighting can be a great solution for both photographs and paintings. For sculptures, some interior designers love to use spotlights or feature lighting for more of a museum showcase feel.
INTERIOR DESIGNERS DO OUTSIDE, TOO! Exterior lighting is a great way to make a fabulous first impression for evening dinner guests or invitees to a luxury London soiree at your designer home. Exterior lighting solutions can even cast light indoors, as well ... some interior designers like to be really creative and hide exterior lights in bushes or under trees to create natural diffusion before the light trickles in through the windows and makes fabulous patterns on the ceiling or wall.
This bring to an end my mini-series on how London interior designers use accessories, styles and history to create astonishing results.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Culture is always changing, and nowhere is that more visible than in cosmopolitan and diverse London
Interior designers should not work to the latest trends or fashions, because the results will end up going out of style too quickly. Instead, interior designers should simply have a good understanding of styles across the ages and incorporate different elements to create magnificent spaces. Culture is always changing, and nowhere is that more visible than in cosmopolitan and diverse London . Interior designers see a true mix of ideas and people in the capital - from native Londoners to Americans to Eastern Europeans. In this context, the work of the interior designer is all about offering the client the maximum in options and expressivity when creating an interior that is both personalised and elegant.
Over the centuries, various styles have evolved and all continue to impact the work of London's top interior designers today. Let me describe just a few:
ART DECO. This style really came into its own in the 1930s, when automation and new manufacturing techniques led to the ability to create sharp, well-defined edges in household items. Factories were opened in London and across the UK to output products that would ultimately replace the Art Nouveau styles that relied so heavily on shapely waves and light-coloured tones. London Interior Designers today often invoke Art Deco styles to create stunning contemporary designs.
ART NOUVEAU. This ornamental, fluent, wavey design style is considered very nature-orientated and fresh. It arose in London during the reign of Queen Victoria and helped break down the walls between professional artists and professional interior designers. Glass items, especially lamps, were characteristic of the Art Nouveau style - together with soft pastel hues and elegant wallpapers.
BAUHAUS. Another style from the 1930s, Bauhaus interior designers focused on colours like silver and cream. To complement these schemes, London residences started to feature Bauhaus-inspired glass, metal and cement-based objects. Interior designers of this age also used vibrant colours like strawberry, but only for accents.
TUDOR. This is most commonly used today by interior designers who design for London pubs or country residences that feature the characteristic exterior white walls and black wooden cross-supports of the Tudor era. Interior designers working in the Tudor style will commonly rely on oak interiors and window treatments that feature velvets, plush fabrics and semi-precious stones.
In my next article, I will explain how interior designers use accessories.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Over the centuries, various styles have evolved and all continue to impact the work of London's top interior designers today. Let me describe just a few:
ART DECO. This style really came into its own in the 1930s, when automation and new manufacturing techniques led to the ability to create sharp, well-defined edges in household items. Factories were opened in London and across the UK to output products that would ultimately replace the Art Nouveau styles that relied so heavily on shapely waves and light-coloured tones. London Interior Designers today often invoke Art Deco styles to create stunning contemporary designs.
ART NOUVEAU. This ornamental, fluent, wavey design style is considered very nature-orientated and fresh. It arose in London during the reign of Queen Victoria and helped break down the walls between professional artists and professional interior designers. Glass items, especially lamps, were characteristic of the Art Nouveau style - together with soft pastel hues and elegant wallpapers.
BAUHAUS. Another style from the 1930s, Bauhaus interior designers focused on colours like silver and cream. To complement these schemes, London residences started to feature Bauhaus-inspired glass, metal and cement-based objects. Interior designers of this age also used vibrant colours like strawberry, but only for accents.
TUDOR. This is most commonly used today by interior designers who design for London pubs or country residences that feature the characteristic exterior white walls and black wooden cross-supports of the Tudor era. Interior designers working in the Tudor style will commonly rely on oak interiors and window treatments that feature velvets, plush fabrics and semi-precious stones.
In my next article, I will explain how interior designers use accessories.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Student Interior Designers Often Learn About The History of Their Profession
In their training, student interior designers often learn about the history of their profession. This can be a really important way to give context to their subsequent careers. In this article, I will draw on my experience as an interior designer and educator to discuss the history of this exciting field.
The earliest professional interior designers were based in London - the British had become intrigued by Egyptian techniques of decorating household objects and wanted the same for themselves. London families became desperate to employ an interior designer to create magical spaces and accessorise their interiors. As interior designers came to be recognised as professionals, they increasingly found a need to draw on history to create fabulous results. This was particularly true when creating designs for historic London mansions or listed buildings - they saw historical reflections as a way of preserving the past while also looking to the future.
