5 Things I’ve learnt from…

So a couple of weeks ago I talked about an all day Masterclass I attended in 2011 called Design with Confidence. The second installment of what I learnt on the day is what I’m going to talk about this morning. The lecture was presented by Diana McKnight who is currently the Director of Studies for KLC with whom I am currently studying with. You can find out more about Diana here.

During the class, Diana went through the key design principles commonly used to build an interior scheme. I’ve outlined some but not all of them below:

1. Emphasis –  is a dominant element that creates a focal point in the design. When you enter a room, your eyes will automatically focus on the most dominant element in the room for example a large sofa, a fabulous chandelier etc, you then need to determine what the eye looks at next, these can be defined as Sub-ordinate elements.
2. Balance – is commonly used in an interior scheme. This is done by using an axis or common line to create a symmetrical (where one side is mirrored to the other), asymetrical (where there is a balance of colour and shapes but not exactly the same) or radial balance (commonly used in a circular scheme where everything is designed around the centre point of a space).
3. Harmony – This is the careful selection of elements that share a common trait. While balance is the placement of objects in a room, harmony relates to the objects themselves through shape, colour, texture, material or pattern.
4. Unity and Variety – where you can have a variety of unique traits. This is where dissimilair items are placed together but create a feeling of unity and variety. For example, you could vary objects by size, colour or texture.
5. Rhythm and Repetition – where the choreography of a sequence of repetitive elements reflects an integrated design approach. This approach uses the idea that by repeating elements within a scheme it will create unity.

So to finish off today, I thought I’d add a bit of fun into the post. As I would usually point out the various elements in an image, I thought that it might be fun for you guys to do it! I just want to emphasise that this is NOT a test. I hate those things. So I’ve given you 3 different interiors that have used a variety of the 5 elements in them and I was hoping you might like to tell me through commenting, which elements they have used. You don’t have to do all 3 – you could choose 1 or you can do all 3 if  you like. I’m fine either way. I will give you guys a week to have a bash and I’ll post what I think the elements are next Friday 22nd Feb.

So it’ll be a quiet weekend for me after a couple of hectic ones which is a relief. Whatever your plans are for the weekend, I hope you have a nice time of it. I will be back on Monday with another interior style. xD

Image Source – Title – Etsy,  Freshome.com, House Beautiful and Atlanta Homes Magazine