The Design and Maker

How to: Home lighting design that makes spaces spectacular

2019-10-22T07:37:00.000-07:00

Lighting is one of the more crucial aspects of interior design as it can make or break your design.

You can easily screw up your interior lighting, a wrong spotlighting over the dinner table could make you hate yourself for life as you eat your dinner with a direct extremely bright light over your head.

However lighting design is not hard if you follow a few guidelines regarding effective lighting, so without ado let me start on how to: lighting. :)

Rule 1, types of lighting

Before starting out on lighting design, you do need to understand the what, where and why of lighting.

So to start off, what are the different types of lighting fixtures?

1. General lighting

General lighting, like its name of the category, is a form of lighting used to light up the whole room.

Its like a light blanket that covers the space, might be good for none essential task or daily activities, but not so much for specific & concentrated task.

When varied in terms of colour choice (e.g cool white to warm yellow), this form of lighting also set a certain kind of atmosphere in the room which may be able to enhance the ambiance of the room.

Examples of usage: living room, bedroom, kitchen, dining room, anywhere you can thinking of simply because it can light up a room for general viewing.

Examples of lighting: Cove lighting, Strip lighting, Ceiling mounted lighting, chandelier.

2.Task lighting

Task lighting is designed to improve the lighting conditions of an area when performing a certain type of task, for example cooking or studying.

This types of lighting allows a space to be lit up to allow for brighter workspace as well as create emphasis on working space.

Although it is lighting for getting work done, try to use the task lighting sparingly. You wouldn’t want your life to be revolved around work right? Similarly don't let your home revolve around task lighting as well.

Examples of usage: Study table, under ceiling kitchen cabinates, walkways

Examples of lighting: Recessed downlight, Line bar lighting as well as desk / floor directional lamps.

3. Spotlighting

Spotlighting is the little brother of the group due to it being the least used and last to be considered, however, it is still an extremely important factor within your lighting design.

It is in charge of making your design POP and create that wow factor as its main role is to create highlights within a space.

Remember how insects during the night tend to flock around street lamps? That is how your spotlighting is going to treat your space.

By having several spotlighting designed at areas like your favourite paintings or sculptures & pictures, you are able to create emphasis on such items and make those items determine the personality of the space.

Examples of usage: Pictures, art pieces, TVs, Kitchen, model shelves.

Examples of lighting: Wall hung lights, ceiling mounted spot lighting

Rule 2, Placement of lighting

Now for different types of lighting, there will definitely be different kinds of lighting placement. So then, how can one go about in their lighting design?

Well to start off, you have to think of your lighting design like a painting.

Lighting is more than simply having specific lights at specific locations, It is about having the having it in layers overlapping and creating lighting vibrancy.

Through the usage of different kinds of lighting (1 general lighting, 3 task lighting, & 1-2 spotlighting) it will allow your room to adapt to your lifestyle.

Want to have a friends hangout session? On that general lighting & spotlighting, create emphasis on the character of the space!

Want a more intimate session with yourself? With a glass of red wine and a good book on the hand to read while seating on the couch? On that simple task lighting beside your seat, and enjoy the rest of the night with some alone time.

Lighting is also of course about the shadow, many people only concern themselves with the light design and how the light is produced, but often forget about the shadow created by it too. Be cautious, place lighting that will remove the unnecessary shadows. However, you do not need to be really worried about this portion as a simple google search can go a long way.

A rule of thumb is to either have overlapping light sources or lighting that have a big lighting spread in areas where you are unsure about where to put your lighting.

Rule 3, Cost of lighting

There is actually a lot of cost for lighting to work properly, from an electrician to purchase of the types of lighting fixtures, to purchasing the switches and (if you want a smart home) sensors and automation products.

All these add up to quite a bit, from 2k to 5k easily in a 5 room apartment, so do do your purchases and calculation wisely so that you won’t burst your budget.

I would suggest you to buy most of your lighting fixture online as they tend to be 50% to 60% and even 75% cheaper than the typical brick and mortar stores you’ll find in your neighbourhood.

Without the typical in-store markup price, they can easily cut down your spending by a lot without compromising on the quality of the products. As physical retail shops need to pay for that overhead cost of renting and storing of products, the cost will usually be transferred to the customer hence, explaining the higher price of the products.

So do try to make your purchases online, trust me, you will feel like you’ve just found a cheat code in life.

