Dalia Speaks: Interior Design Styles

7/30/2019 Dalia Speaks: Interior Design Styles

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DALIA SPEAKS

"Dalia Sadany ASK Magazine's designconsultant, Chief Designer & Founder

of Dezines Architecture & Interiors,

Managing Director & Partner of Decon

Contracting as well as the creator of the

new furniture brand GUSH is dwelling

into the world of Architecture, Interior

Design landscaping ,and Contracting."

In the previous nine articles it was my

endeavor to simplify a rather dreary task ofconstructing your dream home , especially to

All 3Dmax shots are created by Dezines-Dalia Sadany Creations

the majority of the home owners who have

little or no knowledge of how to tackle such amission. With my long experience in dealing

with several homeowners from different

milieus , the most common misconception

lies in their lack of awareness in how to

organize and plan the protocol used to turn a

dream project to a vivid reality in the easiest

, least expensive manner . And the second

most common perplexity is not identifying

the speciic role of each professional needed

and the correct order of appearance of

each pro and eventually an immense chaos

springs in the sequence of execution whichis translated into loss of time and money. I

elucidated on the steps of constructing your

aspired vicinity ,I elaborated afterwards on

the players involved in the process in full

microscopic details , whether The Architect

, The Interior Designer, The Landscape

Designer or The contractor with his several

specializations and I explained later the

methods of which you can use to construct

your project .

In the article covering the role of the

eminent Architect ,and the glamorous

Interior Designer , i pinpointed a vital fact

that in order to achieve a successful design

you need to gather up your preferences and

hand it over to your designer as a guide line

to be taken into consideration enabling

him/her to design the required project

in a lowing manner that embodies your

fondness and is complemented by studied

sciences into a coherent reality.

One of the most important preferences that

any home owner should tackle and decideupon, is his favored style whether in the actual

architecture of the building or its interior.

Even furniture production , mirrored certain

styles , and its progression and evolution was

directly proportional to the variant eras and

their corresponding inluences.

But prior to listing and dwelling deeply into

the most common styles used in interior

design , we need to deine irst what is style?

What does this widespread term means?

How to apply that ideology ? How to master

the ability to decide upon o nes' preference

of a certain style as oppose to another?

What is STYLE in interior design?Style in interior design is a concept not far

from style in clothing , anyone can dress

themselves, but how many can stand out

and look distinctively "Stylish"? Some

people have the natural ability to visualizean entire outit down to its minute piece of

accessory and it is well known that the trick

is in the clever use of accessories to create

the eye catching "Look" or "Style" , the same

principle applies to interior design.

Without the need to launt big

terminologies , style is taste and charm , the

ability to combine numerous factors and

items in a well balanced , harmonious, eye

pleasing collage , that has the "it" factor, that

you cannot synopsize it into one landmark

that stands out , it is the whole combination.

It's the eficacious proiciency to be

appreciated by everyone regardless of their

tastes, they do not necessarily have to like it

, but admire the taste, art and enthusiasm in

which it was presented by.

Style in relation to interior design can

mean many things but overall it sums up

the ability to be able to create an interior

that has a crystal clear good taste that

lows within the space, is harmonious,well balanced, comfortable, practical,

aesthetically pleasing to the eye and an

overall creation that is memorable. It is

created by individuality in personality

translated in every detail.

What are the types of styles in

interior design?A lot of people use this word lamboyantly with

no comprehension of its genuine deinition

nor its variant categories. And

ignorantly demolished into the

common ones , "The classic " an

,regardless from the fact that th

history there are hundreds and

different styles each with their

character , motifs and usable e

deine it individually among all

some styles are mixtures of oth

a little bit more dificult to diffe

Styles can be classiied by his

dates for example Art nouve

eras and their economical in

as Industrial or by regions an

and their inspirations as in M

or by provinces such as urb

English country . I have categmost popular ones shown in

and Please note, that this is n

classiication, it is merely my

set of tiers that simpliies gro

numerous styles in a manne

relate to, into what I have cal

New world styles as well as a

known as Country and Ethni

diagram on the next page.)

