Archive for the Category ◊ Old Interior Design ◊

• Sunday, December 28th, 2008

Are you one of those people who are fond of old things? If you love old things, you might want to turn a room in the house into a showcase of old world interior design. The good thing about the old world interior design is that you get to recreate the romance of the past. Since old world interior design directly contrasts with modern living, you get to create something that is truly unique and refreshing in your ultra modern home.

Basement Finds

The first thing that you need to do to create a fabulous old world interior design is to rummage through your basement and your closet for some classic pieces of furniture, trinkets and other materials. There is bound to be something that you can use from there. If your grandparents lived nearby, you can pay them a visit and ask if you can go through their pile of unused furniture and stuff. You will be surprised at the amount of antiques you can find in your grandparents house and they usually come for free. In fact, your grandparents will be happy to get rid of some of the clutter in their house so go over there and start hunting.

Deep Colors

When hunting for materials that you can use for your old world interior design project, you might want to get a few of those huge antique jars, those wrought iron works, that big wooden table with stains on it and those old books that you can put in a wooden shelf. Use fabrics with small floral designs to give your room that love feminine look that was famous in the olden times. For the window, try to find one of those heavy curtains in deep shades or purple or forest green. Purple gives the room that regal atmosphere and forest green can be very refreshing. For a multi-layered look, you might want to make use of fringe, tassels and beaded trim. You may also want to make use of laces and embroideries.

Once you find a few nice pieces that you can use for your old world interior design project, you can now start decorating your room. According to some experts, it is better to plan things according to what you already have at the moment especially if you are on a budget. By using everything that you already have for you already have, you get to save a lot of money on your home decoration.

• Sunday, December 28th, 2008

The history of interior design stretches back to ancient times; as long as there have been homes to live in, elements of interior design have existed in some rudimentary form. However, the major developments in the history of interior design were far apart and resulted in large changes almost at once. What follows is a look at the history of interior design, from ancient times up to today.

Egyptian and Roman Times

In ancient times, there is evidence that interior design was important to the Egyptians and Romans. Of course, at this point in the history of interior design, it was restricted to the very wealthy. The evidence of this period in the history of interior design is in the architecture and in what records we have. From the Egyptians, we have lavishly decorated tombs for the pharaohs, which were designed both as a final resting place and to have comforts for the pharaoh in the next life.

From the Romans, we have evidence that they carefully planned their rooms around the way that they would be used, which is a key part of modern interior design. Wealthy Romans, for instance, would have separate living rooms for summer and winter seasons, designed based on optimal comfort during the warm and cold months. Both the Romans an the Egyptians, of course, did take some care to participate in interior decorating as well, another important feature in interior design.

The Renaissance

The next major development in the history of interior design came in the Italian Renaissance, when all arts experienced a surge in popularity, with wealthy patrons giving money to support the arts. It was at this time that interior decorating and interior design began to resemble what it came to be in later years in the history of interior design. Rooms began to be designed around function and form, with some of the most prominent examples being the lavish interior designs of the palace at Versailles, an expression of royal decadence. Still at this point in the history of interior design, such things were well out of reach of the average person.

The Industrial Revolution

The change in the history of interior design that made it accessible to the common man was the Industrial Revolution, which both made cheaper goods possible for home decoration as well as created an economic revolution in the United States as middle-class families soon had extra money to put towards things such as interior design. This is the time where interior design magazines were developed, and the profession of interior designer really took hold, now its own industry by the start of the 21st century. So, as you can see, the history of interior design was shaped by artistic, economic, and technological revolutions throughout history.