The Essential Elements of Interior Design

Architecture and interior design is made up of pieces and parts, systems and components, all of which should tie back to your own design point of view. When you're faced with making a decision about changing out, covering over or refurbishing part of your home it helps to know what styles and periods easily lend themselves to which materials, colors and textures. Here's a page that will steer you towards breaking the room down into it's basic elements with links to more details. (The place where the devil lives.)

Does wallpaper, not the kind that goes on your phone, have a place in the twenty first century? According to some interior designers and suppliers of wallcovering, it's coming back in a big way, partially because of a certain TV show set in post-Edwardian England. You PBSers know what I'm talking about. Read on...

Getting from one floor to another can be solved a number of different ways. During a recent stroll through the Architectural Digest Home Show I met Steve Ronsheim, the owner of Ascendings LLC, based in Columbus, Indiana. There was an amazing spiral staircase in the booth which caught my eye. Here's the story of the company in Steve's words.

Marrying the words “industrial” and “commercial” into modern kitchen design continues to bear fruit in the shape of hulking stoves, personal pizza ovens, and freezers big enough for a woolly mammoth. But take things a step farther and consider the most utilitarian substance. Suspend your disbelief and gaze upon the humble sidewalk. This material strengthened the Roman empire, permits smooth driving across our interstate highway system, and it makes one heck of a countertop. Take a look.

Second only to the ceiling, floors represent the largest expanse of surface area in your home. Once you've identified what period and style appeals to you it becomes easier to make selections based on the overall look you're trying to achieve. Here's a page designed to help you select the best material for walking and sitting.

Kitchen cabinets are boxes hanging on the wall to hold your stuff. But if you've ever shopped for them, you know things get very complicated, very fast. Here's a primer to help guide you through the word of stock, semi and totally custom cabinetry.

Fireplaces can be a source of warmth and more entertaining than television. Here's a page that talks about inserts, fuels, and the design of what might be the focal point of your greatest room. Certain kinds of materials are associated with certain room styles but clever designers can use modern finishes like stainless steel and make it totally work.

Following in the footsteps of concrete and stainless steel, other materials once considered industrial are becoming more accepted for use in our homes. The next wave includes a throwback to the iron age called hot rolled steel. Also known as black steel, hot rolled isn’t shiny like stainless and doesn’t get painted like cold rolled steel, which is used to build cars and washing machines. Bold architects and brave homeowners are now looking at funky, chunky sheets of this dark metal and finding new places where it looks right at home. Take a look.