4-H Interior Design Project Manual

Objectives

1. Learn and apply the elements of design: line, shape, texture, pattern, light, color, and space.
2. Learn and apply basic art principles as they relate to interior design: balance, rhythm, proportion, harmony, and emphasis.
3. Develop an appreciation of and skill in the selection and care of quality furnishings and accessories.
4. Learn and apply techniques of efficient use of energy as it relates to the home environment.
5. Learn to recognize the variety and quality of products relating to the home environment (e.g., carpet, fabrics, wallcoverings).
6. Develop skill in the creation of quality handmade articles for the home.
7. Become aware of Mississippi's furniture manufacturing industry and its impact on the economy.
8. Become aware of career opportunities within the interior design area.
9. Identify different styles and periods of furniture.
10. Learn to appreciate fine art; identify the artist and nationality.
11. Learn to arrange furniture to best utilize space.
12. Become aware of and practice safety measures when implementing home environment activities.
13. Develop an appreciation of and skills in the care and preservation of antiques, old furniture, home, and community buildings.
14. Develop leadership skills in the interior design project and help to recruit and teach others.

Leadership

One: Be a Project Club Teen Leader

Some of the counties have project clubs that meet once a month to work on interior design projects. Why not start one in your county? There is a project club guidebook available to help you get started.

Two: Tour Guide

A housing tour does not have to be of houses. Why not arrange to visit a construction site or a senior citizens' apartment complex?

Three: Community Project Organizer

What Is Design?

Design is everywhere. Each time you make a choice--whether it is clothes for school, your first automobile, pillows for your bedroom--you are making decisions on design.

What Is Interior Design?

Interior design is compared to baking a cake. When you bake a cake, there are certain ingredients necessary to make it a successful product. You select the ingredients according to the kind of cake you wish to bake. This also is true with interior design. You work with ingredients or elements of design--line, form, color, texture. Suggestions for selecting and combining these ingredients or elements are design principles--proportion, balance, rhythm, emphasis, harmony.

There is one big difference. . . in cake baking, you have recipes. In interior design, you do not have recipes. . .only guides. This helps to make it a challenging and rewarding experience.

Why Is Interior Design Important to You?

Don't get "bogged down" thinking you need a private room, new furniture, or lots of money. By learning about design--by gaining an appreciation of things pleasing, by selecting things of good quality--you can soon see many ways to add beauty.

A successful interior design project does not have to be expensive. The smallest of rooms or the barest of furniture can be made livable. But it does involve planning, and it does involve training your eyes to appreciate things of beauty.

Elements of Design

Most furniture in a room has a combination of lines. If the lines go in too many directions, it can be confusing. Long horizontal lines can make a piece of furniture seem restful. Vertical lines seem to be more formal. Diagonal lines indicate action and restless movement. Objects in a room can be made to look taller or wider with the direction of lines. For example, vertical stripes at a tall window will make it look taller.

Can you think of other ways lines help disguise the apparent size or shape?

Form is a three-dimensional shape. The rectangle is one of the most common forms in furnishings (sofas, chairs, chests, and tables). Some forms seem to be easier to combine than are others. Too many different forms can make a room look busy or fussy.

Space is an essential element of any design. Your personal space is limited by walls, windows, fabrics, furniture, and other objects. The challenge is to use space effectively. If your problem is too much space, divide the area into smaller segments through furniture arrangement, the use of screens, area rugs, and furniture groupings. Use warm colors and heavy-scale furniture.

Color. Nature is dressed in the most perfect color plan ever created.

Why do we feel at ease with nature? Because the soft colors predominate--look at the blue-green of rippling waters or the muted pink tones of a sunset. The bright hues (red, pink, purple, orange, and bright yellow) are seen in nature only in small proportions and are used sparingly in decorating because they can be overwhelming. In this way, let nature be your guide to selecting colors for your room.

A light, cheerful room can lift your spirits. Also, color is one of the least expensive decorating tools.

Use color to advantage in planning a scheme for your room according to one of these blendings:

• Monochromatic is when one color is used in shades, tints, and tones.
• Complementary is using two colors opposite each other on the color wheel, such as red and green.
• Adjacent is when adjoining or related colors are used, such as yellow and yellow-green.

Characteristics of Color

Hue is the color's name and changes when another color is added. Red added to violet makes red-violet. Red, blue, and yellow are primary colors. All other colors come from these colors.

Black and white are neutrals, not colors.

Value is the lightness or darkness of a color. Add white, get a tint; add black, get a shade; add gray, get a tone. Add white to red to get a tint of red, pink. Add black to red to get a shade of red, maroon. Tints are often referred to as pastel colors.

