Interior design, timeless or just for today approach? – Interior design Part 1

One of the most interesting conversation I have amongst interior designers and colleagues is do you produce timeless interiors or interiors of the time? For me the answer is very easy I believe interiors should have a timeless quality with contemporary products, finishes and design that provide functionality.

Your thinking what does that mean exactly in plain English, not interior designer babble?

Well let’s start with what I mean by timeless quality, a few years back (that’s about 25 years) everyone wanted glass bathroom sinks, within 5 years everyone ripped these out as they realised that in real terms they were just an interior style or statement of the moment. Everyone just woke up to the fact that you don’t live in a magazine image were everything is perfect, as soon as you washed your hands they looked absolutely terrible.

So timeless is choosing a combination of items, colours and finishes that together produce great interior designed spaces that are cool, funky, exciting and desirable (to rest, work or play in) today but will do so in 5 or 10 years time. This is also a much more cost-effective and green solution than ripping the space apart every 5 years for the next fad in interior design.

Some of the many pitfalls that really date interior design are light fittings, door handles, sanitary ware, kitchen taps chose wisely and these can be simply avoided.

Don’t choose items that look futuristic unless you want it to look dated by the next morning, simple lines normally works best, for example Danish architect Arne Jacobsen taps designed in the 1960’s have a timeless quality that is still specified on many prestigious projects today.

I guess your interior designer won’t be thanking me however there are so many good examples of timeless design out there that after a period of time they take on an iconic status.

 Of course there are times when client wants you to push the envelope of interior design but I always warn them of these pitfalls. If they are happy we are only to ready to show what is possible given the freedom to express our clients desires and goals with new products which have yet to prove their worth as without this how will we ever have interior design icons from our own time?

So the best approach is for your interior designer to make you aware of the potential of both options, giving visual design ideas for all possibilities and then the client can make an informed decision on the direction that suits them best.

 

Next time:

Interior designers embrace green issues but don’t forget the wow factor!

It should be a hot topic, see you then.

Dee