what is interior design to me?
So I had to give a presentation the other day in my French class on a subject of my choice. Ambitious as it may have been, I wanted to speak about the common misconceptions I often face when explaining what it is I am studying to others. It can be extremely frustrating upon saying I am doing an interior design course to be asked jokingly if I would mind redesigning their home. I am not the only one to have been plagued by comments such as this, with it having become a running joke amongst my classmates that no one understands what we’re slaving away at university to study.
It is not necessarily the comment itself which causes this frustration.
It’s more the humiliation of having a worthwhile and necessary subject to be misconstrued as the act of matching wallpaper and cushions into an aesthetically pleasing arrangement. Of course, materiality is a huge part of what we do, but it’s about so much more than that. Interior design is about how we use a space, how it works for us and the way it makes us feel. You get a feel for a space as soon as you enter it, first impressions really do count. A space has the ability to make your life easier, to spark joy in everyday life. Have you ever walked into a space and gasped because its unexpected beauty surprised you?
Interior design comes with you wherever you go. The spaces you occupy become part of you, become a reflection of who you are, who you were and who you wish to become.
“Belief in the significance of architecture is premised on the notion that we are, for better or worse, different people in different places - and on the conviction that it is architecture’s task to render vivid to us who we might ideally be.”
Interior Design, however is often seen to be architecture’s younger, less intellectual sister, something that frustrates me to no end. What difference is there in someone who designs the shell of the building and someone who breathes life into it? There is no line where Architecture ends and Interior Design begins. The relationship between the two is fluid and changing in each situation and the space in question. They are both equally important as each other, one cannot exist without the other.
Interior design is one of the most important things that influences our livelihood, it can change our mood, aid our lives and create memories that last forever. These spaces are filled with the whispers of the events that have occurred within their walls, laughter of happiness or tears of sorrow. These spaces watch us grow into the people we are destined to become, changing with us as our life progresses. They are with us forever and if they are designed well, we will never forget them.
And so that is what interior design is to me. What is it to you?