THE ANCIENT ROMANS
In Ancient Rome, citizens demanded comfort, luxury and wealth. These elements are still important in the work of interior designers across the world today. The lavish decorations, tapestries and iconic stonework today remain as timeless and popular in London as in Tokyo or Sydney . The Ancient Romans adored bespoke furniture and loved quality textiles and expensive fabrics.
MONASTIC TIMES
After the collapse of Roman rule, the church assumed power and largely discouraged the most creative interior designers. Opulent interiors were taken out and interior designers were instructed to install quiet and simple oak panels with dark lines and sharp edges. This influence was felt throughout Europe - from London all the way to Florence.
RENAISSANCE AND REVIVAL
The Renaissance saw the emergence of professional French or French-inspired interior designers. It was a new age of elegance and sophistication, which saw the rebuilding of the London Interior Designer community and a fresh take on creative and beautiful living spaces. A "palatial" feel was rediscovered, and interior designers began to take advantage of new transport axes going through London to the continent and to the Americas in order to rediscover their profession and herald the next generation of design.
This brings to an end my article on how the work of interior designers has changed over the ages. In my next article, I'll reflect on how interior designers use interior fashions for great effect.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
The earliest professional interior designers were based in London - the British had become intrigued by Egyptian techniques of decorating household objects and wanted the same for themselves. London families became desperate to employ an interior designer to create magical spaces and accessorise their interiors. As interior designers came to be recognised as professionals, they increasingly found a need to draw on history to create fabulous results. This was particularly true when creating designs for historic London mansions or listed buildings - they saw historical reflections as a way of preserving the past while also looking to the future.
THE ANCIENT ROMANS
In Ancient Rome, citizens demanded comfort, luxury and wealth. These elements are still important in the work of interior designers across the world today. The lavish decorations, tapestries and iconic stonework today remain as timeless and popular in London as in Tokyo or Sydney . The Ancient Romans adored bespoke furniture and loved quality textiles and expensive fabrics.
MONASTIC TIMES
After the collapse of Roman rule, the church assumed power and largely discouraged the most creative interior designers. Opulent interiors were taken out and interior designers were instructed to install quiet and simple oak panels with dark lines and sharp edges. This influence was felt throughout Europe - from London all the way to Florence.
RENAISSANCE AND REVIVAL
The Renaissance saw the emergence of professional French or French-inspired interior designers. It was a new age of elegance and sophistication, which saw the rebuilding of the London Interior Designer community and a fresh take on creative and beautiful living spaces. A "palatial" feel was rediscovered, and interior designers began to take advantage of new transport axes going through London to the continent and to the Americas in order to rediscover their profession and herald the next generation of design.
This brings to an end my article on how the work of interior designers has changed over the ages. In my next article, I'll reflect on how interior designers use interior fashions for great effect.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Colour Me Brightly - Conclusion
Colour Me Brightly! Understanding Light in Interior Design. Part IV: Conclusion
Professional interior designers are expertly trained in the use of lighting features to create breathtaking results. In this four-part series which I call "Colour Me Brightly: Understanding Light in Interior Design," I draw on my experience in London's interior design community to explain this fascinating subject. This fourth article concludes my series.
Linear light patterns can focus on either the horizontal or the vertical metrics of a room. A given wall-light technique can create an immersing halo effect, if the interior designer uses concentrated super-bright light at high level that gradually fades out towards the base. Some London Interior Design consultancies specialise in choosing continuous sources, such as a miniature tungsten rack for a soft light or overlapping fluorescents for a cooler light. This is an effect that works very well in contemporary interior designs, where light can be concealed between the wall and the ceiling in a crevice in order to take the place of the traditional cornice.
The best method of illumination for interior designers to use when creating patterns will depend on the interior, and also on the direction of windows (natural light in London can be very seasonal). A smoothly plastered wall can jump into existence with a dappled arc wave from closed-offset down-lighters but if the interior design feature lies in the texture and in the structure or hue of the wall, then a more uniform spray of light will emphasise the wall's best perspectives. A splashback tile solution at the rear of a shower or bath is a good interior design choice for the arc wave effect, as is a Venetian blind in a London kitchen. A wood-panelled hall or study is often a compelling interior design feature, and accordingly it would be better lit with an even light that does not detract from the feel of the wood.
