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What design to choose for the apartment. How to choose your interior style. Watching TV shows, flipping through magazines

How to decide on the interior of the apartment? This question torments both amateur designers and professionals who find themselves in difficult conditions. Our article today will offer a simple method to get rid of all doubts.

Sometimes it can be very difficult to repair and furnish your own old or new home. This happens due to the lack common idea and inability to choose the right furniture and accessories.

Therefore, there is a special technique designed to help people decide on a new interior and bring disparate ideas of individual family members to a common denominator.

First of all, you should purchase several architecture and design magazines and cut out of them your favorite interior details, furniture and other design elements that immediately caught your eye.

After you feel that you have collected a sufficient amount of material, you need to lay it out on the table and try to put it together.

You can make a general collage or distribute photos into thematic categories. The criterion can be furniture, colors, prints, curtains, art and much more.

Then you should stick the resulting photo collage on a piece of cardboard or hang it on the wall so that it is always in front of your eyes.

Why create such a layout?

The purpose of collecting all the pictures and photographs you like is to combine disparate ideas into one complete whole.

In addition, such a layout allows you to materialize the thoughts hovering in your head into real objects, to clearly imagine your future home. Also, thanks to such visualization, you can notice and correct design flaws in time.

A preliminary draft will help you know exactly if the accents you have chosen look harmonious without knowing if they will fit the rest of the decor.

He can help you make the right choice. colors, as it makes it possible to visually determine the compatibility of certain tones.

Thus, when renovating your home, always start by collecting and integrating the tangible expression of your ideas.

Then you are in a short time be able to come up with a clear idea of ​​what you want from your

What interior style to choose for a future apartment or house? At first glance, everything is quite simple - you just need to find out what preferences the owners have. Yes, of course, stylistic wishes play an important role. But in order for the interior to be relevant, emotionally comfortable and easy to use, it is worth paying attention to a number of factors.

Recently in Interior Design & Decor Online Magazine 4living published an article by the co-leader and lead designer of our studio Geometrium Alexey Ivanov. In his article, Alexey spoke about the main criteria for choosing the style of the future interior.

In this article, we will tell you about what you should pay attention to when choosing the interior in which you will continue to live.

Think about what you like?

Visualization is the first step towards your ideal interior. Before we recommend that you explore interior sites and online interior design publications to the maximum, see what trends are in fashion now, how they differ from each other, how characteristic features possess.

Those photos of interiors that you like are saved in some separate folder on your computer or other device. You may like a photo of the whole room or some individual details, such as a bedside table, some kind of sofa or bar counter, color combinations, etc.

We recommend that you watch not just beautiful interiors around the world, but choose some rooms that are similar to yours in size, windows, etc. See the beautiful interiors of huge country houses it makes sense - it's beautiful, interesting, inspiring, but you need to understand that if you are now planning a renovation in a city three-room apartment, then it is better to look at interiors that are more similar in theme, and vice versa.

After collecting such information, open the folder with saved interiors: we are sure that you will quickly see which style you gravitate towards more.

Having picked up a sufficient amount of such a material plan in advance, it will be easier for you to tell the designer how you see your future apartment or house, what kind of atmosphere you would like to achieve in it.

What budget do you plan to invest in a new interior?

The next step is budget planning. To resolve this issue, it will be easiest for you to seek advice from the designer.

The fact is that new design and repair is not only a beautiful picture and furniture that you like - it is also wall processing, installation work, preparation of floors and ceilings, electrical wiring, etc. In order to calculate all this correctly, you need to contact a specialist who can tell you exactly how much and what materials you will need, how much it will cost approximately and how long it will take.

As a rule, the most expensive are the classic styles, and one of the cheapest is the Scandinavian style in the interior.

But, and here it all depends on the selected materials, brands of furniture, etc. Therefore, the same style in different configurations can cost differently.

So, for example, the situation is with modern styles which our design studio specializes in: we always consider and offer customers several options for estimates so that you can choose the option that is more acceptable and convenient for you.

Interior for an apartment where several people live

If you do not live alone, then before choosing a style, it is better to have a general conversation and choose the option that everyone will like. Of course, sometimes it can be difficult to combine everything that different people like in one style, but here, too, viewing visualizations of various interiors together can help.

If you still can’t agree, then again, we recommend that you contact the designer, tell him about which options you have a choice between, which elements of this or that style cause you disputes. Most likely, a real specialist will be able to offer you some interesting middle option that will suit both disputing parties.

