Proper use of light is essential to accentuating all the other aspects of interior design.  It influences how colors are seen, sets the mood in a room and brings attention to a focal point.  Natural and artificial light both have their parts to play in making a space look its best.  Making sure that natural light can come through while assuring that artificial sources can make up for any gaps in coverage is important when it comes to making a home as inviting as possible. 

While natural light obviously comes from the sun, there are three types of artificial light that can assist with enhancing any room: ambient, task and accent.  Ambient light is considered your general lighting.  These are the main light sources you use when you enter a room and need basic overall coverage to see.  Examples of ambient lighting are chandeliers, recessed can lights and wall-mount fixtures.  They are usually the first types of light you think of when furnishing your home.  Task lighting is next.  This lighting is used to assist you in performing daily functions in your home.  Good examples of task lighting are desk lamps for getting paperwork done, track lights for under the kitchen cabinet to illuminate your meal prepping and vanity lighting for the bathroom mirror to perform your morning and evening cleansing routine.  Finally, there is accent lighting.  This type of lighting is used to bring attention to the focal point in a room.  The bulbs used tend to be brighter to accomplish this goal.  Accent lighting can be used to showcase a large painting over the fireplace, bring focus to items displayed on open shelving and even bring light to shadowy recessed sections of a wall.  

One of the best things you can do for your living space is invest in dimmer lights.  Having control over how light or dark a room is coming in handy when you are having a dinner party and want to create a more relaxed mood.  It’s also perfect for bedrooms, since bright lights aren’t conducive to good sleep.  Even the bathroom can benefit from a dimmer as well.  You don’t want to be greeted each morning with an overwhelmingly bright light when you’ve just woken up. 

Now that you know the functions of each type of lighting, you are ready to choose the right combinations for your home.  Remember that while you may have enough natural light in some rooms during the day, you will still need to have enough artificial light sources for the evenings.

While time is not an official element or principle of design, it is still an important factor to consider when deciding how to decorate a space. The time of day and the time of year can determine how certain areas of your home are utilized and what level of attention they need to be showcased at their best.

The time of day that you spend in each room helps to determine its look.  Bedrooms will have a more relaxing color scheme and softer lighting, while your kitchen and living room will have livelier elements since that is where more of your waking hours are spent.  This concept can also be thought of in terms of how much natural light certain rooms are exposed to throughout each day.  A room that faces the day’s first light may need a different window treatment than the one that catches the sunset.  For example, a bedroom that receives a lot of sunlight in the morning would benefit from light-blocking curtains to promote better sleep patterns and lighter furniture to keep it cool temperature-wise so your energy bill does not go up during warmer months.  In contrast, rooms that tend to run on the cooler side can benefit from thicker, more lush fabrics with vivid colors to warm it up. 

Another way to think of time is how it plays a role in seasonal decorating.  No matter what climate you live in, there are going to be times of the year where you want your interior and exterior decor to reflect the cultural celebrations you observe.  These can be events that occur in the immediate neighborhood around you, an event that you are hosting, or a special holiday observance.  No matter what the occasion is, any one of these festivities can bring about the addition, removal or replacement of certain items in your home, even if it is only temporary.  The adjustments can be as simple as changing your tablecloths, displaying figurines or even incorporating party supplies into a space.  Special holidays may call for a change in kitchen accessories or more luxurious blankets to hang over the couch.  Lighting may be adjusted and candles can be brought out and prominently displayed. 

So, when it’s time to make decisions about your decor, think about the idea of time and how it will influence your process overall. 

Pattern is one of the more difficult elements of interior design to master.  Choosing incorrectly can easily overwhelm a space and become a design disaster.  It is important to understand this element and how to best utilize it to enhance your living space.  Pattern is best described as a repetitive graphic depiction on any material.  Patterns carry with them a sense of predictability which in turn provides unity to a room’s design. 

Some commonly used patterns in interior design are: stripes, geometric, floral/organic and motif. Vertical stripes add height while horizontal ones add width.  Geometric patterns provide different impressions depending on the shapes being used; circles provide movement while rectangles convey stability.  Floral/Organic designs are inspired by nature through plant and animal life.  Florals are classic while animal prints tend to go in and out of popularity.  Motif patterns are random repetitive designs that are good at creating a sense of continuity. 

