Design Essentials
Designing your space is exciting and fun, but can be daunting.
Pulling all your ideas together in a cohesive style is a challenge. At artSparx, we provide support and resources to help you turn your dreams into reality.
Interior design and decorative arts are closely related fields that focus on creating visually appealing and functional spaces.
They share similarities but also have distinct differences. Let's explore the main design essentials of interior design and compare them with those of decorative arts.
Design Essentials of Interior Design
Interior design enhances the interior of a space to achieve a more aesthetically pleasing and functional environment. Key essentials include:
- Space planning: Arrangement of furniture and fixtures to optimize functionality and flow, considering traffic patterns, ergonomics, and spatial relationships.
- Color scheme: Selecting appropriate colors to create a cohesive look and feel that impacts mood and ambiance.
- Texture and pattern: Adding visual interest and depth through materials, finishes, fabrics, and accessories.
- Lighting: Considering natural and artificial light sources to enhance the space's aesthetic and functionality.
- Furniture and fixtures: Choosing and arranging furniture and fixtures to fit the space's scale, function, and style.
Design Essentials of Decorative Arts
Decorative arts focus on creating visually appealing objects used to decorate spaces. Key essentials include:
- Form and shape: Consideration of form and shape in creating visually appealing objects.
- Material and craftsmanship: Choice of materials and level of craftsmanship in creating intricate and exquisite objects.
- Ornamentation and detail: Crafting decorative details to add visual interest and intricacy.
- Style and aesthetics: Drawing inspiration from various cultural, historical, and artistic references to create unique objects.
- Context and placement: Creating objects with specific functions and placing them within a space to enhance visual impact.
Interior design and decorative arts share a focus on aesthetics and visual appeal but have distinct design essentials. Interior design emphasizes space planning, color schemes, texture and pattern, lighting, and furniture and fixtures. Decorative arts focus on form and shape, material and craftsmanship, ornamentation and detail, style and aesthetics, and context and placement.
artSparx Design Portals
Build a strong design foundation for success.
Explore our 6 essential design portals at your own pace. Focus on one section or absorb them all. Design is personal, so be true to your instincts, build the proper toolkit, and let your passions spill into the world around you.
Design Styles
Tuscan
Elements of Style
Piecing it Together
Color Design
Understanding Color
Decorative Effects
Faux Fun
Step-by-Step
Think it... Make it!
Skills to Master
Build it... Fix it!
Design Styles - Plan where you want to play: Exploring different styles of design helps you understand what feels right for you. No point in investing in a beautiful place if you and your family don't feel comfortable living in it.
Elements of Style - How will your spaces be used? What are the key features you are looking for? Understanding the function of the space allows you to thoughtfully explore the elements that combine in a room to realize your personal style.
Color Design - Designing with Color. Using color takes a good eye, a little know-how, and a creative imagination. At artSparx we've developed a color program that will help you solve all your color challenges.
Decorative Effects - Making your style your own is more than choosing the right furniture or throw pillow. Exploring the flea markets or your grandmother's attic is where you'll find some of the best stuff. Make it your own!
Step-by-Step tutorials - Now that you got this design thing down, branch out. Share what you can do by creating new and amazing things that help others find their style.
Skills to Master - Your tools are your strength. Be it knowledge, experience, or basic ingenuity, the artSparx 'Skills to Master' helps lay the foundation for all you create.
Decorative Paint Effects
Decorative paint finishes, also known as faux finishes, create unique and artistic effects on walls, ceilings, furniture, and other surfaces. These finishes require skill and creativity to achieve and can be customized to match various design styles, making them a popular choice for adding artistic flair to interior spaces.
Venetian Plaster
Painted Scrolls
Classic Parchment
Painted Furniture
Marblizing
Antique Glaze
Historic Design Styles
Historic design styles refer to distinct design movements or periods from the past that have influenced architecture, interior design, and decorative arts. These design styles are characterized by unique features, materials, colors, and motifs that reflect the cultural, social, and artistic influences of their time.
Historic Styles
Adam Style
Arts and Crafts
Art Deco
Art Nouveau
Baroque
Victorian
Oil Gilding Video Tutorial
Quick Dry oil size gilding. This detailed demonstration shows you how to apply genuine gold, Silver, imitation gold, aluminum, and copper leaf to objects and furniture using the classic 3-hour oil size method. Learn about types of adhesive, testing for 'tack' and drying rates, easy leaf application tips, and cleaning and burnishing the leaf.
Pre-mixed Glazes
Ready, set, GO!
Get started with these premixed glazes. Select one of our pre-mixed glaze colors or create your own. We custom mix any color from all major paint manufacturers. Just pick your own color from any swatch book and let us know the paint name and number, and we'll send you the right glaze - interior or exterior - custom matched to your liking.
Create classic effects such as colorwashing, dragging, striee, antiquing effects, furniture effects, and much more!
Featured Step-by-step
Decoupage
Decoupage, the art of applying cut-out imagery to furniture and objects, flourished in Europe during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries. This technique is great for decorating objects, such as a recipe box, and fits well with French Country, English Country, and American Country design styles. Decoupage offers a simple design solution for dressing up many common items within the home, including boxes, trays, chests, and tables.
Featured Style
Adam Style
Adam style is named for Robert Adam, the most famous architect of the British eighteenth century. He revolutionized Neoclassical design and created a style remarkable for its freshness, fluidity, and grace. Adam's work became enormously influential in England and America, known as Federal style and remained the dominant mode in domestic architecture from the 1790s to the 1830s.
Caribbean Style
The Caribbean is a lively array of cultures, set like jewels in a landscape of white beaches, blue mountains, and emerald jungle. Along with steel drums, relaxed island culture, and cuisine both spicy and sweet, the charm and vibrancy of Caribbean design make an indelible impression.
Early American Style
Colonial Americans drew inspiration from their European heritage. Current design styles would filter across the ocean and become reinvented in early America. Proportion and scale took reign over ornamentation. A neutral color palette of grey blue, greens, and rose pinks is readily apparent.
Stucco Rustico - Aged Plaster
Stucco Rustico is a Traditional interior and exterior textured plaster that epitomizes the rustic old-world charm commonly associated with Tuscan environments. This treatment is easy to apply and provides a natural, organic glazed appearance that holds true to the test of time.
The Rustic Color Palette
The Rustic Style color palette falls within a distinct range of color tones and is essential in creating a successful Rustic interior. By using the appropriate color tones, you can create various design styles ranging from Period and Historic to regional or thematic.
Painted Floral Details
Floral patterns used as accents in fabrics and furniture are common details in English Country homes. These graceful and organic patterns complement the cozy interior of this style and work particularly well with lace window treatments and the rustic charm of wooden ceiling beams.