It is very important that every member of your family likes the interior, because, among other things, the atmosphere of your home is formed from this.

Geometrium: interior design for the project

How to choose an interior for another person?

If you decide to make repairs not for yourself, but for one of your relatives or friends, then also try to first find out what they like and what kind of interior they dream of for themselves. You can also do this with visualizations. various styles interior on the Internet or special magazines.

Which interior is better to choose for business?

When designing an interior for a cafe, restaurant, rental apartment, hotel, etc. first of all, you need to think about who your target audience is, what these people like, what they expect to see when they come to you.

In our practice, we quite often encounter one serious mistake in this matter, when a customer makes an interior, for example, for a cafe or restaurant, based only on his taste preferences, without first finding out what his future visitors like.

In the future, due to such indiscretion, the restaurant may seem unprofitable and bring less income than it would have done if a study of the preferences of the target audience had been carried out, and the interior design would have been developed based on it.

Geometrium: interior design for the project

The connection between building architecture and your interior

Good design is harmony, it is beauty inside and out. Probably doesn't have special meaning make heavy Greek bas-reliefs or use the rococo style while living in a modern apartment complex. Most likely, such an interior may seem vulgar.

In the same way, living in a palazzo in Venice, we expect to see a certain style in the interior, and we will be very surprised if stained glass windows are suddenly replaced with standard double-glazed windows.

Geometrium: interior design for the project

This does not mean that if your apartment is located in an old fund, then only baroque or classical styles will suit you. Of course, you can play on the contrast and, preserving the atmosphere of the old house, create an interior in a modern style there.

And in the same way, those of you who live in modern residential complexes, but are great connoisseurs of precisely classical style, can make interiors for themselves in it. It is possible and even necessary to play on contrasts, it can turn out to be very interesting and beautiful if professionals act and harmony and beauty are observed in everything.

Aleksey Ivanov

architect-designer and co-director of the workshop GEOMETRIUM

Have you noticed that in some, even the most refined and comfortable environment, you feel uncomfortable? And on the contrary, your own apartment, where everything seems to be built on simplicity, lack of luxury and unnecessary details, seems so dear to you. And when you start repairs, you are always afraid to break something. For this reason, many even delay this unpleasant occupation for them. And this is not only a matter of habit and the spirit of conservatism. It's just that each of us likes a certain style of interior..

Choice successful interior is the key to a successful renovation.

How to choose the interior of your apartment

To make the repair work, you just need to choose the style of the interior in which yours is good and comfortable.. And here a professional designer may be powerless, since he is unlikely to feel psychological type your personality.

What to do? Become a designer yourself.

Design History at a Glance

To begin with, we will study what styles exist in design.

In fact, there are a lot of them:

  • They appeared on the crest of a new wave and disappeared
  • Some remained forever, changing from time to time:
    • classicism was replaced by neoclassicism
    • modern - postmodern
    • decor - art deco, etc.
  • Over time, some established fashion styles suddenly changed dramatically to their complete opposite.

This meant that humanity does not accept monotony and all the time yearns for something new, rushing:


Interior design of apartments today

Our time is surprising in that today in the interior they get along together:

  • bionics and constructivism
  • vintage and avant-garde
  • art deco and hi-tech

Moreover, this is not a chaotic pile of objects of different styles - one style can be inside another:

  • The walls, floors and ceilings of the apartment can be made in one style, and the furniture in another
  • Some of the objects on which a kind of accent is put, as it were, are in the third:
    for example, objects of art, painting, decorative panels, objects of ethnic art and own creativity
    Sometimes an unusual chandelier, made independently, can concentrate all attention on itself.

However, modern principles in design are the desire for expediency and unity of style..

Expediency - a principle that puts the functionality of a thing and its manufacturability (ease of manufacture) in the first place


Under the concept of the functionality of the interior of the apartment is understood:

  • Fulfillment by all interior items of their direct functions (it should be comfortable to lie on the sofa, sit on a chair, etc.)
  • The item must be really necessary, aesthetic and fit into the interior.
  • The interior should carry a certain idea and semantic load.

For example, the designer is given the following goals:

  • Create an atmosphere in the apartment in the style of bionics (as close as possible to nature)
  • Immerse yourself in the atmosphere of antiquity (vintage style)
  • Create the feeling that you are in a factory floor (loft style)

Slowly getting closer to the unity of style.

The unity of style is an organic combination of all interior objects, as a result of which it begins to look like a single whole. Each item in the apartment should be part of the composition, not contradicting it and not coming into conflict with it.

