Interior Design Elements
For those who enjoy DIY work or feel more creative than most homeowners, home remodeling and building projects can be done on their own. Of course, by working on an interior decorating project without the help of a pro, we will keep decorating costs down. However, Decoration is not just about selecting and bringing in furniture and colors for space! Every DIY job should have more ground to start with. There are 7 Interior design elements that you should know before starting to decorate a room, by understanding them you will reduce costs and get better results.
The seven basic elements that you should know are space, line, light, shape, pattern, color, and texture. Every professional decorator will use these seven elements to get started with his interior decorating, so let’s take those slowly.
7 Interior Design Elements You Must Know

7 Interior Design Elements You Must Know Before Starting
1. Interior Design Elements Space
The first is about the foundation of your room. This element refers to the appearance of a two-dimensional floor, as well as a 3-dimensional volume in a room. And you will have boundaries, namely walls, floors, and ceilings. So, when starting an interior decoration project, you have to pay attention to the height, width, and length of the room.
This is about positive as well as negative aspects, the space that will be filled with furniture can be called positive space. While other rooms are called negative spaces, when decorating the interior, you have to pay attention to the balance between these two spaces.
2. Line
Furthermore, in interior design elements are lines, in interior decoration, you will find 3 main lines, namely, horizontal, dynamic, and vertical. Horizon lines can be said to be the lines on the tabletop area, shelves, and structural beams. Vertical is the area of a wall, pillar, or door. And dynamic is where you get a cantilevered arch or ceiling.
Lines can also be generated from the raw materials used such as random lines of stones, or slender lines on blocks. For a room with a higher visual appearance, you will be playing with the use of vertical lines. Meanwhile, for a wider view of space, maximizing on the horizontal is something that must be done.
To get the illusion you want, you can use the impact paint! Paint or wallpaper is the easiest and cheapest way to make a visual display wider or taller.
3. Shape
Next is about the appearance of each room (open or closed). Some shapes can be straight or angular and others can be curved or organic. Curved furniture is a trendy choice these days because it has a 70s design aesthetic.
4. Lighting
Everyone’s guests how lighting impacts in a space! Lighting will make space appear larger, more comfortable, and provide warmth. The lighting will determine the final result of your interior design elements.
The right selection of light will be a very important item for your room. The impact that makes space feel more elegant is what should be considered, and even lighting projects can take up more than 30% of your total decoration costs.
When decorating a space, don’t forget to use natural light. These lights come with more benefits, apart from providing comfort, increasing the quality of space, they also provide productivity for homeworkers.
There are many ways to make natural light into space, apart from windows, you can also use glass doors or skylights on the roof. However, the use of skylights has the disadvantage of not being able to regulate the incident light and has a higher level of leakage.
Apart from Natural Lighting, interior design elements must also have an artificial light source. Artificial light sources that can be input include:
- Ambient Light; This light is a type of lighting that illuminates every side of the room. Usually used in the area above the head, such as flush mounts and chandeliers.
- Duty; Task type is lighting that illuminates a certain area that is usually used for several tasks. Like, table lamps are used as reading lamps, backsplash lamps are used to illuminate every activity in your kitchen.
- Accent; The next lighting is an accent type or it can be obtained as a pendant lamp that illuminates a space in various styles. This lighting gives the impression of a more characterful space.
5. Texture
These are interior design elements that have a physical or visual form. The physical texture is a texture that can be felt rough, smooth, cold, crush, soft, or hard. Meanwhile, visual is a texture on the surface of the object. For example, if you have a painting with beach-themed oil paint, the taste of this painting seems hot and watery but when you touch it, this painting remains flat and smooth.
6. Interior Design Elements Pattern
It is a repeating element of lines, shapes, and textures for space. Pay close attention to the use of patterns if overdoing your repetitions will make the space visually chaotic and leave any user feeling confused. And when the repetition of the pattern is done well, you will get the beauty, attractiveness, and balance of space.
7. Color
The last interior design element is the use of color. Color selection is the ultimate project for creating a pleasant space feel. Even the impact of color can determine how the final result of the decoration of the space itself.
Colors are elements that set a mood, they can enhance the mood or even destroy it. Color is also an element that unifies space. Choices with bright colors will reflect light and make the room feel more spacious, while dark absorbs light and gives the impression of a more intimate space. Find out more about choosing interior color schemes here.
So, make sure you take into account these 7 interior design elements to create an interior design that is completely perfect and provides a sense of comfort and pleasure for its users.