A Guide to Green Interior Design

With so much of the country these days working on ways of saving our planet and "going green" it is not surprising that green has found its way into interior design. A building cannot be green on the outside without being on the inside. Energy conservation is a key step to going green so it only seems fitting that the first step to a green interior design is to plan rooms with energy sensitive lighting.

Green interior design can also reflect the energy a home gives off and uses up. You want a home that can be kept thermally comfortable while keeping the energy consumption at a low. Green methods of thermal comfort can include solar heating units, thermostat set backs and good home insulation.

Insulating the home is one of the biggest money savers, and many people don’t realize that going green may also have tax deduction advantages. The approach of insulation can be applied to newer homes as well as older ones. Fine-tuning a green interior can take some work but it can allow you to reduce energy costs without losing design quality.

Additional ways to conserve energy in a home can include covering walls with fabric gathered on a rod at the top and bottom, using closets as buffers on north or west walls, adding a heat lamp to a bathroom to take the chill off on a cold morning, use thermal wallpaper to insulate and using foil wallpaper to reflect heat back into the interior.

Also, using filled bookcases on outside, non-mass walls act as insulation, large decorative rugs, tapestries or fabric wall hangings on outside non-mass walls also add insulation. There are many steps you can take to go green with your interior design. A quick Internet search can give you a lot of ideas.

Feng Shui and Interior Design

Translated to English, Feng Shui roughly means wind-water. Feng Shui is essentially the art of arranging objects to achieve harmony in the surrounding environment. Not only is Feng Shui used in interior design, it is used in choosing a place to live, a burial spot and agricultural planning. It is highly believed that Feng Shui has an effect on health, wealth and personal relationships. Feng Shui is a traditional Chinese practice.

Early Feng Shui interior design relied on astronomy to find the symmetry between humans and the universe. The early Chinese often used the celestial poles determined by the pole stars to determine the north and south. Feng Shui instruments dating back to 278 and 209 BC have been unearthed from tombs.

As practiced today, the goal of Feng Shui is to situate the human designed environment on spots with good qi. Spots are determined by an axis in time. Feng Shui teaches that areas that are not suitable for human settlement should be left in their natural state.

Qi, pronounced Chi, literally means air. In Feng Shui, Qi is the flow of energy and may be based on a form of solar energy. Polarity in feng shui is known as ying and yang. This is the absolute balance between two entities. It is the good and the bad, the living and the dead, and is one of the key principals behind Feng Shui interior design.

Most Westerners knew nothing about Feng Shui until 1972 when Richard Nixon visited The People’s Republic of China. New Age by western entrepreneurs then reinvented Feng Shui. Feng Shui now speaks to the profound role of magic, mystery and order in American life.

A Summary of Modern Interior Design

Modern interior design has come into its own and the distinct look can turn your home into a masterpiece of aesthetic beauty without compromising practicality or function. Modern interior design often refers to mid-century design. Many people mistake modern interior design with contemporary interior design.

In fact, many interior designers borrow elements of 1960’s and 1970’s interior design. But this doesn’t mean your house will be decorated with garish wallpaper and upholstery.

The basics of modern interior design utilize new materials and techniques. The most common installations include metal, blown-glass and concrete. Metal is typically used for accents and fixtures. Many people think that the metal decor just adds coldness to the room, but what it is used for is to enhance the warmth of the nearby items. The metal, glass and concrete create a simplistic design for the modern home.

Blown glass can add a distinctive look to your home. Pieces can be one of a kind and can add warmth and depth as well as color. The pieces can make your modern interior design look stand out. Blown glass can be used in places such as light fixtures, or as creative artistic sculptures. Colored blown glass can fit into any decorating theme so a piece can last through every decorating whim you may have.

Decorative concrete can be finished numerous ways and can add any number of effects. They are used in floors, countertops and furniture. Many homeowners are not aware just how versatile concrete can be in decorating a modern homes interior design.