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Posts Tagged ‘interior design trends’

become an interior designer

When choosing from prospective interior design schools, be sure to see that they are accredited by the Council for Interior Design Accreditation. Once you have your bachelor’s degree for interior design, you will need to acquire several years of apprenticeship/work experience before you are eligible to take the National Council for Interior Design Qualification exam. It is possible to become an interior designer without attending an interior design school, but you will need to have 7,040 hours of applicable work experience prior to taking your certification exam. Likewise, those who have an associate’s degree need 5,280 hours of work experience and those with a bachelor’s degree require 3,520 hours.

To become an interior designer, you will need a special set of skills unique to the interior design industry. You will need to understand color and how certain shades affect people’s moods or the size of the room. You will need to be an excellent communicator who is completely in-tune with your clients. You’ll need to be a problem solver who understands building codes and the challenges that come with arranging patterns, colors, architectural features and furniture in a meaningful way. You will need to know all the latest interior design trends and styles and understand interior design software for the computer. You must also be creative when it comes to envisioning a room but also practical when it comes to planning. While some of this is inherently innate, interior design schools can mold the sort of employees that an interior design company is looking for.

One of the best interior design schools is the Pratt Institute in New York City. This interior design school focuses on academic art theory, artistic design and placement coursework (during the senior year). According to their website, “It is widely acknowledged that interior design education, as it is taught across the United States, began at Pratt. That so many of our alumni are found in the Who’s Who of Interior Designers is no surprise. The Interior Design program is consistently ranked among the top in the country in an annual independent professional survey.” Courses range from designs color and lighting, to architectural drawing and building, to office management and portfolio development. Pratt focuses on preparing students for a competitive job market.

The California College of Arts is another one of the interior design schools to consider. With more than 80% of its classes having 20 students or less, the emphasis here is personalized instruction and mentoring. Students will gain internships as part of their coursework and will take other classes on building materials, space, lighting, technology, and interior design furniture. There are two campuses; one in San Francisco and one in Oakland to accommodate students. Tuition is $26,100 per term.

custom designs

There are dozens of distinctive styles in home interior design. From the simplistic country kitchens and cottage bedrooms to the gaudy Art Deco and formal English styles, there is a design to cater to every style. Often our homes become pastiches of different cultures, interests, ideals and styles. It can be tricky to harmonize a style on your own, which is why many people hire a professional interior design company to update their homes.

Art Deco first gained popularity in the 1920s. While the glitz, glamour and gaudiness diminished following the Great Depression, there is still a soft spot in the American heart for the lost innocence of this classic time period. In the twenties and thirties, the professional interior designer saw Art Deco as both elegant and ultra-modern. Combining aspects of airplane design and Futurism with Old World mosaic patterns and Cubism, the end result was something very interesting that spoke to the aristocracy who wanted nothing bland or boring.

Borrowing from austere stainless steel but also exotic zebra skin and saturated modern colors, Art Deco interior design trends offer the homeowner a museum-type vibe with an array of conversation pieces. Curved mirrors, Tiffany lamps, lacquered furniture, velvet drapes, silk lamp shades, small furniture, thick carpeting and symmetrical geometric shape patterns can all add a hint of Deco to a room. “It’s about glamour and getting a glimpse of those bygone days where TV was less important and it was about cocktail hour and company,” furniture designer Barclay Butera tells HGTV.

The Colonial Revival home interior design style proliferated throughout the 1950s, while the Colonial style originally appeared in the late 1800s. Main living rooms, called “great rooms” featured high ceilings, crown molding, large fireplaces, built-in bookshelves flanking two walls, wood paneling, wainscoting and wood furniture made of pine, maple, cherry, walnut or mahogany. Walls should be light as ivory, parchment or apricot. Early American Colonial interior design furniture might consist of wooden or upholstered wing chairs, overstuffed sofas, butterfly tables, Windsor chairs, drop-front secretary tables and candle stands. Drapery should be brightly colored and patterned, although comprised of lighter material. The Colonial Revival style transformed the simplicity and frugality of Early American Colonialism into something a little more polished, with Oriental rugs, mahogany, wall sconces, glass vases, gold leaf mirrors, crystal prism lights, barrel chairs, claw-foot Winthrop desks and cabinetry by Chippendale, Hepplewhite, Duncan Phyfe, Savory or Sheridan.

Home interior design is a very personal experience. Even so, a professional interior designer can bring a deep level of experience and knowledge to your rooms, visualizing and orchestrating a successful rejuvenation of your home. It can be difficult to express exactly what is holding a room back from its full potential, but once it is fixed, we know it and feel it. Surely you have seen what interior design services have done for people on shows like “Trading Spaces” or “Generation Renovation.”

home designs

Home interior designing for residential properties is such a personal thing that it is difficult to generalize. For instance, many professional designers actually prefer neutral-tone houses, since they are dealing with a bombardment of colors everyday at work. Some clients love bold accent colors, such as dark blues, wine reds and mustard yellows, while others prefer comforting pastel blues, terra cotta, pinks and greens. Some like glamorous, vintage-Hollywood furniture and rich tapestries, while others prefer to keep their designs more subdued, minimalist and airy. Even so, there are some prevailing concepts that builders say are early hits for 2009 interior design trends.

Homes from the 1800s to early 1900s were special in that the home designs of large family estates were internally divided to create distinct environments. For instance, home owners had practical servant’s quarters on the lower level floors near the kitchen, whereas the family’s bedrooms were all situated upstairs. A powder room was often found downstairs and an en-suite bathroom was just off the parent’s master bath. The children often lived down a hallway and in their own separate quarter of the house, so the parents could have a bit of privacy and reprieve.

In some instances, a carriage house held the in laws or guests. This is a home interior trend that’s coming back for 2009, with second or third bedroom suites and added bathrooms increasing in popularity. “Buyers are saying, let’s put kids over here to one side to keep things quiet for parents or in-laws who will be moving in with them,” explains Kyle Lindsey, owner of Kyle Lindsey Custom Homes. These secondary suites are typically 300-400 square-feet with full bathrooms and occasional sitting rooms in an isolated section of the house, Lindsey adds.

Family spaces are likely to continue in popularity throughout 2009, say home interior experts. “‘Rear living, with the family room and kitchen to the back of the house, makes is so that while mom is cooking, she can see the kids playing in the living room or entertain guests without leaving the kitchen,” details Michelle Uhrig, director of the KB Home Studio. She adds that many of their modern designs include fewer walls in common rooms and more of an “open concept” feel. Half-walls conjoining kitchens, dining rooms and den areas are preferable. Additionally, the European concept of outdoor living rooms have finally come to America, with exterior kitchens, pizza ovens, fire pits, chandeliers, artwork and comfortable furniture under a covered overhang are big.

In terms of furniture, people are looking for functionality out of their home interior selections. The Murphy bed is making a comeback when it comes to bedroom design, some say, because it allows comfortable meditation space, storage space and add-on seating options. Built-in bookshelves, storage nooks and closet organizers are helping a number of Americans pack away their messes. Traditional “media rooms” are turning into more central gathering points, as families add bars and snack centers, libraries and desk space into these communal locales.