An Overview Of Commonly Used Materials In Interior Design

Every interior space has some unique qualities attached to it.If you have visited a natural outdoor space like a forest, youwill notice thousands of varieties of "textures" in the form ofwooden barks, leaves, ground surfaces, stones, water etc...

All these natural elements create a unique visual effect and allvisual effects have a corresponding effect on human mind. That'swhy when used carefully textures can create wonders in interiordesign.

The most commonly used materials in interior design anddecoration are wood for furniture, cloth for linen,rubber/leather for flooring or upholstery, paper as wallpapers,plastic for accessories like lampshades and other decorativeitems, steel for furniture.

Let's take a closer look at these materials and their texturalqualities.

1) Wood....

Most commonly used for furniture, door frames, shutters. Themain reason behind this is it is easy to work with wood. The artof carpentry is an age old profession. Because of the nature ofwood like softness and the same time the amount of strength itcan withstand, makes it a popular choice amongst furnituredesigners.

A fully polished wood surface gives a very rich finish andprojects user friendliness. Also wood comes in many varietiesand colors, each having its own pros and cons.

2) Cloth....

A very natural choice for linen. Since a cloth finish is asmooth one it is most suitable in a bedroom where comfort is avery vital factor. The biggest advantage of various types ofcloth is that most types are washable so maintenance is easy.

Cloth has one more important quality that it can be "painted"for expressing detailed decorative patterns, that can greatlyadd to the beauty of the space.

It is also possible to do "embroidery" on cloth, if painting isnot a good choice or budget doesn't allow. Depending upon theweave of the cloth strands the thickness, transparency, etc. canbe easily achieved. This makes the cloth most suitable forvarious kinds of uses such as linen, curtains, bed sheets, etc...

3) Rubber/Leather....

Rubber is used in the form of PVC flooring, is easily availableand most importantly is wash proof and durable. It can beprinted upon using design patterns of any style, rich

withcolors. Comes in the form of large sheets or even individualtiles.

Unlike tiled flooring the PVC flooring is much less affected byatmospheric changes. Other types of tiled floorings or evenwooden flooring can have a direct effect on the surface becauseof the expansion and contraction of the flooring material. A PVCflooring is glued to the tiled flooring I hope you havebenefited from these words.

4) Plastic....

There are infinite uses of this great material. The onlydisadvantage environmentalist have pointed out that it is notbio-degradable.

Because of its artificial nature it can be "manufactured" invarious. colors, shapes, sizes, strength. The biggest advantageof plastic is it is waterproof and electrical shockproof. That'swhy mainly used for electrical accessories. It is lightweight ascompared to other material types. Entire furniture pieces suchas chairs, tables can be easily molded out as a seamless modelin plastic.

5) Steel/Iron....

Steel is mostly used in interior design where the main purposeis to give support and carry weight to the floor. That's whymain use of steel is done to create the structural frame thatcarries the weight of the people who are going to use thefurniture piece.

A very common type of steel is the "Stainless Steel". Because ofits shining nature, it very quickly gives a rich quality to theobject being used on and enhances the overall quality of theinterior space.

Furniture objects that have been designed with a combination ofwood and steel look much balanced from aesthetic point of view.But doing so requires a careful study of the joiner details,especially where wood and steel joint together.

The following discussion was only a brief introduction of thetypes of material being used in interior design industry. Everyday more and more good quality and cheaper material types arebeing presented in the market. I hope this article wasinformative to everyone.

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Shrinivas Vaidya is the webmaster ofBedroom-Design-And-Decorating-Ideas.com .Here you will find somegreat concept level design tips for bedroom sets.Visit today.


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