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Layout: the arrangement of objects & spaces
 
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Layout to change
room dimensions, scale, rotate at any angle, and color furnishings.
Add a wall, window, door, sliding door or doorless doorway.
Layout as a design element indicates
relative placement or position. The arrangement of an object's
elements or an object's placement within a space can be aesthetically
pleasing, but dysfunctional. For example; chairs, tables and
sofas should have at least 1 foot of room around them.
Each of the design elements (color,
form, pattern and texture) affect layout yielding design
principles as the net result. A space cluttered with haphazard
furniture and accent placement is not harmonious and breeds confusion.
An organized and well-planned room balances each design element
with regard to the space and its representation as a cohesive
whole but may sacrifice rhythm.
Overview
- When in Doubt, Layout
Weigh the importance
of room activities, traffic flow, natural light, and the other
design elements to establish your optimum environment. Layout
as it applies to furnishings and accents within a room can be
constantly altered to create new spaces and keep a living area
fresh. Architectural elements like windows, doors, alcoves, and
dividing walls are not so easily changed.
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- "While
Western design was constructed around the central axis and golden
mean, the Japanese construction was based on modular systems,"
Allen Hurlburt, Layout.
New York: Watson-Guptill
Publications, 1977.
Grid
- Grid is the pre-supposed template
for laying out a space. Its two-dimensional nature helps when
studying inherent qualities of a space like flow, symmetry, contention,
intersection, and openness. When working with traffic patterns
and human space needs, it becomes a valuable tool. Interior designers
will often start the analysis of a project by getting or creating
top-down floor plans.
Layout Lingo (expressions
often used communicating layout)
Use the following terms to define
the expected feeling for the room.
Symmetric - axis or focal point-based balance. Opposing
weight, color, line, arrangement with lack of contention and
intersection. Reverent, calm, ordered, calculated and accurate.
Asymmetric - visual variety or spontaneity with contrast,
intersection, tension and juxtaposition. Creates action, intrigue,
and flow. Can be balanced to create overall harmony while retaining
balance.
Tension - the natural focus provided by interplay between
form or positive and negative space. Can be related to proximity,
scale, angle, abruptness and lack of space.
Linear - having the quality of repeating objects or straight
lines.
Dynamic - having the quality of action, rhythm or flow
characterized by intersection, contrast of line and angle, proximity,
and scale.
Static - lacking contrast, extremes or rhythm.
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