I have used these labels in re

vibe that each category eman

instance the set under the na

emits an aura of classicism, d

and craftsmanship as well as

of authentic timelessness .As

World it is a group of styles t

freshness, they radiate airine

and a mirror to revolutionar

to all that is traditional throutimes. Put into consideration

is dated in the time when it e

sometimes when it ended and

a timeline so you can kno w th

of styles through time, so you

wasnt the dates that distingu

the two categories, its the es

have the Country batch wh

associated with certain coun

distinguished ethnic inluenc

20 ASK DECEMBER 2012 ASK DECEM


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DALIA SPEAKS

In following articles the most common

styles will be discussed in details, with all

its unique features and elements, how to

obtain your favorite style of all putting into

consideration that blending styles is alsocommon. In fact a lot of the new styles are a

combination of others. Examples are eclectic

(several periods and styles brought together)

How to choose your favorite

Interior design style?One of the most generic questions that

I face in my long years of dealing with

clients is usually; Is the aptitude to pinpoint

clearly ones' favored style a naturally gifted

sense? Or could it be an achievable decision

via following a manual of scrupulous

instructions? Well, as I mentioned, some

people are naturally gifted and can identify

effortlessly their favored style, but themajority are incapable of deciding upon

their preference smoothly and undoubtedly.

Everyone wants their designed space

to be stylish, beautiful and impressive

to themselves and others. Thats easier

said than done, this task is as daunting

as creating a color scheme. There are

hundreds of interior design styles out

there choosing which is for you depends'

on your own personal taste, your likes and

dislikes, what you are comfortable with

and can live with.

A lot of owners who decide to tackle the

ordeal of decorating their projects, whether

a private residence, a retail or a commercial

project , could have already their own style

or taste , but probably just dont know how

to identify it or know its complementary

features. For others who do not, then a

homework should be done , and to make it

non problematic , I will summarize it in the

following points;

A useful piece of info ; interior elements are

divided into two categories, hard interior

and soft .Hard interior is all items that areinstalled such as looring , wall treatments,

ceilings treatments, window types and

treatments, doors and their uncountable

designs , and of course paintings and

colors which is a part of ceiling and wall

solutions. As for the soft elements , it's all

that is placed and variable such as furniture,

lighting, curtains, accessories, carpets and

rugs and art pieces. Please refer to the

Interior Design article in ASK magazine ,

dated December 2011.

STEP ONE Educate your selfMagazines, books and websites

Flick through magazines, books and

the internet, they are a rich source of

information. Start with the internet. There

are thousands of websites about interior

design and styles. Have a browse through

the pictures and save whatever catchs youreye in your favorites for printing. Dont play

safe. Save everything you like at this stage

and ilter through later. When browsing

through the pictures you need to train

yourself how to look. Look at the different

hard and soft elements in the pictures. You

may not like the interior in the picture as

a whole, but when you look deeper there

maybe one hard or soft element that catchs

your eye. Save it and make a note of what

exactly you liked. This takes a bit of training.

The more you look at pictures the more you

develop a sense of style and color themes.

STEP TWO Walk around retail shops

Take a walk through several furniture,

lighting and accessories stores. Pick out

forms and colors that you ind really

appealing , and take notes of every item you

like , talk to retail sales people and discuss

the mix and match of items , most of them

are trained professionals in their ields and

would be of immense help . Do not forget

fabrics shops for upholstery and curtains,

they could advice on the fabrics that

compliments your intended feel .But make

sure you talk to a professional personnel

not merely a sales rep.

STEP THREE Keep an observant eye

wherever you go

Designing an interior especially

residential and speciically your own

residence , is a full time job while it lasts

, you have to always keep your senses

alert wherever you go for a catchy twist

, a new idea , a brilliant solution , or an

unorthodox manner of treatment for a

material, as well as inishing materials

themselves , that only professional

designers are aware of their availability

and usages. So , keep an observant eye,

and a ready camera, when you go out to

dinner in a fancy restaurant , or watch

a movie in a beautifully inished and

furnished theatre , or even when you havea meeting in a lavish ofice .... You never

know , what you can discover, like, want to

save and create upon round the corner.

P.S. An understanding and appreciation

for art is also essential, , art galleries

and exhibitions are also a rich source of

inspiration

STEP FOUR Have your own

clipboards with all bits and pieces

Get a ile and create a sleeve for every

room in the house. Dont forget the halls

and entrance. Make sure to create a sleeve

to keep your plan layout. You will need it

later. Take note of the colors and fabrics that

complement each other well ,bookmark all

the interiors that catch your eye on irst

glance. Think about what you would have

done differently to put your own mark on

the design. Print out all the images you saved

from suring the net , also do not forget the

pictures you have taken of features, furniture

, ideas that appealed to you .I will be

discussing most of the styles in the next few

articles , so get your markers ready .