Do remember to subscribe and share if you found that this is useful, and do comment if you have any questions, hope you will have a nice design journey. :)

Reasons why I do design and why you should too.

2019-10-15T07:51:00.000-07:00

Design,

defined as “ a plan or drawing produced to show the look and function or workings of a building, garment, or other object before it is made.”

creates the world around us from the pens you use to write, to the computer I’m using now to write this post for you guys, design engraved into our daily lives without us even realising it.

So why then do most people neglect & forget the importance of design?

Here as 4 reasons why I care about design and why you should start doing it too.

1. Design evokes feeling

As design creates the world around us, it also directly impacts your emotional state of mind on a daily basis.

Are you constantly feeling sad? It could not only be from your social circle or things that happened during the day but possibly also because there isn’t a good environment & not a lot of lighting within the space that you live in as well.

Having a bad morning because the stupid jam jar just won’t open? Another example of bad design, jam jars simply do not have groves around the lit of the jar to create the friction needed to open it.

All this fustration, sadness and negative emotions might slowly build up and gradually destroy the positive side of your, leaving you as an extremely negative character.

THIS HAS A DIRECT CONSEQUENCE TO YOUR DAILY LIVES WITHOUT YOU EVEN REALISING IT.

As Design is the method that we humans interact with the world, without it, we definitely wouldn't have the world we have today. Hence be more conscious about it, because you might never know, it might have heavy direct impact on your emotional state of mind.

2. Design raises the standard of living

Compare a rich man’s home to a poor man’s home, what's the difference?

Lack of space?

Lack of proper lighting?

Lack of recreational amenities?

Lack of proper furniture?

Lack of interior design?

Now compare a rich man’s clothing to a poor man’s clothing, what's the difference?

Lack of cohesiveness in clothing?

Lack of proper hair styling?

Lack of branded items?

Lack of fashion design?

Now, I’m not saying that dressing up poorly means that you are poor, neither am I saying that having a house that is of a rich man’s standard means that you are rich.

All I’m saying is that design raises the standard of living as each item are designed to solve real-world problems, big or small.

And with the process of design items usually, cost more and are able to fetch for a higher price.

Hence if you are able to design yourself, you are able to achieve that higher standard of living with a lower price tag.

3. Understanding design can help us to understand ourselves.

Often I feel that people treat design too seriously. Design can be a drawing, an animation, an interior space or a building. But it doesn’t have to ONLY be that.

Design can be manifested in all forms, from the method we plate our dishes to the process of dressing up in the morning. As it is applicable to our daily lives, design is able to greatly help us to understand ourselves better.

God might have created our world but how we live, plan & design our lives is through the understanding of our current, past and future self.

As we are both the client and the designer, we have to define what our wants and needs are, as well as the physical, mental and spiritual problems that we have in our lives that we want to solve.

Hence, through the process of the design mode of thinking, we are able to increase the understanding of self as well as the boundaries of self

4. Design changed my life, it can too for yours

Since a young age of 5, I have been designing, from lego blocks to how I organise my toys.

Whenever there was something I wish to make during my younger years, for example, an iron man suit, I would always find ways to do it. Doing research online, and finding ways to modify it and change it to suit my taste or finding other methods to construct it.

And without me knowing it, it has changed me from a bystander to a problem solver.

I crave the feeling of being able to solve an issue, regardless of big or small through the ideas and creativity of the mind.

Creative thinking & critical thinking are two crucial factors within this mindset, it helps us to think of “why, what and how” of every issue while giving us the ability to generate new forms of thinking and perspective to situations around us in our daily lives.

And this mindset I believe, is within each and every one of us, however many of us simply have yet to touch that untapped potential of the mind. So, I hope that you will tap on it, upgrade your life for the better.

Do remember to subscribe and share if you found that this is useful, and do comment if you have any questions, hope you will have a nice design journey. :)

Stop finding interior design hard with 5 design techniques to get you started.

2019-10-10T22:14:00.000-07:00

When starting out in the design process of your dream home, you might feel lost and don’t even know where to begin.

You might think to yourself, “I don’t know how real interior designers do it, so how can I, without any experience do my own design?!”

Don’t worry, let me help you today to figure out how to start your own dream home interior design with just a few simple design techniques.

1. Space layout / Furniture layout

Although it is one of the basics within interior design it is still one of the defining factors between a good design and a bad design.

