5 Principles Of Good Interior Design For Creating Inviting Spaces

Who doesn’t want their home to look inviting? As guests, we also look forward to visiting houses that radiate a sense of warmth and comfort. Homes that make even outsiders feel welcome, giving them positive and inviting vibes, are nothing but incredible pieces of artwork.

But we often do not wonder what goes into creating these attractive inviting spaces. At the core, it is human psychology which tends to make people feel comfortable and more welcomed in some places than others. These influencing factors can include lighting, texture, color scheme, two and three-dimensional spaces, and finally, how all of these are balanced in one single space.

In this article, we will be discussing five principles that are fundamental in making sure that you make choices that make your space more inviting. Creating an inviting space requires you to understand the core principles of interior design, and here we have elaborated on the five main ones that you need to know for good interior design.

1. Lighting

The lighting of a space can have a huge impact on people’s moods and behaviors. Bright light is indicative of clarity, and hence it’s normal for people to feel safe and protected in areas that have bright lighting.

But you cannot have only one kind of lighting in the entire house, because as much as bright lights induce the feeling of warmth of safety, it’s also indicative of an active and alert environment. People are mostly expected to engage in physical and social activities in brightly lit areas.

This gives rise to the necessity of dimly lit places since you cannot stay active throughout the day. At intervals, you’ll feel the need to rest for a while, enjoy some quietness, etc. 

These kinds of activities are rarely meant to be done in brightly lit places. Thus, you’ll also need to incorporate not-so-bright lighting in some areas to make your space feel comfortable. Install lights with adjustable intensity and warmth to set the ambiance as needed.

Be sure to let enough natural light enter your space, because no matter how bright your artificial lights are, nothing beats the vibe of natural light.

2. Texture And Pattern

Texture indicates the sensation you feel when you touch certain objects. Not only that, there’s something known as visual texture as well. Visual texture is the sensation that you feel when you look at a tangible object. It’s almost like you can understand how an object will feel if you touch it, just by looking at it.

Texture is involved in all tidbits of interior design. Floor, furniture, wallpaper, decorations – everything has a texture. However, the original focus is mainly the visual texture. As soon as a visitor enters your space, they can visually detect the texture of the space, and the more comfortable texture used, the more welcoming it feels.

Patterns also play an important role in determining the texture. Patterns are repetitions of shapes and lines that create an illusion of texture, giving the makeover of the space a sophisticated air to it.

3. Space

Space is perhaps the most important element of interior design. Space for executing the project is generally limited since it’s an enclosed area that the designer needs to work on. 

Making a space functionally convenient without giving up on aesthetics is something only-well experienced professionals can do. In case you’re looking for interior design services, you can check them out online. There are two kinds of spaces: two-dimensional and three-dimensional. The former includes the floors and walls of the space, basically the length and breadth measurement of the place. 

Three-dimensional space is the space within the 4 walls where you place the furniture and decorations, i.e., length and breadth along with the height. 

4. Aesthetics And Details

Aesthetics is a very important principle since it decides how the overall interior design will be presented before the beholder. 

The right amount of space, lighting, and layout does not quite make the process complete. There are lots of other details involved that make your space look inviting and cozy.

Color is one of them. Color sets the mood of the space. The colors of different rooms should be determined based on the functionality of the room. Beige and white combinations give off a light-academia vibe and are good for study spaces. 

Purple and baby pink ooze comfort making them the perfect colors for bedrooms. Shades of white, gray, and other neutral colors can be considered for office/studio spaces, etc.

Another factor that influences the look of the space is the alignment of the furniture. The symmetrical and clean positioning of all the furniture, with enough free space around it, gives off a more welcoming gesture. A place that has enough walking space is more inviting to visitors as compared to one that is cluttered and clumpy.

5. Balance And Harmony

Finally, there should be balance and harmony between the different principles mentioned above. The entire space should look coordinated, not just isolated rooms and areas. When working on the principles, it’s important to look at the whole picture, rather than just parts.

For example, you cannot set a dark-academia theme and install white furniture and tile the floor with white marble. The reason why such a combination sounds ridiculous is that incorporating all those ideas together will go against the harmony of the space and create an imbalance due to a poorly planned interior.

Conclusion

Along with all other factors, you should also try to include more greens in your space. Spaces that look well-connected with nature, are mostly the ones that make people feel at ease, especially in a new place. 

The scent is also an important aspect. No space can ever feel inviting if there’s ever a bad odor in the air. This factor can single-handedly make the interior designs, so carefully curated, not pleasing at all. A good scent equals a good vibe. With these 5 principles in mind, you should be ready to roll your plan into action and create your dream inviting space!

Photo by Jason Wang on Unsplash