Shifting from instant to instant and from a London dawn to a dappled full seasonal moonrise, the impacts of illumination and shadow are phenomena we almost disregard. But London's top interior designers know that patterns of light can actually transform our emotions with respect to the interior forms that engulf us. By bringing to life walls, floors and ceilings with light-focused interior designs, pattern-making is yet another realm of illumination that can brighten our spaces and enhance our quality of life.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Professional interior designers are expertly trained in the use of lighting features to create breathtaking results. In this four-part series which I call "Colour Me Brightly: Understanding Light in Interior Design," I draw on my experience in London's interior design community to explain this fascinating subject. This fourth article concludes my series.
Linear light patterns can focus on either the horizontal or the vertical metrics of a room. A given wall-light technique can create an immersing halo effect, if the interior designer uses concentrated super-bright light at high level that gradually fades out towards the base. Some London Interior Design consultancies specialise in choosing continuous sources, such as a miniature tungsten rack for a soft light or overlapping fluorescents for a cooler light. This is an effect that works very well in contemporary interior designs, where light can be concealed between the wall and the ceiling in a crevice in order to take the place of the traditional cornice.
The best method of illumination for interior designers to use when creating patterns will depend on the interior, and also on the direction of windows (natural light in London can be very seasonal). A smoothly plastered wall can jump into existence with a dappled arc wave from closed-offset down-lighters but if the interior design feature lies in the texture and in the structure or hue of the wall, then a more uniform spray of light will emphasise the wall's best perspectives. A splashback tile solution at the rear of a shower or bath is a good interior design choice for the arc wave effect, as is a Venetian blind in a London kitchen. A wood-panelled hall or study is often a compelling interior design feature, and accordingly it would be better lit with an even light that does not detract from the feel of the wood.
Shifting from instant to instant and from a London dawn to a dappled full seasonal moonrise, the impacts of illumination and shadow are phenomena we almost disregard. But London's top interior designers know that patterns of light can actually transform our emotions with respect to the interior forms that engulf us. By bringing to life walls, floors and ceilings with light-focused interior designs, pattern-making is yet another realm of illumination that can brighten our spaces and enhance our quality of life.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Patterns from Opaque Materials
Colour Me Brightly! Understanding Light in Interior Design. Part III: Patterns from Opaque Materials
Professional interior designers are expertly trained in the use of lighting features to create breathtaking results. In this four-part series which I call "Colour Me Brightly: Understanding Light in Interior Design," I draw on my experience in London's interior design community to explain this fascinating subject. This third article talks about how to create patterns using opaque materials.
The second way for an interior designer to create light-based patterns involves opaque surfaces, which reflect light back into a room. This pattern creation process is more sophisticated and can be fine-tuned for stunning interior design effects. Light portrayals impact how we understand a surface and its texture. For example, the "standard" technique often seen in London residences simply involves casting a gentle play of light across a wall. The light brushes the fittings, causing the wall to appear even, flat and two-dimensional. Some top London Interior Designers know that their clients crave more drama and stylistic nuance. In such cases, placing lightwell fillings very close to the wall and angling them downwards can be really striking. Using this technique, interior design consultancies can transform the previous gentle wave into an enunciated designer style, as the photons shave the surface and build to form sturdy optical patterns, including top-level arcs and dramatic textures. A sharper, more laser-like focus will only make the pattern more conspicuous – recreating a look that is popular in many trendy London nightclubs.
The direct counterpoint to this interior design technique involves the use of close-offset uplighting. With this approach, floor-level filaments cause the eye to move up vertical columns of light which dance across the wall to form puddles of dappled reflected light on the ceiling. Professional London interior designers often work alongside colour consultants to make sure that the result has practical rel evance as well as aesthetic appeal. In particular, some newer London residences often have uncomfortably low ceilings. Interior designers can use this lighting approach to draw attention to the vertical plane of the wall, thereby counterbalancing the hemmed-in feel of the low ceiling.
In the next and final article in this series called "Colour Me Brightly!" I will finish by revealing some top lighting tips from London's interior design community.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Professional interior designers are expertly trained in the use of lighting features to create breathtaking results. In this four-part series which I call "Colour Me Brightly: Understanding Light in Interior Design," I draw on my experience in London's interior design community to explain this fascinating subject. This third article talks about how to create patterns using opaque materials.
The second way for an interior designer to create light-based patterns involves opaque surfaces, which reflect light back into a room. This pattern creation process is more sophisticated and can be fine-tuned for stunning interior design effects. Light portrayals impact how we understand a surface and its texture. For example, the "standard" technique often seen in London residences simply involves casting a gentle play of light across a wall. The light brushes the fittings, causing the wall to appear even, flat and two-dimensional. Some top London Interior Designers know that their clients crave more drama and stylistic nuance. In such cases, placing lightwell fillings very close to the wall and angling them downwards can be really striking. Using this technique, interior design consultancies can transform the previous gentle wave into an enunciated designer style, as the photons shave the surface and build to form sturdy optical patterns, including top-level arcs and dramatic textures. A sharper, more laser-like focus will only make the pattern more conspicuous – recreating a look that is popular in many trendy London nightclubs.