Think of your space as a potted plant, and the elements you had put in are the seeds. You shouldn’t put two seeds too far apart otherwise there is a significant wastage of space, nor should you put them too close to each other otherwise you will kill them altogether.

The study of putting elements efficiently & effectively is called ergonomics, the idea that every item and furniture can be designed based on the human body and be efficiently & effectively used by the human body.

An easy way for beginners to apply this concept is to first simply copy some of the already designed furniture layouts ( I mean don’t change it, if it ain’t broke right? )

Just do a simple google search, like for example “living room floorplan” or “master bedroom layout”, thousand of examples will pop up for you so just go an take a look.

2. Color of space

The color of space should be your next priority. Deciding on a color palette helps you to define the character of the space.

When we wear clothes these days, we tend to wear clothes that will make us look nicer, prettier or taller or buffer.

So, just like the clothes on a human, the colors of the rooms, if used well, helps to create personality & illusions of the space.

To match the “clothes” well with your room, you need to first decide on a type of color scheme.

Is it monochromatic? Complementary? Or split complementary?

By choosing one of the color schemes, it will guide you in choosing better colors that will be more pleasing and enjoyable to the eye. This color scheme can be applied anywhere, from floors and walls to furniture and even decorating pieces!

Do it once and apply to your entire room, you will soon find that the room will look like it is designed by an experienced interior designer!

Now you might be wondering, “even though I've picked one of the color schemes, I still don’t know what specific tone of the color I should go for!”

Well, I am here to tell you that you can pick any type of color! So long as you like it, it is good enough!

However, if you want any reference for your color picking journey, I would suggest going for pastel color choices, this type of color is less vibrant than most colors which help in for longer viewing and less striking on the eyes.

Or if you are lazy you can simply let it be white, it can give a pure look to the space, and your furniture & decoration can do all the talking and express later. (Oh and by the way, a color picker website like https://coolors.co/ could quickly help you generate the colors you want, so do make use of it :) )

3. Material Texture

What brings your newly designed room alive? That’s right, materials.

Materials place a big role in the overall texture of your house as well as the durability and aesthetics of your space.

You can use material texture concept for all aspects in your room, from the types of flooring to the types of wall that you can apply, to the furniture applications.

There are so many ways to use materials so I am just going to cover what to look out for when choosing the materials.

Firstly, regarding floor materials.

You would want to choose a material that suits your aesthetic of the space as well as the purpose of the space.

For example, if it the living room, some considerations you will need to make are, is this scratch resistant? ( you don’t want your furniture to destroy your floor right? ) is this waterproof? ( for those accidental spillages) is it comfortable to walk on?

Maybe for the kitchen & the bathrooms, you might want to consider if it's scratch proof, dent proof, easy to clean, slip-resistant so on and so forth.

Do visit material shops & warehouses to get a feel for the materials yourself as well as do your research online to find the types of materials that will suit you the best.

Secondly, for the walls.

I’ll keep it short and simple,for walls you might want to do a feature material wall, like a timber panel wood wall, or a marble laminated wall ( or the real marble of course ).

This can drastically change the look and feel of the room as well as give a bit more character and even able to hide doors, kinks or unsightly aspects in the room.

Thirdly, furniture materials.

There isn’t much to say, it is more so dependent on the concept of the design as well as whether or not you like it, except for the kitchen countertop. You will need to pay great attention to that as it will greatly impact your life in the future.

Things to look out for are scratch proof, dent proof, easy to clean as well as easy to maintain over the years, you don’t want a case whereby after 5-10 years you have to do a renovation of your kitchen simply because of your kitchen countertop right?

Do ask your supplier for advice as they are better equipped with the knowledge of the material they are selling, check google for more information as well, there are tons more comparison of the different types of material for kitchen countertops.

4. Principle of design

Principles of design are all around us and even you might be using it to organize your items base on this concept as well, however it is still better to understand what is it so that you can make full use of this design technique.

Balance

The idea that things can be put in a manner that is equal in nature, an easy way to create a sense of security.

Hierarchy

The idea that things have different levels of importance some more emphasized, some less emphasize, however, there is always multiple differentiating levels to its organization.

Emphasis

The idea that one object “rules them all”, and that it is the most important and striking compared to a sea of background objects.

Contrast

Two different opposing objects place side by side.

