[Deco 101] The Principles of Unity Vol.2

We're already familiar with the importance of using all elements to achieve a feeling of unity, and it gives a room its unique characteristics. Now, we can play this rule better. A room with harmony can still have some variety-but it will be desirable variety, rather than unnecessary confusion.

Harmony may be attained through a combination of design elements that have something in common. The common factor may be in terms of line, form, scale, texture, value, and so on. Thus, harmony can be created in many ways. Below shows some typical examples:

Line Harmony: In the example, the curved lines of the window treatment are echoed in the curved lines of the back and arms of the love seat. And, the triangular table and the rectangular table are also harmonious in regard to line-both feature straight lines.

Form Harmony: Harmony of form can be established by combining identical shapes, such as those found in the nesting tables.

Scale Harmony: The two chairs are harmonious in size, or scale, even though the shapes of their backs are totally different.

Texture Harmony: The shapes of the lamps are different, but their bodies have texture harmony.

Value Harmony: Similar colour values are apparent in the differently shaped chairs.

To achieve harmony in a room, it must develop and preserve one dominant theme: richness, simplicity, formality, informality, strength (boldness), delicacy, nostalgia, or ultra-modernity. That dominant theme may be enriched by a subtle, subordinate theme. Mix and matching elements that slightly different flavours, but still share some common trait such as sleek table and contemporary upholstered chairs exude an atmosphere of sophisticated modernity, or curved mahogany table in the centre of a room with velvet sofas and drapery. As it mentioned last post, keep it somewhere between two extremes of discord and monotony is that middle ground, which is harmony.

Thank you for reading and if you have any questions or thoughts please leave it below :)

[Deco 101] The Principles of Unity Vol.1

Perhaps you've seen someone's hair, dress, shoes, and accessories seemed made for one another. They were all parts of a carefully designed and assembled composition. Or perhaps it was the performance of a song or an instrumental composition. All of the aspects of the performance seemed perfectly combined and in harmony with each other. In other words, the performance had unity.

The impression that different parts belong together is what the term unity refers to. Unity implies an orderly arrangement with no discord. Any instance of unity confirms hope for order in the world, and which pleases people.

To establish unity in interior decorating, a decorator must ensure that all parts of a room's decor appear to belong together. From the floor, walls, windows, fabrics, furniture, colours, lighting, and to accessories should all work together to achieve a unified whole. Here I brought the groups of wall hangings to show how the spaces between the pieces would create unity below:

The example on the left would be much appreciated and seems more comfortable look than the right as groupings of items properly spaced, and so it creates unity. To create a unified room, it needs to bring all elements of design-balance, scale, and emphasis-to achieve that seemingly effortless unity.


As my earlier post mentioned, The principles of Emphasis, contrast can create a focal point, it gives interest throughout a room, and maintain balance. The contrasts, however, should never be too strong or standing out of tune with the mood fot the rest of the room. Nor should all elements in a room be so similar to each other that the room becomes monotonous. Somewhere between these two extremes of discord and monotony is that middle ground, which is harmony. Harmony is what gives a feeling of oneness, or unity, to a room. A room with harmony can still have some variety-but it will be desirable variety, rather than unnecessary confusion.

More detail about Harmony to be continued in the next post.

Thank you for reading!


 

[DIY] Replacing with a Sunflower

      I got this $2 frame at a thrift store and

replace the old picture with a water colour sunflower

drawn by me.

I took the mat backing to measure a size of it and

drew a square on a paper for water colour.

And, started drawing a sunflower...

Oops. dropped a brush by accident...

Bring the water colour sunflower back in the place.

Done :)

Thanks for reading!

[Yum Yum] Everything Bagel

On top of everything bagel

Spread extra philly cream cheese

Add slices of tomatoes and cucumbers

The other half of everything bagel on top of it and done!

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munch munch

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:)

[Deco 101] The Principles of Emphasis

When we photograph or paint, we usually have a point of emphasis or focal point that draws or attracts the eye. As the example below, any surrounding objects (bush)-that is, areas around a focal point (a deer)-appear a bit blurred. The objects (bush) surrounding your focal point (a deer) are in your peripheral field of vision.

People's brains become very accustomed to the way in which their eyes fouces, unconsciously and automatically, people search for a focal point whenever they look at something. If a focal point isn't apparent, their eyes settle on any point at random, or they wander restlessly from place to place, looking for a central point. When it comes to interior design or just to decorate a room, we can satisfy this natural desire for a focal point by deliberately creating one in a room.

