7 Elements of Design to Implement When Building Your Home (2024)

7 Elements of Design to Implement When Building Your Home (1)

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

There’s a lot to consider when you design your dream home. Today, homeowners have a plethora of options available to them when customizing their living spaces. While it can be a lot of fun to get creative and express your own style, proper planning is critical. Without it, you may end up with unappealing competing colors and textures. Keep balance in mind with an understanding of design principles before finalizing major design decisions.

The Importance of Color in Design
Form
Light in the 7 Elements of Design
Include Interesting Patterns In Your Design
Texture
Space
Your Home, Designed to Fit Your Dreams
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So, what is interior design? Interior design is the art of making a house aesthetically pleasing, functional, and customized to fit a resident’s lifestyle. The 7 primary elements of design include color, form, light, line, pattern, texture, and space. It will behoove you to familiarize yourself with these terms whether you tackle interior projects or hire a professional. You’ll become a more effective collaborator and communicator of the styles that appeal to you.

The Importance of Color in Design

Color is probably the element of design that people are most familiar with because its effect on a space is impossible to ignore. Painting the walls a different color can create a drastic change in the mood a room gives off. When designing a room, you might be tempted to go with your favorite color. However, you need to consider the energy you want your home’s interior to project. This decision will likely be different from room to room, and all of the rooms will contribute to a unique aesthetic.

Form

The interior design definition of form refers to shapes utilized within the home interior. Form could be the shape of the room, or the outline of different pieces of furniture, artwork, and other decor. There are two different types of forms to consider when deciding how to decorate a room: natural form and geometric form. Natural form is curvy and irregular, such as a plant. Geometric form, on the other hand, applies to something with sharp edges that is typically man-made.

In good home design, form isn’t just about the aesthetic of the home interior — it’s about functionality. Consider how a room will be utilized. For instance, a giant window in the entryway may seem like a good idea, but when the television in the living room is blinded by the afternoon sun, you may regret your decision.

Light in the 7 Elements of Design

Lighting is one of the most important interior design elements. It can have a big impact on the overall mood of a room. Lighting includes natural light we get through windows and artificial light that comes from lamps and other fixtures. Because we can’t control the sun, we suggest you plan your room layout ideas ahead of time. Consider what type of light you would want for each room of your home. You might want bright light in the kitchen so you can easily see what you’re doing in the morning or evening. In your study, where you’ll be reading and working, you might want a more even light throughout the day. A better understanding of how light will be utilized in each room of your house will allow you to make good home design decisions when choosing where to place windows and light fixtures.

7 Elements of Design to Implement When Building Your Home (4)

Line is a very interesting element of design because you can do so much with it within the house interior. Lines can help depict order, direction, and even creativity. There are multiple different types of lines to consider when deciding how to decorate, including vertical, horizontal, and dynamic. Not surprisingly, vertical lines go up and down, horizontal lines go from side to side, and dynamic lines are more freeform, such as a zigzag.

Consider the lines found in a piece of wood. In different styles of wood, the lines might be more or less prominent, and they’ll come in different shapes and colors depending on the species of tree. If you are going to incorporate wood as a design element in your home, it makes sense to stick to one style in an area in order to avoid clashing lines and uphold a sense of unity. You can still get creative with lines in other ways, such as with an arched doorway or dynamic furniture pattern.

7 Elements of Design to Implement When Building Your Home (5)

Include Interesting Patterns In Your Design

Pattern is a repetitive element of design. It can allow you to really pour your own personality into your interior design style, whether that’s through a fun wallpaper or a creative fabric on a couch. You can include patterns in many ways, such as a marble rug or striped ottoman. While patterns can really help bring a sense of life to your home’s interior, it’s important that you don’t overdo it. Going overboard with patterns can create a sense of chaos, so pick a few of your favorite patterns and sprinkle them throughout your living spaces with the 7 Elements of Design.

Texture

Texture has to do with how an object feels to the touch or appears on the surface. For example, if you’re going for a more vintage look you may choose furniture pieces that appear worn or weathered. Texture can help provide you with information regarding a piece of furniture without you even having to touch it. If you’re looking for a cozy, comfortable home interior, for example, you might want to go with carpeting that is thick and plush. If you’re after a more minimalist aesthetic, smooth, pale wood flooring could be just the ticket.

Space

Space is a critical element of design to consider in order to ensure that the decor in a given area is well balanced and that there is an easy traffic pattern throughout the house. When interior decorating, it can be tempting to fill up your home with as many of your favorite decor pieces as possible. However, negative space, or the absence of decor, is equally important to break up a room and maintain order. On the flip side, too much negative space can make a room feel empty and uninviting. Thus, it is important to find a balance between positive space (filled space) and negative space.

Your Home, Designed to Fit Your Dreams

There’s a limit to the number and magnitude of design changes you can make before things become financially dubious. When you’re building your own home from scratch, on the other hand, there aren’t existing elements holding back your design. You can determine from the beginning the living space fits your vision. That blank slate can be liberating, but it also presents hundreds of decisions that will need to be made. This is true whether you’re building a 5,000+ square foot estate or a mountain cabin getaway.

As you consider how to plan the structure and decorations of your home, you’ll have a much easier time if you start with a good understanding of interior design basics and the 7 Elements of Design. At Kaizen Homes, we’re happy to help guide you on your way to building the home you always dreamed of, inside and out. The best time to get started is now, so contact us today!