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We have discussed in great detail the value of assessing your real needs and the benefits of good functional planning. In addition, we have pro vided a number of examples to help you reassess and reorganize your space. The following section deals with the aesthetics of the space: what you can do to enhance the interior of your home. Aside from interior decoration, paint, wallpaper, and furniture selection, maximum aesthetic use can be made of every structural and functional element. These design opportunities include the use of natural and artificial light, the introduction of a fireplace or a low partition, and a change in floor level or ceiling height that subtly demarcates one space from the next. ROOM DIVIDERS Most of the spaces we are familiar with are divided into rooms by full-height partitions pierced by doors and arches. In recent years it has become fashionable to tear down partitions and convert many smaller rooms into one large, multi-use space. This design strategy has much to recommend it: the larger room has the potential for grandeur as well as greater visual interest, and can accommodate more people at a party. On the other hand, many of these newly created rooms are the unplanned, haphazard by-products of demolition, so completely lacking in architectural definition that it's hard to tell where the hallway ends and the room begins. Sometimes the space is so amorphous that one is hard pressed to find a good spot for the sofa and easy chair. The worst (or least) designed of these spaces does not pro vide in any way for visual separation between one functional entity and the next, creating a space that lacks harmony, organization, and intimacy. All rooms, both large and small, single or multipurpose, should be defined and well proportioned. By “defined” we mean having some sort of definite or subtle shape. A poorly defined room is one that seems to bleed out in all directions, a shapeless room. Rooms such as bedrooms are usually easy to design because they are small and contained. Large spaces, especially ones that are multifunctional and serve as foyer, hall, living room, dining room, and kitchen, have to be very carefully designed. An exploration of how most people experience space may be helpful in understanding the design process. When we enter a room, either a friend’s living room or the Sistine Chapel, our eye first takes in the room as a whole, its scale and proportions. The experience is immediate and the effect psychological. Our immediate impression of the Sistine Chapel is one of awe. Our first impression of a friend’s living room should be one of invitation and comfort. Within a moment, after the initial impression is made, our eye begins to en compass the architectural effects of the space, its balcony, staircase, skylight, mantelpiece, windows, and the like. These larger details create the visual diversity and interest of the room, its intellectual appeal. Last, our eye takes in the finer details, the pattern of the wallpaper, the painting on the wall, the style and color of the furniture. The quality that our eye reads first, the one that makes the first impression, the room’s definition and proportion, is of primary importance. No amount of exquisite detailing can save a poorly defined or proportioned room. In the design process, once the basic shape and proportions of a large room have been established, you can begin designing its larger details, one of which is the subtle definition of smaller, intimate spaces within the larger area. There are many subtle ways to define the areas within a larger space. One method is the use of different floor levels. The dining area may be located on a platform two steps up from the living area, or, conversely, the lounge area sunk a step or two below the level of the existing floor. The platform construction isn't difficult in a renovation since it's easy to build directly on top of the existing floor. The sunken-living-room scheme is more difficult in that it requires the restructuring of the floor system. The living and dining rooms of the first floor and part of a bedroom on the second floor of this split-level house were combined to form a large two-story entertainment area. Another often overlooked means of defining space is a change in ceiling height. If you are lucky enough to have a very high ceiling in your large, multifunctional room, you might define the dining area by lowering the ceiling, or, on the contrary, raising the ceiling over the table. Likewise, circulation areas may be defined by a dropped ceiling. Low walls, buffets, and bookcases provide another way to divide the space functionally but not visually. When you are standing in a room containing a waist-high buffer, you see the divider and know where one area ends and another be gins. But since the divider is lower than your eye level, you experience the extended space. A less subtle way to create smaller areas within a larger room is to erect some sort of semi-open divider. A glass-block divider allows light to penetrate from one room to the next. The buffet-book case-storage wall shown in Illustration 4 can be opened to allow partial visibility or closed to create two distinct rooms. FIREPLACES A fireplace adds to the visual drama of a room and , according to recent studies, the installation of a fireplace will dramatically increase a house’s resale value. A fireplace not only provides warmth and light in winter; it serves as a room’s visual focal point the entire year. In addition, this design element can be used as a divider to define space within a larger room. In a room with a high ceiling, the fireplace can be located at the point of maximum ceiling height so that the long chimney flue will express the verticality of