Historical Milestones of Interior Design - Essay Example

?Running head: INTERIOR DESIGN History and interior design By Lecturer Table of contents Introduction……………………………………………………………….…………….…. .3 Millennium Dome museum....................................................................................................4 V&A museum........................................…………………………………………….……….6 Design museum......................................................................................................................10 Churchill War Rooms museum..............................................................................................12 Restoring old museums...........................................................................................................11 Modern Interior.......................................................................................................................12 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….…..13 Bibliography….........................................................................................................................14 Interior design has been able to establish history by its temporary qualities and emphasis on uniqueness in its practice. Although many have come out to define interior decor the right definition has not yet been established and there is a likelihood of never been a rightful answer (Britow, 1996, p.74). Interior decor in London has always been used to celebrate and mark history made in the country. How interior works can be understood by answering the question why interior design and this has made interior decor emerge as a tool to understand history. An approach has to be formed between history and interior to allow movement or change in establishing the interior. The concept of interior history is understood as a process that is taking place at a particular stage. The main idea of re-writing history today is to change people’s perception that interior design can only take place in enclosed spaces. This platform offers designers and student designers certain connection on the inside and outside connection. When people talk about interior design they only consider the interior form and leave out the design found outside. The interior design used on a building has always been influenced by technological advances resulting to rapid urbanization and deprivation of culture and regional identity. Interior designers sit in committees and attend world conferences to share and learn better concepts to incorporate in their work (Martin, 2009, p.72). Today this is not the case buildings that also have no enclosure are undergoing interior decoration. Therefore overtime the history of interior design has changed with establishments being analysed on the interior and exterior (McKellar & Sparke, 2004, p.135). One good example is the Millennium Dome museums found in London a major attraction and visited by many due to their interior designs. The interior designs are tools used to write history and explain some circumstances in the past. Take an example the millennium dome museum built to celebrate the end of the 20th century and to welcome the 21st century. Millennium dome museum had the interior and exterior design laid out by several designers. The museum had the material used on its exterior durable and resistance. The outside fabric has a reflective blue coating giving it a beautiful appearance. The museum at night reflections is very beautiful because the light fittings were strategically installed round the dome-shape museum. The good-lining fabric was meant to render good colour rendering. Today the millennium dome museum is widely known for its exterior design and attracts a number of visitors. (The image below shows the exterior design of the Millennium Dome museum from a bird view and on the right is the interior view of the museum) Most of the museums in London have a great exhibition of interior design both from historical decorations and modern decor (Altman, 1992, p.136). Physical evidence is on the method used in lighting, the colour applied, antics, fabric, curtain and furniture fittings. The Victoria and Albert Museum commonly abbreviated V&A museum is famous for its decorative art and designs. The museum named after Queen Victoria and Prince Albert carries high state of art decorations, fine paintings rich textile, glass, antic furniture, sculptures and photographs. The interior decoration has been assigned over the years to different decorators. The wall is covered with ceramic and the lower parts panelled with wood. Its ceiling is decorated and the windows are stained to elaborate art patterns (Martin, 2009, p.75). The museum has undergone three distinct maintenance but the decorators maintain the plaster cast and the decorated ceiling. Additions such as chandelier, gardens and house prints were additions by the different decorators. V&A museum has the largest collection of textile in the world and it is covered with embroidered and quilted textile by William Morris and rugs woven by the finest manufactures. It has sculptures round its garden and inside the museum of more than twenty- famous sculptors. Some of the sculptures and carvings date back to 400AD to the 20th century. V&A is famous for its painting and miniatures one of the greatest collection is the Spanish tempera painting by Andres Marzal in Valencia. Its furniture fittings collection covers America, Europe and the Middle East. (The V&A museum entrance) (Fantastic V&A museum interior design) Art in London has held the same approach and structure as interior design which encourages a visual interpretation. One of the greatest roles of museums is to pass on heritage from generation to generation through preserving (Forty, 1986, p.13). A museum is often looked as a medium that communicates on past experience. This is often done through