The best thing to do before you get started is to consider the size of the room you are working with.  The larger the room, the larger the pattern you can safely use without overpowering it.  If there is a bolder pattern you are interested in, then a large room may be your best bet for incorporating it into your design.  In contrast, smaller prints work better with smaller spaces.  Use lighter patterns in these smaller areas to keep the eye engaged and the room looking fresh. 

Next, think about the function of the room.  If you are decorating a space that you enjoy entertaining guests in, then choosing a pattern with highly contrasting colors will inject energy into the room.  Patterns containing more complementary colors tend to feel calmer and are better suited to bedrooms and other quiet spaces. 

Finally, think about the style of your home and what patterns will suit it best.  Whether you have a modern, contemporary, or traditional style home, there are going to be patterns that are better suited to your current furnishings.  Choosing a mismatched look for one part of your home will ruin its overall natural flow, so make wise choices.  You may have to adjust your expectations to best serve your decoration project.

The next element we will be discussing in interior design is texture.  This element is unique because it is equally important to feel the surface of the objects being used as it is for them to be visually interesting.  Striking the right balance in textures will give the space you are working with a more complete feeling.  This element tends to be overlooked since there are so many other things to take into consideration when starting a design project but skipping this step would do a disservice to your decoration plans.

Choosing the proper textures to contrast with a room’s furnishings will add dimension to the space.  Not only is it important to be able to feel the materials you are using, but you also must consider how they appear when you aren’t touching them.  Depending on how you choose to decorate your space, you can make the room feel formal or cozy, warm or cool. 

For example, smooth surfaces can make a room feel light and sleek, but this also causes it to lack warmth.  Adding a rougher texture helps provide visual contrast while simultaneously incorporating the cozy feeling that’s missing. Be sure not to overdo it with different textures.  No more than 3 should be placed in the same area.  You want to display intention with your design and too many textures will confuse that intention. 

Texture is especially useful when dealing with a color palette that doesn’t contain much variety in the tints and shades being used.  Choosing contrastingly colored textures will not only add a pop of color but it will help provide a focal point to the room. 

Texture can be seen in every aspect of a space so don’t limit yourself to believing that this element is only obvious using accessories.  Think exposed wooden beams, tufted arm chairs, raised patterned wallpaper, marble fireplaces, tile flooring, wall tapestries, intricate chandeliers.  The possibilities are endless. 

No matter which items you choose to accomplish your goal, keep in mind that your choices should remain practical.  Some objects may be considered good talking pieces for when guests encounter them, but if they do not add to the overall function of the room, then consider incorporating a different texture.  Making the right choices for the space will give it a polished and welcoming look.

In previous posts, the idea of shape was mentioned.  Form is derived from shapes and should be expanded on to deepen your knowledge of the important part they play in interior design.  While form is three-dimensional, the shapes that create it are two-dimensional, simply lacking depth.

The post on form discussed how shapes are separated into geometric and organic; the former being man-made with distinct outlines such as a rectangle or triangle and the latter inspired by nature with less distinct borders such as the shape of a fruit or a plant.  A third type of shape used in design, which can be considered an offshoot of organic shapes, is known as abstract.  This is a simplified version of organic shapes that are easily recognized by the viewer.  For example, a stick figure is an abstract version of a person, but we can recognize what the design is meant to represent.

Shapes can further be described as positive and negative and well as static and dynamic.  A positive shape is solid while a negative shape has open space inside or around it.  Positive shapes appear more stable and carry more visual weight while negative shapes appear to be lighter and more fragile.  Describing a shape as static also conveys a sense of stability and repose while dynamic shapes convey movement.

The six basic shapes at the center of interior design are Circle, Square/Rectangle, Triangle, Cross, Spiral and Curve.  Circles, with their lack of beginning and end give the viewer a sense of infinite movement and possibility.  Squares and rectangles, with the latter being the most popularly used, represent stability and conventionality.  Their horizontal lines are parallel with the Earth, giving a sense of being grounded.  Triangles are a symbol of power when incorporated into a design right-side up with a strong base to support it, but if this shape is turned upside-down it can give the opposite effect of instability to the space.  Crosses, which can be used in a “t” or “x” pattern, provide balance and are not automatically seen as a religious symbol when it comes to interior design.  Vertical crosses convey strength while horizontal ones provide a sense of calm.  Spiral shapes provide natural movement and signify growth, change and creativity.  Finally, curved lines bring softness to harder, more distinct lines.  They have more movement than circle or spiral designs since their borders are more free-flowing and unexpected automatically drawing the viewer’s eye to a new region.