Intensity is the brightness or dullness of a color. An intense color is brilliant. Such a color can be dulled or neutralized until it becomes nearly gray by adding the color opposite it on the color wheel or by adding black, white, or gray.

Your Color Scheme

Things To Do

• Using a color wheel, develop color schemes for three rooms, one monochromatic, another complementary, and the third adjacent. Collect brochures, floor covering samples, paint chips, and fabric and wallpaper samples--anything to help develop the design scheme.
• Read magazines and clip pictures of rooms and furnishings that appeal to you. If possible, develop a scrapbook.
• Practice the skills learned. Do something as simple as rearranging a balance or an accessory display to improve its unity. Doing is a big part of learning.

Principles

Balance is grouping of shapes and colors around a center so there is equal attraction on each side of the center. With formal balance, equal objects are placed an equal distance from the center. Informal balance means unequal objects placed unequal distances from the center in such a way that a feeling of balance is created. A good basic tip is that "a heavy looking object is placed closer to the center."

Rhythm means related movement and is achieved by repetition of shapes, colors, and forms or by a systematic change in sizes, shapes, or colors. For example, a rectangular shaped picture over a long chest creates rhythm through repetition of forms and lines.

Emphasis is the arrangement of furnishings so that attention is directed to the important parts of a room. It is always a good idea to emphasize the most pleasing items and to try to disguise those not as pleasing.

Harmony is the result of applying all of these principles of design to one complete design. Everything in the design should contribute to its harmony. Harmony results when unity and variety are combined.

Texture is the surface quality of material--how it feels, how it looks like it feels, how it reflects or absorbs light. Textures vary from rough to smooth, coarse to fine, nubby to plain, harsh to soft, dull to glossy. Textures used in a room help to set the mood or theme for the room. For example, fine, elegant textures seem to belong to more formal furnishings. A room with many unrelated textures can seem "busy." A pleasing variety of textures can create interest in a room.

Two excellent rules of thumb: 1. Contrast increases variety. 2. Repetition increases unity.

Unity means several elements that are the same or similar in design have been used. Variety means that different elements have been added to a design to provide interest.

Harmony most readily results when the elements of design--line, form, space, texture, and color--are kept consistent.

What Is Style?

Most people cannot afford the cost of completely refurnishing a room, so most of the time new furniture is added to "hand-me-downs" or to furniture that has been treasured for many years. So, don't you agree that it is important for you to learn more about the question, "What is style?"

A short study of styles and how to combine styles will help you know "what goes with what." You will gain confidence in your ability. It will be easier for you to select the style best suited to your home and the way you live; also, it will help you avoid the "rubber-stamp" room that looks as if you tried to copy someone else and failed.

It is interesting and fun to talk about "trend" or the latest thing in furnishings; it is more important to concentrate on a few fundamentals about style. Style refers to certain design characteristics in furniture made during a certain period of time. An example of this is the Queen Anne period of traditional furniture originally made during the reign of Queen Anne in the 18th century.

One of the easiest ways to learn "what goes with what" is to separate furniture into two basic classes, such as formal and informal or heavy and light. After you learn to recognize certain pieces are more formal while others are more informal, you see it is easier to combine styles if they have something in common. For example, a formal sofa from the 18th century is easier to combine with an elegant piece of furniture of modern style than it is to combine the sofa with a primitive piece of pine furniture.

Furniture available today fits into the three major style categories of traditional, provincial, and contemporary or modern.

Traditional

Provincial

Contemporary

When you combine the best of several styles, it is an "ec-lec-tic" look.

Things To Do

Read at least one library book or other reference on furniture styles. Tour a museum or restoration of a house. Look at traditional furnishings in original settings.

Tour a local furniture store to contrast the many reproductions of traditional styles. Evaluate the reproductions of traditional furnishings with the simple lines of well-designed contemporary furnishings.

Write a section in the notebook about how to identify styles and periods. Write a section on the distinction between a trend and a style. Tell briefly about one of your favorite furniture styles and why you think it best fits your way of living.

Try your skill with this test:

1. Match each of these styles with the word that best describes it.

2. Which fabric would you select for the window treatment in a bedroom with pine paneling, printed chintz bedspread, white china lamp bases with ball fringe on the lamp shades, braided rug?

Remember, before selecting any style of furniture ask: "How do I want this room to appear?" "Will it go with what I have?" After answering these questions, select the styles and type of furnishings to help you achieve your desired look.

Shopping for Furniture

Probably most 4-H'ers, with few exceptions, have wished for something for the home and have shopped for home furnishings.

Hopefully, you will have some choice in the decisions for furnishing your room. . .and, of course, you will be making decisions when you furnish your first career apartment or dream home.