That focal point provides the needed emphasis that will hold the entire design together. Because the eye can't focus on several locations at once, a focal point should be provided in every room.

Case 1. When you've already had an inherent focal point.
When it comes to decorate a room, you may find that you won't have to provide a focal point, rather may already exist one in your room but you just don't notice it. For example, the room may have a fireplace or a large picture window, and which could be a great focal point in the room to begin to decorate. Below shows two examples of focal points that may be inherent in a room.

Since you've already had an inherent focal point, you can even emphasize such inherent focal points to make them even stronger. By adding some ornaments or hanging a frame that you've got, or arrange a sofa and armchairs so that it creates more welcoming atmosphere as well as enjoy the view from the window. Check out below that I've added some sources how the fireplace is emphasized as a focal point by the addition of the picture hung above it and decorative accessories are arranged across its mantel. (Please note the decorative accessories could be replaced with your existing ones and as season, could be displayed your favorite silver ornaments in Christmas or some clear bottles filled up with sand during the summer, it's all up to your creativity lights up your room.)

A prominent fireplace in the middle of your room that you are not pleased and unexpected large windows in an empty room are not a hassle at all here, they rather could be a great inherent focal point in your room by adding your existing decorative items and the strategic placement of the furniture grouping.

Case 2. You have no apparent focal point.
By now, some of you would say that if a room has no readily apparent focal point. If you have none, then you can make one. You can build interest around the sofa and let that item become the focal point for the room. Any paintings, frames, or wall hanging items could be developed as a focal point by adding above your existing sofa and by placing two floor lamps or pots on each side of sofa could create a focal point.

The focal point is one feature of emphasis of a room that gives a room its character. Current trendy style of decorating, a focal point is still a priority in many cases. However, the emphasis should be developed in a much more subtle manner than the strong, definite focal point used in the past with conventionally arranged traditional furniture.

Thanks for reading my post :)

[Yum Yum] Breakfast

A slice of multi-grain

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plus two slices of maple syrup ham

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plus one sunny sideup,

some green onion
and 

the last but not the least,
a dash of black pepper

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Yum Yum Yum

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[Deco 101] The Principle of Proportion and Scale

Closely allied to the principle of balance are the two distinct principles of proportion and scale.

Proportion is the relation of the size of one part of an object to te size of the other parts of the same object.

For example, a rectangle may be twice as long as it is wide as shown below,

the proportions of a solid shape are based on the three dimensions of the shape.

Like, proportion, the scale of an object involve size. Scale is the relation of the size of an object to the size of one or more other objects or

to the size of the space in which the object is enclosed.

The scale of an object, such as a rectangle, can be changed without correcting its proportion.

Now, we’ve got a general idea of the difference between proportion and scale, let’s exame each of these elements more closely.

Proportion:

Throughtout the ages of design, many theories have been advanced in an attempt to define ideal proportions.

One of the most pervasive concepts to arise from these theories is the golden mean, or golden ratio.

A rectangle in which the sides can be expressed as a ratio of 0.618 to 1.0, in other words, the length is approximately 1.5 times the width.

Although the size of these rectangles is different, the overall proportions are the same.

These golden mean proportions can also be applied to solid objects: chair, tables, and even entire rooms.

Scale:

As it’s already mentioned above, scale is the relation of the size of one object to the size of another.

In interior decorating, scale is the relation of the sizes of the objects in a room to each other and to the size of the room itself.

Working with scale involves considering how the size of accessories relates to the size of the pieces with which they’re used:

a lamp on an end table, a box on a coffee table, a throw pillow on a sofa, and so on.

When the scale is appropriate, the eye should move smoothly from one object to another, taking in every important piece.

If some pieces appear too large, they’ll clash attention may be directed toward these disproportionately large objects.

As a result, the viewer’s attention may be directed toward these disproportionately large objects.

The eye may be carried away abruptly from smaller objects, possibly missing some pieces that were intended to be notice.

[Deco 101] The Principle of Balance-Type of Balance

In this posting and upcoming 2 postings, I will examine the principles of interior design-

balance, proportion, scale, emphasis, and unity.

These principles are guidelines help you create satisfying living environments and

fast rules to be followed in every decorating job.

Let’s begin with the principle of balance.

Formal Balance

In formal balance, a centreline divides an area into two matching parts.

One half is the mirror image of the other.