STEP FIVE Analyze your choices

Go back now through all t he book marked

pages and you will start to see a pattern

of the style that you like. It is the same

when you are going through a decorating

store, there will always be a certain style of

fabric that you are most drawn to, a style

of furniture, paintings, decorative lighting

etc. Think about your design space now and

the pieces you already own. Which s tyles

do you love, and which styles are you not

so crazy about? What feels comfortable toyou, and what makes you shudder; if you're

really are honest with yourself? Imagine

the fabrics you enjoy, the furniture styles

you long for, and the colors that perk you u p

and make you feel at home. As you look at a

variety of model interiors you should begin

to get a sense of what really attracts you in

style, color, and form Once you have some

ideas about what you like and don't like, it's

time to go shopping!

STEP SIX Seek professional help

This protocol I usually advice owners to

follow through whether they are going to

hire a professional to design their project

or not , since it is always helpful for us

designers to deal with a client that has anidea of his own preference, even if it is not

cultivated, organized or reined. So if your

intention is to hire a pro do your homework

and be fully prepared to present your

clipboard with your book marks on it to

discuss with your designer.

If you are handling the job of designing

your space yourself , and after following

the above protocol you are still at loss seek

professional guidance , as a c

,and ind out about those sty

interpretation to color, furni

looring, accessories etc.

Interior designers help you

style. A good designer will sucomprehensive survey to get

likes and dislikes. They will d

needs and functions for each

the mood you want to create

they will show you different

fabric and textures. In the en

information to come up with

options for you to choose fro

exercise. The inal result is s

contributed to create.



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Tips

1-Be sympathetic to your environment.

If you have a Renaissance Style home(

Like some of the magniicent houses in

Heliopolis), you dont necessarily have to

decorate it in that same period, but you

do need to be sympathetic to that style as

you cant ignore the bones or st ructure

of the home. You can compliment a fresh

new style in the interior but maintain the

breath taking moldings in the high ceiling

for example .It sometimes breaks my

heart when home owners throw away the

fascinating colored Tuscan or Andalusian

loor tiles for instance, that we all saw in

our grandparents houses, for commercial

porcelain or ceramic tiles. Please cherish

the authenticity and compliment on it.

2- There are so many design styles to

choose from, chances are you can ind

one (or two or three) that really appeal

to your senses. Choosing your own

design style will take some time and

some research, but you don't have to

redo the whole house at once! When you

discover the style that's right for you,

you can take your time creating rooms

that resonate with your own special

design melody. So take your time , do

not rush your decisions, better safe

than paying a lot of money in redoing

something you do not like.

3- Remember that the whole point ofascertaining your style is to cleverly

maximize of the potential of a space

using all the skills, knowledge and tools

available. Think about the room you want

to decorate, too. A bathroom may be a

cozy, comfortable space, while a kitchen

may make more sense with smooth, clean

lines and ultra-modern appliances. The

design style may depend at least a

little on the room and what it dictates.

4- The thing about choosing design style

is what makes you feel comfortable and

home. There are no rules. You probably

like more than one style. You may decide

to go with one look throughout the house

or even combine them. At the end of the

day it is your living space and if you love it

thats what counts. Everybody is different

so there is no such thing as a good style

and bad style, but there is something as

a good design and poor design. A well

designed space is one that is pleasing to

the eye and functional. It won't take you

long before you start hating your new

beautifully designed kitchen if it isn't

convenient to cook in for example.After

all the research, guidance and help you

will get, still create what appeals to

you , it's your space after all.

5- From my experience most people like

different looks, but most dont want to

experiment. The popular styles here

are contemporary and modern for the

younger generation and French classic for

the more mature generation, Do not freak

out, take a leap, dig into different styles ,

venture into uniqueness if your target is

to stand out. Do not settle for investing

in enhancing a "dj vu" interior,

create a fresh unseen one.

6- Eclectic , is a well known style that is a

combination of several other styles. Be a

maverick, do not shy out, mix styles ,

it will be different, you may still call it

eclectic , but you can add a slash and

your name to it.

Live the mood to the fullest , it's usefu l to

cultivate your vision in order to achieve

your aspired goal of choosing your favorite

style , yet it is also a permanent reining of

one's taste.

You can reach me at my email

[email protected]

DALIA SPEAKS


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Dalia Speaks: Interior Design Styles