ELEMENTS OF DESIGN
LINE FORM FLOW
SCALE
TEXTURE & PATTERN
Without the lowly... Point ...at which all design originates, the other Elements of Design simply would not exist.

Consider this very simple, but very powerful beginning place at which all art and design begins. A single dot or spot or smudge - where the tip of the pencil, brush, pen, finger or other imaginable object first contacts the page, the canvas, clay or toilet wall! ..whatever surface chosen for expression of design - is the beginning point.

You know that a single point on a page begs to relate to another point or line, if only to draw a line from it. Perhaps a line connects 2 points & on it goes.

The same is true in interior room design and decor.

The Initiating Principle of Point is the first and essential of the Elements of Design

This is positively the most important factor in determining the interior design of a room in a home or any interior or exterior application.

The beginning 'Point' is a critical factor commonly missed in the consideration of arrangement and design, simply for the lack of knowing where to start. By training the eye, this common mistake to dive into a space making change with inappropriate, ineffective, random-ness can be transformed.

Identify the start, then consider the plan & harmonious arrangement of the elements of design.

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Creating A Decorating Plan from a Strong Point

Design & Decorate Successfully using the Elements of Design Leading From the Point

Stand at the entrance to a room that you want to decorate, redecorate or if you are staging for resale. Be objective. There is usually some strong starting point in a room from which to begin. It may stand out immediately. Or you may have to decide what it will be and create the point of focus.

A Redesign Study in Point

I recently redecorated an attic suite. A Parisian Attic Apartment theme was the immediate & perfect solution for this dingy space in the attic of a historical house. What color is perfect French apartment? What color is great for dingy spaces, but … yellow! The dormer windows & gabled roof limited light & begged some strong points, which the suite didn’t have.

A sash window on a non-gabled wall in the living room was larger than the dormers, a perfect opportunity for focus – The Point would be created here.

The decorating arrangement plan began and flowed from here. The window, only 3ft wide by 5ft high was
Click to postersdressed floor to ceiling with heavy yellow damask for maximum illusion to height in the low ceilinged space. On a rod 3 feet wider than the window, the curtains flanked the window without covering it at all, to allow maximum exposure to light. Sheers were added & whole treatment was held anchored with self tie-backs.

Choosing yellow fabric served 2 purposes here. One, for the brightness of color required. Two, the blending of wall & curtain fabric created visual flow, enlarging the small space.

The All Important POINT Principle

A seemingly simple and obscure starting point provided the very necessary strong statement from which the rest of the room flowed & unfolded. From the window treatment, an antique black velvet chair offset to the side at an angle gave natural place to a floor lamp in the corner.

And on it went to the arrangement of the various forms, development of scale, color accents, texture and pattern combinations.

It takes training the eye to first of all see the starting point in design, whether in fact or in theory.

Then to create the movement of flow one point to the next to the next, incorporating all elements of design developing the complete concept into a cohesive, balanced whole.

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