The centreline is the balance point,or called pivot point, for the arrangement.

Example of formal balance below.

As formal balance is the mirror image of the other and highly symmetrical.

In fact, formal balance is sometimes called symmetrical balance.

This shows another example of formal balance.

Informal Balance

While in formal balance, equal objects are placed at equal distances from a centreline.

With informal balance, or asymmetrical balance,

unequal objects are placed at unequal distances form a centreline.

However, since they’re place at unequal distances from the centreline, balance is still maintained.

Radial Balance

Radial balance is a circular balance in which the objects are balanced around a central pivot point.

This type of balance is frequently round in a dining room setting.

The centre of the dining table, which can be either square or round, forms the centre of balance.

Although radial balance is used most frequently in dining area, it’s sometimes used in a large room

to add variety to the furniture arrangements. Radial balance is also sometimes used on a paito,

where chairs are grouped around a small. light, round table.

[Deco 101] The Elements of Design Vol.5- Pattern

Pattern, along with texture, is an element that appears on a surface which is mostly repeat in a predictable manner. As always, nature provides the inspiration for much of the way that pattern is used in interior decorating. Spotted pattern of a jaguar, a symmetrical pattern on the wings of butterfly, one of the best structures and patterns in honeycomb, repetition and periodicity on a daisy. We are surrounded by these unique natural patterns and inspire us to develop similar patterns in our artificial surroundings.

A row of identical shape in the same colour forms a pattern. One piece of tile on the centre of wall and another identical tile comes on the edge of one another and repeat it in the same manner forms another creative pattern. No matter how large or small they are, one adds on another, one clings to another together forms its own special pattern at the end.
As a decorative item being used, pattern, may be woven into a fabric or printed on surfaces. A mix of tinted and shaded blue mosaic tiles laying on the floor creates deep blue ocean, or bring a zebra to your bathroom by painting your wall in black and white strips, or repetition of yellow hexagon-shaped decorative stickers along the backslash tiles in your kitchen to enjoy it while you’re cooking. Any natural pattern can be adopted to decorate your own space. But, in a real life, to achieve your desired effect, consider the size of your room or piece of furniture in relation to the size of the pattern and to the desired effect. When your room is a quite big and needs more than 2 patterns, first the dominant pattern- which would covers the most portion of the room- should be selected then coordinate the minor pattern with the dominant pattern. In this case, the second and/or third pattern shouldn’t be as strong as the dominant one.
The next The Basics post will be writing about The principles of interior design-balance, proportion, scale, emphasis and unity.
Thanks for reading!

[Deco 101] The Elements of Design Vol.4- Texture

Texture is the surface feeling or appearance of an object. Unlike other elements of design as I had earlier posted, texture appeal us to both the sense of touch and sight-this is why I love in search of beautiful textures. A surface of an object can appear soft or hard, smooth or rough, shiny or dull, and even you can feel the texture by looking-dry like wood or moist like jello.
Look around at the objects near you and touch them. How do they differ to you? What do you remember the most? Surprisingly, people respond to texture even more instinctively than they do to colour and these memories of texture can use in selecting decorating items.
When you select decorating items as you need, you definitely want to consider textural difference of each object. There are a few things to specially consider with; balance, comfort, visual texture and practicality.
Balance. Any space or any interior want to be turned out reasonable and acceptable then it should have a balance of texture in its object. For instance, a room filled with metal frames of furniture have all glass top, crystal accessories and mirrors on wall. This room may look contemporary and sleek, but perhaps all shine surface would become monotonous. You can add some dull and ragged texture to create a balance.

Comfort. As much important as a balance of texture, comfort is surely one of the special considerations in selecting texture. No matter how beautiful the texture is, if it is not comfort to anyone of your family, then that’s not right texture for you, it should be met every family member’s physical needs before you achieve aesthetic pleasure.

Visual texture. This visual texture often found in a wall covering, flooring, and some in furniture surface. A lace pattern on wall paper may give the wall having one more layer of lace texture on a plain wall paper and a wood pattern on floor tile may appear the floor is hardwood finished floor, even though the actual materials are completely something else than they appear. By using of this brilliant technical trick to create unique surface, the space not only has a cool illusion, but we can have a various of selection of materials and decorative items in affordable price.
Practicality. A sleek and shiny black dining table shows fingerprints, a tinted beige coloured woven rug on your hallway gather all dirt. So, you want to choose an adequate texture, as well as its appearance and colour.