The direct counterpoint to this interior design technique involves the use of close-offset uplighting. With this approach, floor-level filaments cause the eye to move up vertical columns of light which dance across the wall to form puddles of dappled reflected light on the ceiling. Professional London interior designers often work alongside colour consultants to make sure that the result has practical rel evance as well as aesthetic appeal. In particular, some newer London residences often have uncomfortably low ceilings. Interior designers can use this lighting approach to draw attention to the vertical plane of the wall, thereby counterbalancing the hemmed-in feel of the low ceiling.
In the next and final article in this series called "Colour Me Brightly!" I will finish by revealing some top lighting tips from London's interior design community.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Perforations and Glass
Colour Me Brightly! Understanding Light in Interior Design. Part II: Perforations and Glass
Professional interior designers are expertly trained in the use of lighting features to create breathtaking results. In this four-part series which I call "Colour Me Brightly: Understanding Light in Interior Design," I draw on my experience in London's interior design community to explain this fascinating subject. This second article talks about how to create patterns using illuminated materials.
Any perforated textile, when lit from the back or from the inside, will speckle adjacent forms with pattern, from point strips and pirouettes to constellations and dazzling laser specks. The professional interior designer can use the trim of a window covering to create fabulous banding across a shiny floor covering in the London summer. Some interior design firms love to use ornamental metal lanterns to paint fiery asteroids on walls and furniture, while light projected through a sculpted screen can create magnificent abstract outlines in expressive contemporary interior design schemes. A factory-inspired metal stairwell with perforated treads – of the type often reinterpreted for ultra-modern interior design schemes – can throw tiny checkmarks of light onto local furniture when exposed to a bright London sky in springtime. A fabulous option with a wooden staircase would require the interior designer to specify a grit-washed tread, to deliberately throw stunning shadows from the rail onto the adjacent wall. Abstract wire-mesh sculptures by local London artists can engender powerful interior design emotions, with the pattern even becoming more important than the object itself! Interior designers can expressively use perspective to distort the pattern from complete realism, when lit front-on, to Baconesque abstract enchantment when illuminated at an acute angle. The same effect can be created by using mirrors to refocus natural light from bay windows in some of the more luxurious London residences.
Glass is another popular tool for patterns. A frosted glass table can be lit from above with a halogen downlighter to cast intricate outlines of reflected light onto the ceiling, and the interior designer can even use positioning to cause refracted light to splash abstract patterns onto the floor underneath the table. I have seen some London Interior Design consultancies deliberately illuminate trophy-style glassware on display shelves from the front so that the etching on the glass throws deep shadows that recapitulate a core design theme.
In the next (third) article in this series called "Colour Me Brightly!" I will reveal another secret of London's interior design community: how to create patterns with opaque objects.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Professional interior designers are expertly trained in the use of lighting features to create breathtaking results. In this four-part series which I call "Colour Me Brightly: Understanding Light in Interior Design," I draw on my experience in London's interior design community to explain this fascinating subject. This second article talks about how to create patterns using illuminated materials.
Any perforated textile, when lit from the back or from the inside, will speckle adjacent forms with pattern, from point strips and pirouettes to constellations and dazzling laser specks. The professional interior designer can use the trim of a window covering to create fabulous banding across a shiny floor covering in the London summer. Some interior design firms love to use ornamental metal lanterns to paint fiery asteroids on walls and furniture, while light projected through a sculpted screen can create magnificent abstract outlines in expressive contemporary interior design schemes. A factory-inspired metal stairwell with perforated treads – of the type often reinterpreted for ultra-modern interior design schemes – can throw tiny checkmarks of light onto local furniture when exposed to a bright London sky in springtime. A fabulous option with a wooden staircase would require the interior designer to specify a grit-washed tread, to deliberately throw stunning shadows from the rail onto the adjacent wall. Abstract wire-mesh sculptures by local London artists can engender powerful interior design emotions, with the pattern even becoming more important than the object itself! Interior designers can expressively use perspective to distort the pattern from complete realism, when lit front-on, to Baconesque abstract enchantment when illuminated at an acute angle. The same effect can be created by using mirrors to refocus natural light from bay windows in some of the more luxurious London residences.