the collected pieces overtime or technically through the building itself. The definition of museum according to Forty (1986, p.12) is a house of amusement where art lives and this case even within the walls. There are many museums in London that embody the art itself through interior design that is attractive to look at it. Most museums in London have taken up interior design as a tool to showcase their work design and this has been captured in three aspects that is colour, light and interior decor (Forty, 1986, p.16). Museums arrange their collections chronologically based on their exhibition rooms and corridors. The reflection of light, colour and decorations arraignment is combined to appeal to the visitor’s eye that comes in the museums. Great museums such as design museum have found a way to strike a balance on these three aspects to come up with an interactive element that can be understood by the public (Britow, 1996, p.75). The Design museum in the city of London attracts thousands of visitors annually due to its unique interior designs. An altered warehouse the decorators created a modern design that consists of fine wall paintings, and boast of contemporary art designs. It carries historic pieces from the last five centuries including textile, jewellery, paintings and furniture antics. It has a modern graphic designed lab that is used for international exhibitions. The gallery space is covered by fine fabric and chandelier fittings regulating the light into the room. Museum visitors are always greeted by the colourful wall paintings making the perfect exterior design. The museum allows its visitors to view optically its contemporary design which makes it the first museum to exhibit modern graphic designs. (Below are some photographs showing Design Museum exterior design and contemporary interior design and culture) It can sometimes be difficult for the visitor to immediately understand the designer’s work, the adopted style and message been communicated. To begin to understand the relevance of interior decoration in museums one must understand the original intention of having the designs placed in this room. In the 18th century public spaces a limited number of furniture would be fitted in a big room for formal gatherings (Britow, 1996, p.75). The planners felt that the furniture needed to complete the room and then began to place matching furniture in the public rooms to make it look attractive. Later the rigid formality of arranging public spaces was fading and they started filling the walls with paintings to match the furniture placed. Then the lighting aspect was discovered towards the 19th century introducing chandelier light, glass and mirrors to manipulate at the room’s advantage. The neo-classical decoration was then introduced and identified by ornaments and designer furniture and classical fabrics. Paintings were gaining popularity as part of interior decoration to lighten the public spaces (Martin, 2009, p.80). Most part of the 19th century sought to make decoration materials lighter by introduction of stencil, wallpapers, light curtains and fittings and floor coverings. Stencil allowed refined finishes as opposed to the 18th century especially ceiling paintings and in the 20th century with the assistance of modern technology interior decoration was made a lot easier. There are four main elements that museums in London carry in their interior decorations. The elements include furniture, light fittings, curtains, fabric and carpets, floor finishes and painting decorations. Carpets replaced in the 19th century the floor boards in public rooms; the carpets were either hand woven or made using machines. The rooms that retained floor boards were waxed and polished with vanish (Martin, 2009, p.80). In any historic room light fittings had to be installed in cut glass, glided timber or brass. When electricity was introduced materials like circa was used for light fittings because it was had less weight and great effect in light illumination. The lighting fashion continues till today in public spaces to allow beautiful reflections (Martin, 2009, p.88). Curtain and fabrics were popular in the late 18th and early 19th century. Fabrics such as calico, cotton prints and printz were used as a form of trimmings to add to the decor. Furniture fittings were fitted depending on the room’s colour and wall paintings in the last two centuries. The furniture produced was designed to specifically fit the room size, colour and wall paintings. The Churchill war room’s museum is one of the five imperial war museums that have a fascinating exhibition of interior design. The museum’s interior carries a martial look and exterior is faceted with a beacon of bronze entrance. The museum carries the arts and crafts that depict military lifestyle in the last three centuries. The decor reflects English value in the fabrics, antics and furniture style. Churchill war rooms carry a mix of ancient sculptures and paintings that cut across Europe and Asia. The museum has Portland stone walls whose painting has been re-done in the turn of the 21st century but there still traces of old painting from the exterior side. (Below is Churchill war rooms museum entrance and the one of the rooms inside interior of the museum) Paint and wallpaper are rich decorations that have been used in museums for several centuries. Paint was used by museums in the 20th century to create certain effects of light. Earlier the rooms in the North were painted warm colours while those in the south were painted in the South with the aim to compensate for sunlight (Britow, 1996, p.76). Painting in such houses would be re-done after 20 or 30 years because the painters back then used quality paint. Most of these museums now have been re-painted and carry few pigment traces of 20th century paint. There were different types of paint used on walls