Stop finding interior design hard with 5 design techniques to get you started.

When starting out in the design process of your dream home, you might feel lost and don’t even know where to begin. 

You might think to yourself, “I don’t know how real interior designers do it, so how can I, without any experience do my own design?!” 

Don’t worry, let me help you today to figure out how to start your own dream home interior design with just a few simple design techniques.

1. Space layout / Furniture layout

Although it is one of the basics within interior design it is still one of the defining factors between a good design and a bad design. 

Think of your space as a potted plant, and the elements you had put in are the seeds. You shouldn’t put two seeds too far apart otherwise there is a significant wastage of space, nor should you put them too close to each other otherwise you will kill them altogether. 

The study of putting elements efficiently & effectively is called ergonomics, the idea that every item and furniture can be designed based on the human body and be efficiently & effectively used by the human body. 

An easy way for beginners to apply this concept is to first simply copy some of the already designed furniture layouts ( I mean don’t change it, if it ain’t broke right? ) 

Just do a simple google search, like for example “living room floorplan” or “master bedroom layout”, thousand of examples will pop up for you so just go an take a look. 

2. Color of space

The color of space should be your next priority. Deciding on a color palette helps you to define the character of the space. 

When we wear clothes these days, we tend to wear clothes that will make us look nicer, prettier or taller or buffer. 

So, just like the clothes on a human, the colors of the rooms, if used well, helps to create personality & illusions of the space. 

To match the “clothes” well with your room, you need to first decide on a type of color scheme.

Is it monochromatic? Complementary? Or split complementary?

By choosing one of the color schemes, it will guide you in choosing better colors that will be more pleasing and enjoyable to the eye. This color scheme can be applied anywhere, from floors and walls to furniture and even decorating pieces! 

Do it once and apply to your entire room, you will soon find that the room will look like it is designed by an experienced interior designer!

Now you might be wondering, “even though I've picked one of the color schemes, I still don’t know what specific tone of the color I should go for!” 

Well, I am here to tell you that you can pick any type of color! So long as you like it, it is good enough! 

However, if you want any reference for your color picking journey, I would suggest going for pastel color choices, this type of color is less vibrant than most colors which help in for longer viewing and less striking on the eyes. 

Or if you are lazy you can simply let it be white, it can give a pure look to the space, and your furniture & decoration can do all the talking and express later. (Oh and by the way, a color picker website like https://coolors.co/ could quickly help you generate the colors you want, so do make use of it :) )

3. Material Texture

What brings your newly designed room alive? That’s right, materials. 

Materials place a big role in the overall texture of your house as well as the durability and aesthetics of your space. 

You can use material texture concept for all aspects in your room, from the types of flooring to the types of wall that you can apply, to the furniture applications. 

 There are so many ways to use materials so I am just going to cover what to look out for when choosing the materials. 

Firstly, regarding floor materials. 

You would want to choose a material that suits your aesthetic of the space as well as the purpose of the space. 

For example, if it the living room, some considerations you will need to make are, is this scratch resistant? ( you don’t want your furniture to destroy your floor right? ) is this waterproof? ( for those accidental spillages) is it comfortable to walk on? 

Maybe for the kitchen & the bathrooms, you might want to consider if it's scratch proof, dent proof, easy to clean, slip-resistant so on and so forth.

Do visit material shops & warehouses to get a feel for the materials yourself as well as do your research online to find the types of materials that will suit you the best.

Secondly, for the walls. 

I’ll keep it short and simple,for walls you might want to do a feature material wall, like a timber panel wood wall, or a marble laminated wall ( or the real marble of course ). 

This can drastically change the look and feel of the room as well as give a bit more character and even able to hide doors, kinks or unsightly aspects in the room.

Thirdly, furniture materials. 

There isn’t much to say, it is more so dependent on the concept of the design as well as whether or not you like it, except for the kitchen countertop. You will need to pay great attention to that as it will greatly impact your life in the future. 

Things to look out for are scratch proof, dent proof, easy to clean as well as easy to maintain over the years, you don’t want a case whereby after 5-10 years you have to do a renovation of your kitchen simply because of your kitchen countertop right? 

Do ask your supplier for advice as they are better equipped with the knowledge of the material they are selling, check google for more information as well, there are tons more comparison of the different types of material for kitchen countertops.

4. Principle of design

Principles of design are all around us and even you might be using it to organize your items base on this concept as well, however it is still better to understand what is it so that you can make full use of this design technique. 

Balance 

The idea that things can be put in a manner that is equal in nature, an easy way to create a sense of security.

Hierarchy

The idea that things have different levels of importance some more emphasized, some less emphasize, however, there is always multiple differentiating levels to its organization.

Emphasis

The idea that one object “rules them all”, and that it is the most important and striking compared to a sea of background objects.

Contrast

Two different opposing objects place side by side.

White space

Using a purity of space/object to do the talking when overlaid over other things.

Rhythm 

Having something in a repetitive manner to create movement in the space.

5. Light

I left the best for last so do hear me out. LIGHTING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT IN INTERIOR DESIGN. 

Honestly, I have to empathize with this, lighting will make or break your design. 

We humans so how to have an extreme fetish for lighting.

Lighting if done well will make your design feel luxurious, expensive and cohesive. 

Think of lighting as that magic wand that will make your design POP, put spotlighting at areas that will emphasis on certain aspects in the room, use task lighting for areas that require u to perform certain tasks like in the wardrobe and under the kitchen cabinet. And finally, use general lighting for your normal day to daylighting.

I hope after reading this you will feel less afraid to do your own interior designs and hope that you can soon embark own your own dream home design.

Do remember to subscribe and share if you found that this is useful, and do comment if you have any questions, hope you will have a nice design journey.  :)