Glass is another popular tool for patterns. A frosted glass table can be lit from above with a halogen downlighter to cast intricate outlines of reflected light onto the ceiling, and the interior designer can even use positioning to cause refracted light to splash abstract patterns onto the floor underneath the table. I have seen some London Interior Design consultancies deliberately illuminate trophy-style glassware on display shelves from the front so that the etching on the glass throws deep shadows that recapitulate a core design theme.
In the next (third) article in this series called "Colour Me Brightly!" I will reveal another secret of London's interior design community: how to create patterns with opaque objects.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Introducing Patterns of Light
Colour Me Brightly! Understanding Light in Interior Design. Part I: Introducing Patterns of Light
Professional interior designers are expertly trained in the use of lighting features to create breathtaking results. In this four-part series which I call "Colour Me Brightly: Understanding Light in Interior Design," I draw on my experience in London's interior design community to explain this fascinating subject. This first article is about patterns.
Ask a London schoolgirl to imagine natural patterns, and she may talk at length of curvaceous seashells, the undulating edge of waves on the shore, the grooves in a gnarled tree trunk. Interior designers know that patterns are all around us. Patterns profoundly influence all interior design schemes, transforming our appreciation of color and texture, adding fluctuations and drifts or promoting harmony and stillness. London Interior Designers will focus on soft, fluid outlines in order to create relaxing patterns. By contrast, bold graphic statements in a wallpaper stencil can be invigorating for a London discotheque or salon. Pattern is a foundational ingredient of interior design, fragmenting overwhelming shapes and plain surfaces while simultaneously lending personality and profundity to a room.
London's professional interior designers know one big secret: pattern is created not only by fabric and wallpaper. Light also forms any number of patterns through a virtual tussle or rough-and-tumble interaction between light and shadow. Light patterns are foundational to interior design schemes – from snippeted, kinetic and frosted patterns to curvy arcs, spearhead-style lines and theatrical projections of abstract forms.
Patterns of light fall into two main interior design categories. The first is all about objects in the path of light, casting shadows. We draw our inspiration from the natural world where, when sunlight strikes rippling water on London's famous River Thames, flickering patterns are reflected up into the trees along the water's edge. Similarly, if an artificial light source is directed onto water – perhaps a pool, fountain or babbling artificial brook – active reflections will dapple the surrounding walls and become an interior design feature. Sunlight may shine through the branches of a tree to create moving patterns of light and shade below, and similarly a low-voltage uplight, positioned behind indoor plants, can create beautiful interior design features on the walls and ceilings. This technique can be stunning both inside and outside the building.
In my next article, I turn to patterns that use perforations and glass.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
Professional interior designers are expertly trained in the use of lighting features to create breathtaking results. In this four-part series which I call "Colour Me Brightly: Understanding Light in Interior Design," I draw on my experience in London's interior design community to explain this fascinating subject. This first article is about patterns.
Ask a London schoolgirl to imagine natural patterns, and she may talk at length of curvaceous seashells, the undulating edge of waves on the shore, the grooves in a gnarled tree trunk. Interior designers know that patterns are all around us. Patterns profoundly influence all interior design schemes, transforming our appreciation of color and texture, adding fluctuations and drifts or promoting harmony and stillness. London Interior Designers will focus on soft, fluid outlines in order to create relaxing patterns. By contrast, bold graphic statements in a wallpaper stencil can be invigorating for a London discotheque or salon. Pattern is a foundational ingredient of interior design, fragmenting overwhelming shapes and plain surfaces while simultaneously lending personality and profundity to a room.
London's professional interior designers know one big secret: pattern is created not only by fabric and wallpaper. Light also forms any number of patterns through a virtual tussle or rough-and-tumble interaction between light and shadow. Light patterns are foundational to interior design schemes – from snippeted, kinetic and frosted patterns to curvy arcs, spearhead-style lines and theatrical projections of abstract forms.
Patterns of light fall into two main interior design categories. The first is all about objects in the path of light, casting shadows. We draw our inspiration from the natural world where, when sunlight strikes rippling water on London's famous River Thames, flickering patterns are reflected up into the trees along the water's edge. Similarly, if an artificial light source is directed onto water – perhaps a pool, fountain or babbling artificial brook – active reflections will dapple the surrounding walls and become an interior design feature. Sunlight may shine through the branches of a tree to create moving patterns of light and shade below, and similarly a low-voltage uplight, positioned behind indoor plants, can create beautiful interior design features on the walls and ceilings. This technique can be stunning both inside and outside the building.
In my next article, I turn to patterns that use perforations and glass.
Interior Design London - Global Interior Design Consultancy Company in London, UK for interior design services.
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