It is said shopping for furniture is a little like shopping for a new car--much of what you are buying is hidden inside and underneath. But knowing where to look, what to look for, and what to ask gives a good background for making wise decisions.

Before You Buy

Go to stores where you might make a purchase. See what is available. Make a list of places where you can buy furniture. List the advantages and disadvantages of the different types of businesses where you can buy furniture.

Interview a furniture salesman or other person in the furniture business. Ask questions about prices, construction, fabric, credit.

Do a comparison study of two similar items of furniture at different prices; for example, two sofas--look at expensive and inexpensive furniture. Study each piece for line, style, construction, finish, and materials. Compare the more expensive sofa with the sofa in the price range you can afford.

Compare different ways to buy a piece of furniture. How expensive is credit? Should you save enough money to pay cash?

Talk, Test, and Check

Shopping Skills

• Take along pictures, measurements, fabric swatches, color samples, and other articles to help you get furnishings that go together.
• Read labels, tags, and other printed information for valuable instructions.
• Inspect furniture by
  • Sitting in chairs and sofas to check for scale and comfort. Turn them over and look at underneath construction.
  • Feeling fabrics to help determine the finish, texture, durability, fibers used, and ease of care.
  • Checking colors in the natural light (daylight) as well as in the store light (artificial light).
  • Examining furniture and case goods carefully. ("Case goods" refers to furniture such as chests, dressers, beds.) Pull out drawers and doors and sofa beds to check storage, workmanship, and ease of operation. Check joint construction. Rock furniture to test sturdiness.
• Ask questions about
  • Kind of wood (hard or soft), finish on the wood, and whether the wood is stained or natural.
  • Whether the furniture is solid or veneered. Veneered furniture is made from a thin layer of hardwood over a core of other less-expensive wood. Solid wood is important for structural parts of furniture, such as frames, posts, legs, and rails.
  • The kind of finish. A good finish brings out the beauty of the color and grain of the wood. The finish protects against dirt, moisture, and wear.
  • Is the piece of furniture easy to clean? Examine the finish, handles, table tops, and fabric. Check to see that it will be easy to keep in good repair.
  • The type of padding and springs in upholstered furniture. Foam rubber or plastic foam is often used for padding. More expensive furniture will usually have coil springs; less expensive furniture will have zigzag.
• Shop for good quality, second-hand furniture that may be a better buy than low quality, new furniture. You may find just what you want in second-hand furniture stores, at auctions, at sales from homes or apartments, through advertisements in newspapers, or from friends who have furnishings to sell.
• Unfinished furniture may offer you a way to save money. Compare prices of similar pieces, finished and unfinished.
• Collect as many facts as possible. Make your choices of furniture using these facts, and consider what you and your family want. Take time in making decisions.

Checklist for Wood Furniture

Checklist for Upholstered Furniture

Fibers Used in Upholstery Fabrics

Acrylic (man-made). Soft, wooly hand. Takes vivid colors and cleans well. Retains shape and pleats. Offers fair abrasion and pilling resistance; excellent sunlight resistance. Good in velvet and plush fabrics.

Cotton (natural). One of the world's oldest and most popular fibers. Strong, versatile, soft, dyes well, is durable. Excellent pilling resistance. Limitations are fair resistance to sunlight and lower resistance to soils unless treated.

Nylon (man-made). A fiber superstar! Extremely strong, long wearing. High abrasion resistance, good cleaning characteristics. Limitations are less resistance to pilling, soil, and sunlight. Soft but cool to the touch unless blended with other fibers.

Rayon (man-made). Low in cost and extremely versatile. Strong, stable, colorfast. Blends well, has excellent pilling resistance. Fair resistance to abrasion, wear and sunlight. Durable when blended with fibers such as nylon.

Olefin (Herculon) (man-made). Extremely strong and durable. High resistance to soil, stain, and abrasion. Soft for a man-made fiber. Colors resist fading. Sensitive to heat.

Polyester (man-made). Strong and crisp, most like natural cotton in appearance and physical properties. Dyes well; easy to clean. Fair resistance to wear and sunlight.

Flax, Silk, Wool (natural). Each offers unique luster, texture, and hand characteristics. Each takes and holds color well. Individual limitations of strength, sun, or abrasion resistance mean these fine natural fibers are virtually always blended with others in better quality upholstery fabrics.

Wood Finishes

Distributed by State 4-H Youth Development

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Publication 1662
Extension Service of Mississippi State University, cooperating with U.S. Department of Agriculture. Published in furtherance of Acts of Congress, May 8 and June 30, 1914. Ronald A. Brown, Director