From biology lessons, we remember that wildlife is forced to adapt to environmental conditions. In the living space, there are different rules – the environment must adapt to the needs of the inhabitant, please the eye and warm the soul. A well-thought-out design project will help turn square meters into a private oasis. You can entrust it to a specialist or get down to business on your own. Where to start the interior design of an apartment if there is no way to contact a professional studio? Let’s figure it out.
Chasing a muse
It’s always better to start with inspiration! To determine the style, color scheme, to find out how certain finishing materials look in the interior, you can browse the Internet and collect your own collection of references. Just use our Pinterest page for inspiration.
Start your searches with specialized resources or personal websites of designers, feel free to put aside everything that you like “in the piggy bank”, and then organize it. Thus, you can not only decide on the “Wishlist” but form your own interior taste and idea of the apartment of your dreams.
Do not be afraid of fabulously expensive interiors with palace ceilings, industrial spaces of western lofts, and designer exclusives. It will not be possible to completely copy these interiors, but individual ideas, compositional solutions, and general mood can be adopted.
Visualize your apartment design project using online 3D planners. On those platforms, you can create your own render of any room, choose a color scheme, finish, furniture and decor, choosing materials from the catalog.
Pictures are not always enough. Something is worth seeing with your own eyes, and sometimes even touching. To this end, you can go to a design bureau, to a thematic exhibition, or to a store of finishing materials.
Life style
If your eyes run up against the choice of interior solutions, we recommend following the style instructions. Each interior style assumes a certain color scheme, materials, and decor, which significantly narrows the range of choice. And also any style is tailored to a certain human psychotype, so choose the one to which your heart lies.
What if you like everything at once? Combine! Pure interior styles are falling out of fashion, giving way to eclectic, individual spaces. Competently mixing elements of different styles is not an easy task, but it is a great way to express yourself through the objective world. Do not be afraid to experiment, the phrase “I am an artist – I see it this way!” has not been canceled yet.
Color and light
When deciding on a color scheme, the easiest way is to rely on neutral shades. But this is only at first glance. In fact, a design project in neutral light colors can resemble a faceless hotel room or, even worse, a hospital room. Don’t be afraid of contrasting colors and vibrant color accents!
Remember the golden rule of color combination in the interior: it is better to opt for 5 shades, 3 of which will be the main ones, and 2 – auxiliary ones. Of course, you can use more colors and you will find a lot of such interiors, but it is not so easy to assemble a harmonious color scheme with an abundance of shades. The picture can be overloaded and unbalanced.
Don’t forget that color in the interior is important for psychological comfort. When choosing a color scheme, remember the purpose of the room. A riot of colors in recreation areas is not a good idea. As the main character of the TV series “Sex and the City” said: “The red wall in the bedroom is beautiful in theory.”
Interior lighting performs an equally important function. The type of lighting, the number of light sources, the temperature spectrum – all this can change the apartment beyond recognition, both for the better and for the worse.
The light scenario must be registered before the start of the repair. It is important to take into account the location of the windows, the features of the room, and its functional purpose. For example, in a living room, direct lighting would be appropriate, and dim light would be better suited for a bedroom.
Not a single chandelier! Try to make the light scheme diversified, including not only classic lighting but also point light sources and LED strip. With their help, you can heartily experiment with design, highlight functional areas or individual details of the interior of the apartment.
Functional aesthetics
The interior is not only for the soul but also for the body – it should be as comfortable as possible. Before using the design imagination, you should decide on the functional areas in the apartment. Think about how you will live there and what to do. What do you absolutely want to see in your space: a dedicated workplace, a secluded relaxation area, a gym?
Functional areas are determined based on the lifestyle and daily routine of all family members, so make a list of family wants and needs. Somewhere you will have to compromise and choose one thing between the observatory and the winter garden, but adhering to total functional minimalism is not necessary, even if we are talking about 30 square meters.
It is possible to fit the maximum of functionality and not to clutter up the room! Ergonomic interior solutions and zoning come to the rescue. For example, a separate room is not at all required for a study, it will find a place in a bedroom or living room. And he can “hide” on a loggia or behind an open rack, which will not visually burden the space and is beneficial in itself – you can put something on it!
Decorative partitions are in trend, which easily turns one room into two or more functional zones, without the need for redevelopment. You can beautifully zone the space with the help of light, color, various finishing materials, furniture, and decorative elements. In the top: bar counters, aquariums, double-sided fireplaces.
Modern manufacturers go to meet the owners of modest footage, offering compact storage systems and variegated options for furniture transformers.
When deciding on the functionality, do not forget about expediency. It is not necessary to rely on the principle “everything is like people’s”, it is better to ask the question “What do I really need?”. For example, do you need a full kitchen in the apartment of a bachelor who never cooks at home?
The house we live in
A home for a person is not a building with concrete walls, it is a personal space filled with favorite things and positive emotions. Likewise, a design project is not a room decoration, but a painstaking process of creating an individual living environment that will meet your ideas of beauty and comfort.
Now you know where to start the interior design of an apartment yourself, but remember – you can always go the easy way and entrust this task to a specialist.
Professional interior designers will help you make the right choice at every stage, play it safe against possible mistakes and create a harmonious project that combines your needs and capabilities.