in the 19th and 18th century. Lime wash paint that was white in colour was used for exterior walls, the soft distemper paint a chalk mixture with animal glue used over three centuries as oil alternative (Britow, 1996, p.76). Oil paint was then used in the turn of the 20th century up until today it is used to re-paint the old and new museums. Restoring the old museums has not been easy because some of the historic decorations are very fragile and easily get damaged by natural light mostly the paintings. Paintings and textile need to be carefully handled as long exposure alters their original state. Refurbishment of historic interiors could also cause decay if the fabric is exposed to moist conditions over a long period. Furniture overtime depreciates and could be susceptible to breakage if not lifted carefully. The museums prior to re-decoration they undergo a series of assessment to avoid depreciation of the historic decorations. Experts are employed to evaluate the museums and try establishing any issues such as dampness or cracked walls in the building. According to Bristow (1996, p.77) a survey is then carried out listing the interior decorations inside the building from the paintings to the furniture. Photographs are taken to mark their original state and later recorded among former records of items formerly in the museums. It is very important to reserve the historic decorations while re-decorating the museum. The person in charge of maintenance should provide for enough ventilation in all rooms. The fittings and features in the museum are covered during maintenance and the ceiling sometimes supported. Regulation of temperature is crucial to keep the heat in control to protect the wall paper and textile. Great interior designs have found homes in museums such as the V&A museum in the city of London. They have established a great exhibition environment that when visitors come to see the collectables the decor kind of tells them what to expect. Interior designers in the process have found themselves adjusting their designs due to the existing technologies despite the cultures. The planners may wish to promote a city with minimal impact on the local’s impact of globalization. New technologies and cultures were adopted in architecture in the 20th century and this contributed to the introduction of skyscrapers. The aim was to incorporate new technology trends and concepts in building without isolating the local culture and identity (Scott, 2008, p.13). Graphic interior design and its concepts did not take much effect until half of the 20th century attracting more modern architecture. The act of globalization is defined as the process where everyday life is been standardized all around the world (Scott, 2008, p.17)). Globalization has not been welcomed by everyone in the interior design industry in London. Some have welcomed the different innovations and concepts of using technology while coming up with the interior designs for a building. Others insist on safeguarding the different historical designs, decorative motifs and technology. Promoting globalization is perceived by others as a way of eradicating cultural identity encouraging homogeneity while other see it as a tool to spread the diverse cultures wild wide. Interior design is the art that expresses people’s culture, philosophy and metaphysical in material context. Looking at a building’s design can tell a lot about the history of the locals and their philosophies (Altman, 1992, p.136). Every great design has its own symbolism from product identification to employing different theories. When modern interior designs were introduced many decorators argued that the vehicle of progress was leading to international interior decoration. The modern interior design in today’s world approach has increased the relevancy of interior designs. The first is the impact of interior design on the environment and two is the social impact of interior design in society (Britow, 1996, p.77). Interior design touches on environmental conservation today because of the waste material used to create some of the decorations. Modern art galleries carry work from recycled materials seen as waste. The textiles, ornaments and sculptures can be made from waste material helping conserve the environment. Interior design is given the role of social development by creating designs that relay relevant messages to the public. Many exhibitions are held in each of these museums carrying different themes and messages. Interior designs have gone as far as coming to the forefront and creating meaningful social changing designs. Design museum for example is widely known for its social change designs in the city during its art exhibitions. The demand for professional interior design creation is still there with growing business and technology. Great interior designs are being created and welcomed as the historical designs are preserved. Historical designs have played their role of continuity of art and crafts while contemporary designs have furthered these designs. The old designs have made history while the new design creates a new wave of history. With new materials being introduced into interior decoration old ones such as textiles and wallpapers still continue to be utilized in modern design. References Altman, I.L. 1992. Place attachment. Plenum, New Yor. Britow, I. 1996. Architectural colours in British interior 1650-1940. The Architectural review. 223 (1332), 74-77. Forty, A. 1986. Objects of Desire. Design and Society 1750-1980. Thames & Hudson, London McKellar, S. & Sparke, P. (Eds). (2004).Interior design and identity. Manchester University press, Manchester. Martin, R. 2009. The design of business: Why design thinking is the next competitive advantage. Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA. Scott, F. 2008.On Altering Architecture. Routledge, London Read More