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Nurturing your inner designer
Is design sense an innate ability or can it be learned?
I think it is definitely a bit of both. Let's take
my own case as an example. As long as I can remember,
I have been interested in interior design. I remember
as a young child spending a lot of time in my room
rearranging my furniture. Although I wasn't aware of
the design terms "focal point," and "balance," at
the time, I rearranged the room with those concepts
in my mind. I remember poring over Better Homes and
Gardens magazine as a teenager, cutting out favorite
pictures and creating design files of interesting rooms.
When I was sixteen I decided to wallpaper and paint
my own bedroom, and my favorite type of shopping was
not for clothes, but rather for accessories for my
room.
I continued developing my decorating skills over the
years, taking art and art history classes, design classes
and attending many seminars and workshops. I gained
design experience by working on my own home and helping
clients design theirs. I learned about remodeling,
painting, flooring and custom window treatments from
experts in their fields. While I feel I've always had
a sense of design, my continued education, training
and experience has strengthened and enhanced my skills.
For those of you with the design bug, here are some
suggestions for nurturing your "inner designer."
- Read design magazines. Study the way the designers
have used color on walls, floors, fabrics, artwork
and accessories. What kind of color scheme did the
designer use? How many fabric patterns do you see?
How did the designer add texture? How does the designer
use symmetry and asymmetry in the room? Take note
of the way art is hung. How does it relate to the
furniture around it? I recommend reading a variety
of design magazines. Don't be intimidated by magazines
like Architectural Digest and Veranda. Even though
they aren't exactly examples of "Real Life Rooms," you
can learn a lot about composition, balance, color,
and other design concepts by studying the gorgeous
photos.
- Watch design shows on television. HGTV has inspired
a great number of people to venture out of their
comfort zones and try new colors and styles. My favorite
designers to watch are Candice Olson and Kenneth
Brown. I love their designs, and I love the way they
explain the reasons behind their design decisions.
- Observe the interior design of upscale restaurants
and hotel lobbies. Pay particular attention to the
types of lighting in these spaces-- you will see
layers of light, with interesting examples of ambient,
task and accent lighting.
- Take design classes. There are semester-long classes
at community colleges, and workshops through the
Parks and Recreation department of many cities. I
took classes at Ohlone College in Fremont. They offer
wonderful classes in Textiles, Color, Lighting, Design
Concepts and much more. Some of us also teach our
own seminars and workshops to educate and inspire
you. Your "inner designer" will flourish.
This article first appeared in Alameda Newspaper
Group papers on Sept. 30, 2006.
Go
back to the list of decorating columns.
All articles copyright 2003-2008 Anna
Jacoby.
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