the space. A fireplace finished in a roughly textured material, such as brick, stone, or stucco, can add richness to an otherwise stark room. The visual play between solid and void is emphasized when a fireplace is placed on an exterior wall and is flanked on both sides by panes of glass. Built-from-scratch fireplaces are difficult and expensive to construct since they require the skills of an experienced craftsman. Prefabricated and semi-prefabricated fireplaces are easy to in stall. The semi-prefabricated version consists of the fireplace’s internal workings—the firebox, flue, and damper—and can be enclosed in any material, including brick, gypsum board, or marble. LIGHT Natural Light The least expensive means of adding visually to the house is harnessing the energy of the sun. Sunlight, as yet free and untaxed, is available in most parts of the world during most times of the year. Large windows expand the space by letting in the outdoors. Variations in the room’s natural lighting can set one area apart from another, giving it a distinct feeling or character. If you have a roof directly over the living room, try to incorporate a skylight or clearstory. Place the skylight so that it's centered above the sitting area or dinner table. (Remember to use double- or triple-glazed units and /or energy-efficient glass to minimize heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer.) This steel wire and pipe railing, which meets code requirements, was designed specifically not to obstruct the river view beyond. Adding new windows or expanding existing ones is a way to give an old room a new look. If you have a view, replace a small window with a large panel of fixed glass. (Make sure you have some operable windows in the room to conform to building code requirements for ventilation and egress in case of fire.) If you have a yard or patio outside your living space, open the space to the outdoors by installing a sliding glass door or a few pairs of French doors. If you want to replace your small windows with larger ones, keep in mind that it's easier and less expensive to make them longer than it's to make them wider. Widening the windows necessitates the restructuring of the wall around the window. A far simpler chore is removing the old windows and demolishing the wall beneath the sill. This long, narrow window acts as a visual doorway to the outside. Artificial Light Much drama and visual interest can be created with good lighting design. Gone are the days when a single ceiling fixture and a 100-watt bulb were the answer to any lighting problem. We now have tracks, recessed fixtures, low- and high- voltage lighting, special effects to highlight sculpture, and tiny bulbs that make crystal glitter. Residential lighting design is almost a technology in itself, but you don’t have to be a professional to design a simple, workable lighting scheme. The first rule in residential lighting is to avoid the creation of a uniform lighting level through out the house. Not only is it a dull way to illuminate space; it's functionally incorrect and not very good for your eyes. Different tasks require different levels of illumination. The best light for reading is a source of illumination that comes from over your shoulder or overhead. The lighting source shouldn't be bright, since the pupil of the eye will respond to the brightness of the light source rather than the level of light on the page you are reading, causing eyestrain. If you are illuminating an area where close work is to be done—a desk, the kitchen counter, a sewing machine, or a piano—try to put the lighting source close to the work surface. A desk can be lighted by a lamp or by long fixtures hid den under the lowest shelf above the desk top. Similarly, kitchen counters are best lit by fixtures installed under the overhead cabinets. The old rule of thumb that fluorescent lighting is cold and blue and should never be used in residential applications is no longer really true. Fluorescent tubing is available in many colors, some resembling the yellowish color of incandescent bulbs and some coming very close to matching the color of daylight. Even so, many people are partial to incandescent lighting, and with the exception of under-cabinet kitchen lights, this type of lighting fixture still dominates the residential market. Dining tables should be lighted directly from above using overhead fixtures either mounted on the ceiling or suspended from it. (Wall sconces cast nasty shadows unless the light is directed upward to bounce off the ceiling.) If the fixtures above the table are at ceiling height, direct the light beam onto the table itself rather than onto the faces of the people sitting around the table. If you are using more than one source of light, organize the light so that there is a soft, general illumination on the table and a narrow spotlight to highlight the centerpiece. Install a dimmer on the switch for added flexibility and enhanced drama. Suspended fixtures are excellent sources of illumination for dining rooms. Lighting experts suggest that you avoid fixtures with exposed bulbs, which cause glare. They recommend that you conceal the source of illumination even to the extent of putting little shades on naked chandelier bulbs. Living-room lighting is a mix of a number of schemes. Paintings hanging on the walls are best illuminated by ceiling-mounted fixtures located to throw relatively low levels of light directly onto the pictures. General room illumination can be achieved by the use of uplights. Light thrown onto the ceiling is in turn reflected downward to the rest of the room. The objects on the coffee table may be lit by medium-width spotlights. People’s faces can be softly lit by table or floor lamps with semi-translucent shades. All of these sources