White space

Using a purity of space/object to do the talking when overlaid over other things.

Rhythm

Having something in a repetitive manner to create movement in the space.

5. Light

I left the best for last so do hear me out. LIGHTING IS THE MOST IMPORTANT IN INTERIOR DESIGN.

Honestly, I have to empathize with this, lighting will make or break your design.

We humans so how to have an extreme fetish for lighting.

Lighting if done well will make your design feel luxurious, expensive and cohesive.

Think of lighting as that magic wand that will make your design POP, put spotlighting at areas that will emphasis on certain aspects in the room, use task lighting for areas that require u to perform certain tasks like in the wardrobe and under the kitchen cabinet. And finally, use general lighting for your normal day to daylighting.

I hope after reading this you will feel less afraid to do your own interior designs and hope that you can soon embark own your own dream home design.

Do remember to subscribe and share if you found that this is useful, and do comment if you have any questions, hope you will have a nice design journey. :)

Are interior designers really needed? Here are 4 reasons why you might want to design your own home.

2019-10-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

To some this might be a no brainer, “because I want an easier and more convenient way!” they say or “Since picking and choosing a home to buy was already so tiring and stressful! I might as well leave the job to a professional.”

But to others, they might consider the latter, “I want to have full control over how I live!” they say.

Although there are pros and cons to both decisions, today I'll talk about why you might want to consider designing your own home and hopefully change your mind regarding self-interior design. :)

1. Design your home is fun!

Let me start off with emphasizing on the emotional aspects of self interior designing, IT IS ABSOLUTELY A JOY TO DESIGN YOU OWN HOME!

Designing your own home is fun, it might be hard to start at first, but once you understand some of the basics of designing.

Man. I must say. You will feel like you just popped a few pills, you will feel like you are a god in the sky, having control over everything and anything.

Just simply being able to imagine that dream house that you always wanted, and simply renovate the space like how you wanted it to be, the anticipation alone will drive you nuts!

Everything that you want to be done, and how it should be done could be immediately edited to suit your desires. And with immediate visual/graphical representation of your dream home taking shape, you will be instantly gratified and have a great sense of accomplishment. Now, isn’t that just fun?

2. Lower renovation fees

Most interior designers will always agree on the commission before starting the project, this usually is around 10% of the total cost.

However, even this can vary from firm to firm, some firms prefer to take payments based on hours spends, some prefer “percentage over cost” rate so do take note of how your firm might earn that commission. (if you prefer to hire an interior designer.)

A quick calculation can reveal how much an interior designer gets from your project alone.

If your project cost around 40k to 50k for a normal 5 room apartment. The design fee alone will cost about 4k to 5k.

However this is not all, some interior designers also collect a portion of commission fees from the supplier.

This means the total cost of one five-room project that costs you 50k, might earn them 10k for design work and commission, as well as the possibility of using low-grade materials and even having a junior designer to handle your project!

So, do you really want to spend that extra 10K for simply less effort upfront?

3.Interior designer doesn’t know what you want

Let me be honest with you, INTERIOR DESIGNERS DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT! Don’t believe me? Just look at this image below:

Source: https://digitalsynopsis.com/design/funny-memes-graphic-designer/

Or this:

Source: https://me.me/i/client-designer-none-21825117

LOOK! The design that you paid for is literally you telling him what to do and him doing it for you.

The fact is no one knows you better than you do so why are you giving up your home to let someone else (whom you possibly just met ) figure out how you should live in your own home?

Would you let a random stranger, while paying him 5 bucks and your keys, even keep watch of your own house while you are gone?

No right?

So why, would you let an interior designer design your house experience for possibly the next 5 to 10 years?

And plus most interior designers have a specific type of style they advertise, so your house, if you chose to work with him, might look almost the same with the thousands of clients he had, is having, and probably will have.

4. More motivated in life

Honestly, this last point is more of a personal opinion, I feel that after my own dream home design journey, I felt more motivated to do more in life.

Having the ability to accomplish something so big and yet so satisfying in life made me realized that there is a hidden potential in each and every one of us.

The possibility of doing more is always there, you got to simply give that switch a flick and everything will start moving again.

There might be bumps and puddles along the way, but when I reached the end, I felt that I want to do more in life. This experience might or might not happen to everyone but I believe whoever that went through this journey, might find themselves becoming a better them, and I hope that you will too.

