March 28, 2024

t9oor

Swing Your Home

Good interior design can change your life | Pontotoc Progress

Interior design for your home is much more than simply having a beautiful home or impressing your neighbors. Good interior design can lower your stress level, make your home function better, and can literally change your life!

Elise De Wolfe is considered to be the “First Lady of Interior Design” and wrote the now classic interior design book, The House in Good Taste, in 1913. This classic book has been reprinted numerous times over the last one hundred years. De Wolfe was a Broadway actress who used her eye for design to renovate the interiors of a historic house she shared with a prominent theatrical agent. Party guests to their home included such famous people as J. P. Morgan and Mrs. William Waldorf Astor. The interior design of the home caught the attention of the guests and De Wolfe began to be paid to design the interiors for her friends. Her work helped launched interior design as a profession. The interior design profession has grown and evolved through the years and today good interior design is an essential part of the overall design of commercial buildings as well as residential homes. De Wolf promoted simplicity and the timeless principle still in effect today that good design must be both functional and beautiful.

Our home can be a place that relaxes us and soothes our soul. Even small changes can have a huge impact. Here are just a few of the ways that interior design can make your life better:

Improves our mood, productivity, and energy level. Paint color, lighting, and furniture placement can help create a space that is restful and relaxing. A designated work area with a comfortable chair and good task lighting makes it easier to sit down and enjoy a hobby or do homework. Bringing nature inside with plants and flowers can give us energy. Soothing wall colors can help you relax and sleep better at night,

Increases organization. Creative storage solutions help create organization and ensure that everything has a place. Having an organized home with a designated place to store commonly used items such as keys, coats, and backpacks saves time looking for items and can lower stress levels.

Makes our home functional. Determining how you use your home helps you to use space to best suit your needs. If you don’t need a formal dining room, then convert it into a relaxing sitting area, home office, or play area to best suit your lifestyle.

Makes homes safe. Good design considers the safety of the occupants. Consider design that allows for “aging in place” that incorporates curb-less showers and grab bars. Attractively designed ramps can add, not detract from a home’s value by making the home more usable for young parents with baby strollers as well as older people with walkers.

Creates spaces for everyone. Open design and layout can encourage family time and conversation. Good design can also create enjoyable spaces for individual family members such as a reading nook for mom and dad, and a play area for children. Chairs and sofas that are comfortable make people want to sit down.

Jones, L. M. (2014). Beginnings of Interior Environments. Pearson: Upper Saddle River, NJ.

De Wolfe, E. (2004). The House in Good Taste. Rizzoli International Publications: New York.