Evolution of Commercial Interior Design

Posted by admin in Interior Design on May 14, 2012

What is Commercial Interior Design

Commercial design, sometimes known as contract or non-residential interior design, can be described as a challenging and complex process of creating and managing the construction or renovation of the commercial spaces.

Even though some people use the “commercial” interior design term interchangeably with the “office” interior design. However, the work encompasses a much larger variety then the office spaces. The commercial design projects also involves the design and specification of public spaces, such as hotels, restaurants, and similar buildings beyond the “office” space. In other words, designing commercial design involves designing the interior of any facility that serves business purposes.

It usually demands a significant amount of attention to detail and it involves much more than just the decoration of the interior of the spaces. The design projects address much wider issues including:

  • design and maximisation of space,
  • eco friendly build and renovation,
  • ceiling and lighting options,
  • power and plumbing systems,

and even commissioning data and voice communications systems to meet demand.

This work requires the experts to have a good grasp of architecture, as well as an artistic sense for creating attractive settings within the space.

In today’s extremely commercialised world, we take a lot of things for granted. Compare today’s TV advertising to that of 50 years ago. Think of the current visual merchandising with the visual merchandising in the early 20th Century.

How about the commercial interior design? As you think cast your mind over the evolution of the commercial public spaces, you will realise the enormous amount of change it has gone through. In the following section, I will take you through a brief history of commercial interior design.

Evolution of Commercial Interiors

Many historians agree that the profession of commercial interior design is said to have its roots in 19th Century. It used to be known as the interior decoration initially. One of the key influences was the development of new techniques and technologies that were born out of the Industrial Revolution. They made the mass produced furnishings and materials much cheaper and accessible for all.

Initially most of the early commercial interior work was carried out by the architects. The start of the 20th Century saw the emergence of decorators and designers that were focusing on the commercial interiors. Read the rest of this entry »

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Gathering Around the Kitchen Table

Posted by admin in Kitchen Table on May 13, 2012

There’s something special about the kitchen. It’s a place of warmth and sustenance, from which issues the vital sustenance that will sustain you and your family throughout the day. It’s where you belly gets full and your mind is eased, and the world is made simple, and wholesome.

All of these qualities make the kitchen the perfect place to gather friends and family for social situations. However this is difficult if people don’t have somewhere to rest their feet and feel at ease. Even though snacking, and enjoying beverages, makes the kitchen an ideal gathering ground, if people don’t have somewhere to go, they’ll just end up leaning on the fridge, sitting on counters, or wandering aimlessly throughout the space.

A table provides a location, it’s like a beacon calling people to come and join you within the space. It gives them a place to sit and chat, to feel at ease within the room, and to take part in the kitchen community. It is an intrinsically social tool that brings people together.

It also has a symbolic value. Sitting down with the family to share a meal is emblematic of good, wholesale situations which tend to bring people together over the good things in life. In this way you will be working with archetypes to subtly alter the nature of the environment you live within.

The problem with kitchen tables is that not every space is big enough to fit them. Often you will have kitchens that are so small you don’t have room for anything except the bare necessities. Function generally has to win out over form in these situations because, in essence, the kitchen is supposed to be a functional place, a place to get things done.

There are a few alternatives however, if your kitchen is too small for a regular sized table. One is to play with angle, setting a square table butted up against a ninety degree corner. This effectively eliminates two of the side jutting out into the floor space. Another option is to have a small bar, or lunch counter installed along one of the walls. This can be coupled with some barstools to create a tiny, out of the way seating and eating setting. If construction is an option, you can often cut a hole through a kitchen wall into the adjoining room, creating a counter space in the area in between. Read the rest of this entry »

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Top Home Flooring Trends for 2012

Posted by admin in Flooring on May 12, 2012

New flooring immediately transforms any space from blah to bam! For this reason, putting in new floors is one of the fastest ways to update a property. If you’re hoping to beautify your home in the New Year, review the 2012 hardwood flooring styles we’ve listed below.

1. Flooring for outdoor applications. Creating an attractive outdoor living area expands your livable space without racking up costs. For this reason, outdoor living continues to appeal to consumers who can’t afford to upgrade to an entirely new home. Manufacturers have complied with this trend by creating outdoor flooring that snaps together easily to make a tough yet attractive surface.

2. Customized floors. Today you can customize your sneakers and your digital device – why not floors? The modern flooring industry offers customization by means of endless choices in textures, designs, and materials. Especially if you ask your provider for personalization options, you can find flooring that will reflect your unique spirit.

3. Humidity-proof engineered wood flooring. Hardwood floor applications were limited by the natural contraction and expansion of wood with climate conditions – until now, that is. Today’s builders and designers can use engineered wood flooring in moisture-prone areas. Engineered wood combines bonded plywood and a veneer of finished wood. It will not warp or twist with moisture or temperature shifts, meaning that engineered wood can be installed in bathrooms, kitchens, and other problematic parts of the home.

4. Large pieces of tile and wood flooring. Large, interlocking pieces are all the rage in today’s flooring industry. How large? Some ceramic tile is now available in 3×3-foot pieces. The result is fewer grout lines and less maintenance. Moreover, large tiles can make a space appear larger. Hardwood flooring producers are also creating wider, longer floorboards, some 7 feet long and 7.5 inches wide.

5. The hand-scraped wood flooring look. If you’re worried about unsightly scratches in your wood floor, here’s a novel approach: embrace scratches as a purposeful part of your design. This is certainly not the last year in which hand-scraped hardwood flooring enjoy popularity. Designers and consumers alike appreciate the unique character that scraping brings to wood flooring, and property owners adore the fact that even the toughest household can’t make pre-scratched wood look bad.

High labor costs make hand-scratched wood flooring expensive. For a less expensive alternative, choose laminate floors, which can expertly imitate the look and feel of hand-scraped wood flooring. Read the rest of this entry »

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