Do remember to subscribe and share with your friends if you liked the post, hope to see you soon :)

5 easy steps to start designing your DREAM apartment space.

2019-10-07T06:13:00.001-07:00

After the purchase of a new apartment home, it is always hard to pick an interior designer to help you design your home.

Picking and spending time to select that interior designer who is a perfect match is always hard, so why not start designing your dream home anyways.

Since its YOUR DREAM, no interior designer is going to be able to design that perfect home you wish for. So, let's begin with 5 easy steps to help you to kick start your dream home design. :)

Step 1.

Think of a purpose.

When it comes to your new home, think of a purpose for the home. A purpose is needed to have a driving force in the direction of the concept. It is like a car with electricity or gas, in this case, the car is your design and the electricity is your purpose. Without it, your car might be hard to move, requiring a lot more effort to get to the same location.

Imagine a scene of the day that you might spend in your house.

A warm cozy afternoon by the window ledge with a book?

A cool Sunday morning in your kitchen cooking breakfast?

Or could be a late evening at your desk, engrossed in your work.

Now, simply pick one of the scenes that you imagined and use that as your purpose.

Step 2.

Think of a design statement.

A design statement is simply a way to put your thoughts into concrete action, having a design statement is like a tool in the shed that helps you to perform your task. An easy way to begin your design statement is with:

To design a home that PURPOSE which allows me to TYPES OF ACHIEVED LIVING

For example, to design a home that can satisfy my need to have a reading corner everywhere in the house which allows me to constantly have a space to read. Or to design a home that will be tech-focused and simplify my life which allows me to have a more automated standard of living.

Don’t worry about creating a perfect design statement, it is normal to make adjustments down the road so just simply do it!

You might be amazed but many people avoid this step, which often leads to their home design to be incohesive, messy and all over the place.

Step 3.

Start your design.

There are multiple ways to begin visualizing and designing your dream home, you can first draw out the basic furniture layout or you can use multiple online software to create your dream home.

Software that I would recommend are:

Sketchup Online
It is by far the easiest to set up and versatile software that most people in the interior industry also use. It is easy to pick up for beginners with inbuilt tutorials to guide you at the start, as well as countless furniture models that you can simply import from the SketchUp 3D warehouse. The best part is, you don’t even have to download the software! You can get started immediately, which explains the “online” part in its name.

Planner 5D
It is another easy to use software for beginners, it has an intuitive layout and a real-time realistic view of the model. When using the software you can either use their online template or start with your own. The best part is, the software has both a desktop version and a mobile version so you can work on your design even on the go!

Home by me
This software is similar in functionality as planner 5D, with the ability to switch between 3d and 2d views easily. And with easy to draw walls and add furniture, your future home design can be easily changed on the fly. However, one downside to this is that there not as much furniture as the SketchUp warehouse so if you prefer lots of choices. SketchUp online is still the way to go.

Step 4.

Focal Point

Within any space, a focal point can easily bring the design to the next level. Be it a bookshelf, a table or even a painting or a potted plant, having a portion of the home designed with that focal point in mind help to elevate the space and create a uniquely interesting area in your home.

Think of something unique that is in line with your design statement, that will help you to create a uniquely yours dream home.

Step 5.

Use Pinterest

Use Pinterest, no really, sign up now if you haven’t started using it yet. It's literally one of the best platforms to get fresh ideas and get your mind churning.

Many times when I had trouble figuring out how to continue with my design, a simple search, and a few scrolls can easily help me to think of something new and exciting.

Also remember to always save the pins that you have viewed and that you like, some of the pins that you have viewed now might not benefit you in your design but might in the future, so always save the pins.

Now with these 5 steps, you are finally equipped to embark on your new renovation journey! But before you go I still have some tips for you.

Firstly, think outside the box! Think of the whole room as your canvas, the floor, the walls, and your ceilings are all opportunities that you can use to make your design POP so why not make full use of it?

Secondly, it's always good to create a mood board during your design. Stack some material texture together and BAMB you have your mood board! Mood boards can easily help you to view the color scheme and textures of your design, allowing you to “feel the atmosphere” of the room, which might be the feeling you will have in the room in the future!

Do remember to subscribe and share with your friends if you liked the post, hope to see you soon :)

And with that, I wish for the best of luck in your renovation journey :)