blend together to light the room success fully, creating lighter and darker areas. The guesswork can be taken out of lighting design by the installation of track lighting. A track mounted to the ceiling allows you to experiment with different light fixtures; for example, low-voltage heads can be used for both wide and narrow spotlighting and fixtures with MR16 lamps can be aimed at china and crystal for bright, glittering light. You can move the heads around and change the bulbs until you get the desired lighting effect. When you mount the tracks, install them about 3’ from the walls rather than in the middle of the ceiling; this will prevent glare. COLOR and TEXTURE The use of color in a house is an important consideration. More than any other aspect of house design, wall treatment is most influenced by current decorating fashion. Every design decade has seen the coming and going of paint-color and wallpaper-pattern trends. Since changing the paint color every few years is a relatively inexpensive alteration, the interior of the house need never look dated. For a long time it had been the practice of architects to paint the interiors of the residences they designed all in white. White interiors bring out the purity of line and form in a well-designed space. In addition, white is a back drop for selected areas, such as a stair or fireplace, that may be enhanced by the introduction of another color or a rough texture. Color is often used to set a tone or mood for a room. A study might be treated in rich, muted shades of blue or burgundy. Designers looking for dramatic effect have painted rooms in very dark, glossy brown or even black. Traditionalists follow historical guidelines, using one color of paint on the walls and another, often off-white with a hint of the wall color, on the ceiling and woodwork. Whatever color you choose, keep in mind that lighter values make a room look larger whereas dark colors make it feel smaller and more intimate. Many fancy painting methods have resurfaced recently, including glazing, faux marble, sponging, distressing, and stippling. The effect of all of these techniques is to give the wall surface depth and texture. There are, therefore, many approaches to deco rating and few rigid guidelines. One suggestion we make is that the house be treated as a whole unit with one unifying design concept when it comes to decorative color. This does not mean that you must use the same color in every room. It does suggest that you should consider the house as a sequence or flow of spaces rather than a collection of separate rooms. Texture can also be manipulated to add visual variety to an area. It isn't uncommon to visit a house and be surrounded by “sameness.” Wall paper alone can't substitute for a range of different materials. Plaster can be smooth in some areas and rough in others. It has been fashionable to apply only the brown coat of plaster and leave it rough and unpainted. There are heavy-gauge papers on the market that are applied to walls and ceilings to give them texture before the paint is applied. One paper has a raised pattern designed to resemble a tin ceiling. Aside from plaster and paint, the finishing materials most commonly used are carpet and wood, tile and marble. Even these familiar materials can be given new meaning if used in unusual ways. Carpeting may be placed on the floor of a small sitting area, carried over built-in cushioned plat forms (to be used for lounging), and laid right onto the walls of the room. Ceramic and marble tiles now are available in a wide variety of textures as well as colors. Ceramic tile floors are made to look like stone, and these stone-like tiles can be used to cover walls as well as floors. BUILT-IN FURNITURE and CABINETS When maximum adaptability isn't a requirement, built-in furniture can be a design asset and a space saver. Cleverly designed sleeping, sitting, working, and storage areas can be integrated into the overall house design. For instance, if a guest room, study, TV room, and sewing area must be made out of the same small space, a storage wall might be designed incorporating all of these diverse elements. The “wall” might contain a concealed, fold-down, Murphy-type bed, a fold- down writing table, and a hidden entertainment area in addition to the usual bookshelves and re cord cabinets. If flexible space is desired, modular wall-closet units on lockable casters can be built and rolled to where they are needed. These portable closets can be used in rows or groupings to act as elements that divide large spaces into smaller ones. MOLDINGS and TRIM A great deal of interest can be added to a room with the creative use of moldings and trim. Trim isn't merely decorative, but serves a very distinct functional purpose. Baseboard, door trim, and crown molding conceal the joints between the walls and floor, door buck, and ceiling, respectively. Chair rails protect the walls from potential scratches made when chairs are pushed back from the table. Projected, exaggerated crown molding can be used to hide light fixtures directed upward to light the ceiling. Simple wood molding and trim can be purchased from the lumberyard. Very elaborate architectural sculpture, such as column capitals, friezes, and fancy paneling may be ordered by catalogue or must be custom-carved. Some manufacturers offer elaborate classical molding made out of plaster or fiberglass. These pieces, installed and painted, tend to look very much like wood work. Decorative molding can be applied in both traditional and nontraditional ways. Traditional moldings include wainscoting and crown and picture molding. Nontraditional uses for classical de tails such as column capitals and friezes include their application over doors and as table bases. Next: Finishing Materials |
