Various Decorating Styles

Interior decorating includes anything that deals with house's interior and its furnishings. In the process of revamping the house, one should have to consider the different attributes that play a vital role in the design, such as the layout, color or theme, and furniture arrangement. So, instead of tuning into a favorite home makeover show and praying that they one-day gift the homeowner with an idea of a dream house, why not educate oneself on the different styles available and do it his or herself?

Interior Decorating Styles

Although a professional interior decorator will give a home the flair it much needs, this will only come with a dent in the wallet. The good thing, however, is that the various interior decoration styles can be understood by almost everyone. All it requires of someone is he or she uses a little imagination and infuses some personal flavor in the design. Some people opt to study interior decoration, but for those with a knack for creativity, it is a talent that just comes naturally and can nurture in the process of creating a stylish space in their houses. Some of the decorating styles that can be used to give the much-needed push into the colorful realm of interior decoration include:

Art Deco Ambience

A characterization by the use of modest structures and colors, this involves the use of sleek, strong lines, and wooden furniture lacquered in black. Use mostly red, white, and black colors for this style, but the use of dull purple, pale blue, and dove gray work as well. The colors are always accentuated through the use of aluminum, steel, glass, mirrors, chrome, and white marble. Although the flooring for art deco is generally white or black marble, the lighting is integral and incorporates the use of table lamps, ceiling lights, and wall scones throughout the room.

Asian Decor

One embodies the oriental style of interior decorating by plain furnishings plus uncluttered areas. This style always appeals to those who like balancing the positive and negative aspects of their lives. You can use Feng Shui, an ancient Chinese form of decorating and chi balance, to design the space in your house. It always utilizes the direction of flow of energy in determining the best arrangement for your house. Tatami floor mats and rugs form an integral part of ancient oriental culture, and as such can include this classic covering. Fabrication of most furnishings should typically include bamboo, lacquer, or black wood.

Contemporary Decor

It borrows heavily from Art Deco style, but adds a little dash of comfort. The characterization of this style is shown by subtlety, simplicity alongside the use of geometric shapes. The floor can either be wooden or tiled, while the colors used include white, black, and neutrals.

Country Decor

This English country style is all about charisma, comfort, and functionality. Country style mainly emphasizes a striking balance with nature and comes in handy in decorating cottage type houses that have gardens, which are commonly found in villages and small towns. It also uses warm colors, and thus imparts a kind of inner coziness to a house. Furnishings used in English country style are generally heavy in wood work.

Although this article does not cover each style in detail, it gives a solid base to work from in determining if the style meets the homeowner’s desires. Other popular interior decoration styles are the Mediterranean decor, Victorian decor, and Retro decor. Because interior decoration is a craft, you need to have a feel for it, and one should strive to understand the various aspects that form its core. It is also much advisable to check out one’s guests’ reactions as he or she tries different styles of interior decorating.

What are Textiles?

Recently, I was told I did not have enough knowledge to teach a materials class. I was surprised at first, and a tad upset, but I assume the individual was going off a brief conversation while discussing the class dynamics, specifically textiles.

 

Here is what I do know. Textiles are the most universal and efficient method to introduce texture and patterns to a design. This could also add color to the interior by the reflective surface and the various styles of the materials. In the design industry, today the market can offer styles of textiles ranging from contemporary, traditional, and transitional. These textiles are available in natural fibers and synthetic fibers that typically are man-made. Pricing the textiles, the function of capacity of the textiles and the aspects of the textiles technically, can dictate the selection process.

 

The primary consideration for the designer is the process of spinning the yarn and the construction. This is how the designer will determine the durability of the textiles used in each job. Spinning the yarn conditions the character or profile of material. This is called the denier or thickness of the yarn thread. The texture of the yarn can be twisted, slubbed, or smooth. The construction is the process of creating a weave that is tight, close-set or open-set cloth. These range from a sheet sample of material to a netting sample like stocking or webbing. It is also measured by the thread knots per square inch.

 

Construction is the interweaving of the yarn. This yarn is the warp or filler yarn that is laced to create a weave. This process creates a knit, a hooked loop, or tufting of the materials. When I worked for the rug department at my previous job, I learned that this was a process of creating carpets punched by lines of needles that inject yarn into the fabric backing, usually woven or rubberized. This can be said for textiles in a fabric capacity as well.

 

Another construction process used for nonwoven fabric is the process of felting where loose fibers adhere to each other under high pressure. Determining if a textile is durable or maintainable it will depend on the fibers used and how the fiber is spun and constructed. These fibers can be classified in two ways, the synthetic fiber or the natural fiber. Each style has a subdivision.

 

Synthetic fibers are cellulosic fibers that are an organic compounds found in vegetation like plants. These examples are acetate, rayon, or triacetate.

Non-cellulosic fibers are made from polymers or glass products. These non-cellulosic fibers are the most common products used in more than one resource than just textiles. These are nylons, acrylics, olefin, polyester and a few others. One can tell if a fiber is unnatural by the way he or she observes a glassy or twinkly sheen when looking at the surface or hand of a textile at an angle.

 

Natural fibers can also come from plants or animals. Natural plant fibers are hemp, flax, jute, cotton, and ramie, which is a bark from the nettle bush. Animal fibers consist of wool, hair, and silk. Other natural fibers can come from metal like gold leafing or threads, copper, and silver. These natural fibers were used over 5000 years B.C., yet because they are so durable and resilient, these natural fibers are still used in today’s manufacturing of textile fabrications.

Hemp is the most durable of natural fibers and originally this fiber was exclusively used for ropes, and burlaps. Today hemp is used in some of the finest fashions for the durability and the ability to manufacture this fiber extremely soft. A way to sample this and other textile breakthroughs are through testing the fibers whether natural or synthetic for longevity and sustainability. Testing is the only assurance that manufacturers have in a product that will last the standard five to eight year lifespan of performance. Some of the performance issues are soil resistance and flame retardant. This characteristic is achieved by chemical applications like Scotchgard and Zepel. Both products can protect textiles surfaces from liquid, soil, and flame damage to the weave.

 

Weaving, as mentioned before, is achieved through construction. This is the process to loom by hand or machine and create a lacing effect of fibers. The shuttle will loom yarn through raised warp yarns creating a weave in and out. There are three methods in weaving a textile the first is a plain weave (later this was called taffeta), the second is satin, and the third is twill. Twill is used to create durable garments like a tweed jacket or bag. All three basic weaves are the same variation of the plain weave. The only difference is how dense the loom weaves the yarn with different fillers creating a selvage as a return. There are five different weaves available with basic taffeta, satin, twill, pile, and leno. The most durable—historical— fiber used in modern textiles is hemp and will continue to improve with age.

 

Well, that is what I know and I am sticking to it.