When they say that this thing seemed to have been here forever, they mean the successful choice of an interior unit and its layout within one space within the framework of the unity of style.

A bit of terminology (modern styles)

  • Eclecticism :
    It is considered one of the interior styles, although in fact it is a deliberate mixture of two or three styles in one interior.
  • Art Deco
    Art Deco style is distinguished by sophistication, lightness and conciseness.

    Art Deco is a refined, light and playful style. It combines:

    • A variety of materials (light airy tulle, soft carpets or skins and metal)
    • Straight and smooth lines
    • Graceful inlays and laconic forms
  • Classics and neoclassicism
    Classic - an interior with elements of luxury and prosperity, but no frills:
  • High tech
    Hi-tech is a favorite style of youth
    Its main condition is a taboo on pretentiousness
    • Designs are simple and original
    • Such inexpensive materials like plastic, metal, glass
    • There are elements of constructivism and cubism (straight lines, no irregular curvilinear forms)
    • Predominant metallic and silver color
  • Minimalism
    Minimalism in the interior is a minimum of objects and a lot of free space.

    Minimalism - a minimum of interior items and a maximum of free space

    • Missing decorative elements
    • Solid colors
    • Silk curtains, velor furniture upholstery

How to tie the interior to the character

Of course, such a binding is similar to divination with the help of horoscopes, moreover, human characters are polysyllabic.

But generally speaking:

What do you love?

How to decide on the choice of interior

If you haven't found an answer yet, try the following:

  1. Find things and interior objects in your apartment that you like the most and try to determine their style.
  2. Go to visit friends and acquaintances and take a closer look at their housing: maybe something will appeal to you. Not the most original advice, if, moreover, you don’t want to copy someone’s interior in your own apartment, but create something of your own
  3. Flip through magazines and catalogs with the interior of apartments
  4. Go from the opposite - listen and take a closer look at yourself, and try to analyze your psychological type

If there are absolutely no ideas, and you don’t care what the interior of your apartment will be like, then don’t get too hung up:

  • Contact the designer and rely on his choice. He will show you the options for the interior of the apartments, and maybe you will like something.
  • Use the standard Sweet Home 3 D repair program, although it requires some knowledge of drawing and geometry within the school curriculum. But if you spend a little time studying it, then you will not regret it:
    • You yourself will be able to choose the interior for your apartment or house, although the choice of interior items in the catalogs of such programs may be limited
    • See how it will look visually (render).
      You can familiarize yourself with other catalogs, draw on the principle of similarity and improve the interior in your imagination.
    • Save a lot of money on professional design

Video: Even a small studio apartment can be made very cozy.

When choosing an interior style, many rely on their own taste and their own preferences. And yet it happens that this or that style does not look believable and organic in the interior due to the fact that it simply does not fit the architectural features of the room.

We learn to correctly determine the most appropriate direction in interior design for different types rooms: high, low, light, dark and others.

Note:

  • If you are a big fan of the classic design style and are ready to use its main features in the interior of the rooms, you should know that low ceilings and one small window will not allow you to do this, because classic interior- it is always space and light.
  • The Loft style will allow you not to hide ventilation shafts, pipes and other communications under the ceiling, refuse to install a suspended structure and maintain its height.
  • High ceilings are a great excuse for their fantasy design: classic or neoclassical stucco, country, rustic or even Mediterranean style beams, a multi-track chandelier with colored pendants, like in eclecticism. In general, the high spacious room welcomes the use of bright and extraordinary styles, such as eclecticism, grunge, neoclassicism.
  • Small rooms, especially on the north side of the house, should be lightened and brightened, which Scandinavian style will do well, as well as warm and cozy Provence, French urban style, Greek Mediterranean.

If the room is small and poorly lit

The peoples of the north are not in vain considered very practical and creative, because the Scandinavians know how to create comfortable housing in a difficult climate. The interiors in their houses are very bright, the materials are pleasant to the touch, and the furnishings are full of original and bright accents. It is thanks to this light and concise approach to the design of living space that the Scandinavian style has become one of the most popular all over the world.

So, if you are looking for the right direction for a modest, dark enough room even in the daytime, we recommend equipping it using the main features scandinavian style. Lot white color and its various shades, light wood, light graphic ornaments, bright practical decor and an abundance of artificial light to completely transform a small space.



