Interior Design

Backgrounds

Backgrounds are easy to overlook or take for

granted. If they are missing or out of proportion, however, they become quiet noticeable.

It is best to make some decisions about background areas before going on to other parts of your design.

Backgrounds…

Walls Floors Windows Ceiling

What parts of the room make up the background?

Moody Much?

Backgrounds help set the mood of a room. The materials, patterns, colors and textures you choose for the background elements all contribute to the mood. It may be calm and quiet or vibrant and exciting.

What colors, patterns or textures do your consider quiet or calming?

Loud and exciting?

Patterns Colors textures

How does a background contribute to the mood of a room?

Sound is also affected by backgrounds. Soft

textured materials tend to absorb sound, while smooth hard surfaces don’t.

What would the noise levels be like in a room with thick carpeting?

Wood flooring?

Noise…

Some textures absorb sound, lowering noise

level. Examples? Smooth textures (such as?) may have the

opposite effect.

How do they help with noise level?

In some rooms, the background may actually

be the focal point of the room. This is true when there is some special quality,

such as a dramatic beamed ceiling or floor to ceiling window.

In other rooms, the background goes almost unnoticed serving only to provide a setting for the furnishing.

Hocus Pocus Focus Focus

VS.

Some backgrounds can help save money on heating

and cooling bills. On such feature are very large windows on the south

side of the house. These let plenty of light in the rooms. Quarry tiles for the floor can help absorb the heat from

the sun during the day, and release it at night warming the room.

Sheer curtains let in light, but also let in the warm sun or the cold outside.

Heavy insulated draperies, keep the house the desired temperature.

Energy Efficiency

1. Windows on the south side of the house let

light in during the winter. 2. Brick or tile on wall or floor retain heat. 3. Insulated drapes keep heat in or out 4. Plush carpet; some ceiling tiles insulate

Give 3 examples of how BG elements can improve a home’s energy

efficiency.

Yessss. We have more to say about color… There are some special factors relating to background color. Because the light in a room is uneven, color will seldom

look the same at every spot. The way light strikes the wall can affect how dark or light a

color appears… even changing season to season. Furniture reduces the amount of background color. An

entertaining center, for instance, covers much of a wall. A sofa obscures part of the floor.

Remember reds, oranges, and yellows make a room seem warmer. Greens blues and violets generally create a cooler feeling.

Color Considerations