The Interior Design Reference and Specification
This book was conceived as a resource for a wide readership, whether in answering specific questions for established interior designers or providing an overview of the design process for the layperson. It is compact and easy to slip into a shoulder bag, but precisely because of its handy size, it cannot address every issue related to interior design. Instead, we believe that by distilling the essential principles of interior design and clarifying steps and goals of the design process itself, higher quality design will reach the broadest possible audience.
Guides to interior design generally fall into two categories. The first type is the beautiful coffee table book by style mavens. These books are full of personality and style, but lack an overall structure that describes the fundamental principles for making design decisions. The second type is the design manual. These volumes are full of useful information, but eschew a specific attitude about design strategies. Our goal is to create the classic textbook for interior design, yet with more inspiring design theory and better visual taste. We hope this book presents a fresher approach that represents the cultural preoccupations of a younger generation of designers.
The book has been organized thematically into six sections:
Section 1, “Fundamentals,” provides a step-by-step examination of an interior project. It describes the scope of professional services, the project schedule, and drawing and presentation techniques.
Section 2, “Space,” offers an overview of the design of rooms and larger sequences of spaces, while addressing functional and life-safety issues.
Section 3, “Surface,” details specific tactics for designing with color, materials, textures, and patterns. It also considers performance and maintenance issues.
Section 4, “Environments,” looks at aspects of interior design that help to create a specific mood or character, such as natural and artificial lighting, and the invisible systems that impact the comforts of a space.
Section 5, “Elements,” identifies useful details for a range of interior applications. It also includes a chart of canonical twentieth-century furniture—pieces every interior designer should know. In addition, it outlines ideas for the display of artwork, collectibles, and accessories.
Section 6, “Resources,” provides a wealth of useful information, from a summary of sustainable design strategies to lists of recommended books, blogs, and websites. Finally, we have interspersed throughout the book interviews with our favorite practitioners to demonstrate how the topics covered in each section can be creatively interpreted in practice.
Content
Chapter 1 Starting an Interior Project
Chapter 2 Project Management
Chapter 3 Drawing Basics
Chapter 4 Presentation and Communication
Chapter 5 Proportions of a Room
Chapter 6 Sequencing Spaces
Chapter 7 Types of Rooms
Chapter 8 Code and Accessibility
Chapter 9 Color
Chapter 10 Material
Chapter 11 Texture
Chapter 12 Pattern
Chapter 13 Natural Light
Chapter 14 Artificial Light
Chapter 1 5 Invisible Systems
Chapter 16 Details
Chapter 17 Furniture
Chapter 18 Elements and Display
Chapter 19 Sustainability Guidelines
Chapter 20 Manual Resources
Chapter 21 Digital Resources