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In addition to Scandinavian, for a small rooms fit and a beautiful, sophisticated style - neoclassical. He intends to use a large number of additional light sources, both under the ceiling and around the perimeter of the rooms, which means the interior will be bright and spacious. In addition, neoclassical furniture and accessories are marked by an elegant restrained silhouette and small size, so even in a small room they look organic. The stucco elements used here are lighter and more minimalist, they do not overload the space, but make the interior more solemn.


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If the room has large windows and high ceilings

This feature of the premises is today considered one of the brightest advantages of modern housing, but is increasingly rare in new homes. If you are the owner of such a space, then it is appropriate to reduce the height of the ceiling, only if their surface is obviously uneven. Otherwise, you should not deliberately deprive the room of such an advantage, and choose for it, for example, an exquisite French urban style.

To do this, you need to choose a light neutral color paint for walls, ceilings and stucco decorative elements on them (moldings, pilasters, rosettes and cornices). Big windows, at the same time, it should be arranged simply: light functional curtains or thick tulle are best suited.


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Also, a significant ceiling height will allow you to decorate the interior in a fashionable loft style today. Indoors, you can install original industrial lighting, and for windows use practical translucent Roman blinds. Particularly relevant brickwork in some cases it may look heavy, but not in a high and spacious room, where textured loft-style walls will become a stylish accent of the entire interior.


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For high rooms, classic and traditional styles: classic and neoclassical, vintage and eclectic, where the same high objects will find their use: mirrors, large chandeliers, floor lamps and curtains to the floor.


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Styles such as contemporary or Scandinavian can easily help create a practical, organized space in which every thing knows its place, the accents are placed correctly and appropriately, while the room looks incredibly stylish and unusual.


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If you purchased an apartment in Khrushchev

Then you should correctly evaluate all its advantages: high ceilings, windows and doorways that are waiting for you to make the right decision in their design. First of all, you can emphasize and focus on them by applying the style features of Parisian apartments (light elegant stucco, parquet or its imitation, pediments and pilasters, furniture raised on legs). To correct another feature - windows on only one wall, you can use characteristic large mirrors on the side opposite from the openings to multiply the amount of daylight.


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Let's return to neoclassicism again, because for rooms with an old layout, it can be one of the best options design. Light classic furniture with a modern interpretation, elegant but discreet decor, neutral color palette with noble shades, caissons on the ceiling and so on - all this is best reflected in the unique characteristic space of old-style apartments.


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If low ceilings

First, it is necessary to abandon their abundant decoration, which means that there can be no talk of any stucco, low-hanging chandeliers and other methods of such design. Therefore, the styles that are recommended in this case are: contemporary, minimalism, boho, as well as Provence with a simple painted ceiling and retro with its squat figured furniture on thin legs.


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If the rooms are connected

A studio apartment, or a kitchen-living room, forming a single space, implies design in the American, Scandinavian, contemporary style, in addition, luxurious art deco will become organic here, where a floral ornament on the wall or upholstery in the living room can be duplicated on a kitchen apron or floor tiles.


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Summarizing all of the above, it is worth noting: no matter how much we like this or that style of interior, it is necessary to take into account the features of the space even before the start of its appropriate design. Only your foresight, as well as a sense of proportion, can help in the exciting, but not easy task of choosing. better style for a specific room. Be careful and good luck in your creative endeavors!

Most interior designers are faced with the fact that their new client does not know what he wants and what he likes. But it should definitely turn out beautiful, comfortable and functional. And this is quite normal. Let's try to figure out how to find your interior style, the atmosphere in which you will live with pleasure.

Watching TV shows, flipping through magazines

TV shows, online or print magazines are a good help in choosing. They give a visual representation of the interiors, thanks to them you can immediately see examples and mark your favorites.

When watching programs, you see the interior in volume, which creates the effect of presence. You can feel with your own eyes the height of the ceilings, the heap of furniture or the illumination of the room. Don't forget to pay attention to the little things too, like freestanding furniture or decor, a particular color or finish. Even one item can set the mood.

Programs and magazines are often updated, talk about fashion trends to help you keep up with the times.

Resist the temptation to buy all the furniture in one collection. It looks perfect only in gloss, but in real life such furniture will be boring and tasteless.

Choose furniture that is diverse, but not arguing with each other either in terms of decoration or style. An exception may be individual items, such as a Chinese vase in English interior or a crystal chandelier in a brutal loft.



Life, geometry, decoration

Decide what is needed from the technical equipment. Perhaps you will come to the conclusion that the high-tech direction is what you are striving for: the maximum of smart and useful, that is, modern intellectual chips integrated into the interior.

In addition to the necessary things, do not forget what you generally like. Listen to the call of forms: straight and clear lines lead to minimalism, smooth roundness gravitate towards the classics, streamlined forms result in futurism.

And to understand what suits you from finishing materials, call on all your five senses to help. Breathe in the smell of wood - use parquet and eco-finishing. Feel the breeze of the sea and the rays of the sun - paint the walls in colors of warm cheerful tones. Feel the power of metal and look through the transparency of glass - plunge into the world of an industrial loft. Touch the cracks of antique products - as if hints of Provence and retro were taken out of a chest with worn leather. Close your eyes, imagine, remember what you like.

Don't give up strict geometry because corners are dangerous for children, and tactilely pleasing surfaces because of the sharp claws of pets.

Hard round surfaces can be hit just as hard (and there are many ways to minimize such risks). And it is impossible to avoid damage to the finish from time to time, unscrupulous neighbors from above or cracks during shrinkage of the house.





Weather outside, colors inside

Think Scandinavian interiors (eg IKEA design). In Scandinavia, most of the time it is cool, damp, overcast. The weather is echoed by the interiors - light or dark, but discreet, with cold shades of white, gray, blue. Monotony is diluted with accents. A yellow chair among one-faced furniture neighbors, cheerful intricate prints among woolen blankets and rugs, natural wood to add comfort, a lot of greenery as a juicy note.

Spain, Mexico are famous for their explosive temperament, colorful colors have been woven into their lives since ancient times. So do their traditional interiors. The inhabitants of these countries do not get tired of bright fabrics, furniture and decor.

In the Mediterranean, it would seem, there is so much sun that you want to go into the cool shade of your home. But no, its inhabitants also let a lot of light and cheerful colors into the house - yellow, terracotta. If the walls look like background, white, then the traditional attachment to one or another color, for example, Greek blue, necessarily pops up.

Brainstorm "I like" your favorite colors, accents, moods.

Colors can refresh the interior or worsen it if chosen incorrectly.

In order not to be mistaken, choose two primary colors, it is advisable to make a color of at least A5 format. Attach the colors different colors to each other and make sure they are between each other. Pair them with neutral hues with a slight difference in tone - this will be a great backdrop to support and highlight the two chosen primary colors.






We look at the world around us and listen to ourselves

Travel is one of better ways get new experiences. To search for your interior, you can include not only sights and landscapes in the route. Do not forget to look for details in local interiors, be sure to feel your condition even in a hotel.

A person cannot bring everything he wants into his house, and then get rid of it when it is useless or irritated. Sometimes such mistakes can be avoided precisely in acquaintance with temporary interiors. Or, on the contrary, to be even more convinced of personal affection and comfort.

Traveling and staying in hotels, you can understand what you like and where you feel comfortable.

In order not to get confused and draw the right conclusions, understand whether the fan under the ceiling really saves from the heat, whether the carpet is pleasant for the feet, whether the sofa is comfortable instead of the chair, whether the striped print has already irritated the second day, whether you want to spend evenings at artificial fireplace, whether the jacuzzi justifies your "I want and period."

If the history of your country or national traditions is deeply embedded in you, you can safely use them. But don't turn your home into a museum or gaudy set. In an apartment with ceilings of 2.5 meters, columns in the Empire style or Baroque stucco will look suffocating, and magnificent oriental decoration will look ridiculous in concrete architecture. In this case, it is better to make most of the interior neutral and dilute it with your favorite accents.





If you still have not come to a certain conclusion, you still like everything, or you just don’t have time to do it - tell the designer about your wishes, concerns, needs. A professional will be able to comb them, put them on the shelves, let life and individuality into your interior. That is why at the first stage, instead of filling out template questionnaires, you should personally meet with the designer, relax and discuss your future interior.

Do not be surprised that the designer digs into the depths of your personality, your family: every detail can make you happier. Don't stop dreaming and share it with the designer, don't be shy about your emotions. A professional will be able to extract the necessary information even from your favorite books, movies, music.

In his work, the designer turns into a multifaceted person. He combines a psychologist, consultant, friend, stylist, lawyer, mentor, without forgetting the main thing - to be a person, to be able to listen and understand you.

Do not blindly go to the designer.

The choice of a specialist is a painstaking preparation for the start of work on the design. Select a few professionals based on their portfolio, references, education, approach to work and be sure to discuss all your questions at the meeting. You must feel that this is your person, walking in the same direction as your dreams.





Don't be afraid to dream, and tips in the form of magazines, travel and design tips will help you avoid some mistakes and choose the right interior for you.