When it comes to making your space look cooler, a lot of us tend to get a bit stumped. How much is too much? Is there a balance that needs to be maintained? All these questions keep popping into your mind when you think about interiors. So help solve all your problems, we reached out to one of India’s finest architects, Ashiesh Shah, to help give some tips! Here are 7 important tips he gave us!
1. Incorporate Art
A lot of it! Not only does it add colour, it adds dimension and completeness to a space. Art is inextricable from its surroundings and therefore intrinsically linked to architecture. In many ways, they are the two sides of the same coin.
2. Declutter
Less is more when it comes to interior spaces. Keep it simple, keep it clean and most importantly, keep it minimal. My practice has evolved over the years and with it my philosophy on aesthetics. What has remained constant, however, is my belief in the aesthetic philosophy of Wabi-Sabi. The Japanese concept is derived from Buddhist teachings. It is the aesthetic of a beauty that is imperfect and incomplete. Asymmetry and asperity play a major role in my practice and I appreciate spaces that incorporate natural objects and processes.
3. Windows Are Indispensable
Flooding your space with natural light adds to its openness and grandness. I believe in using mirrors to double up the view and accentuate the natural light in a given space. Using their reflective quality to elongate spaces and add a sense of endlessness lifts up the interior space.
4. A Dash Of Colour
Pigmented accents lighten and liven your space – but don’t overdo it! It’s important to ascertain your colour palette and not deviate from it. Working within the hues of your chosen palette will keep you in check from overly dramatizing spaces that result in creating noise, not harmony.
5. Don’t Forget About Context
Experiential design and vanishing thresholds work hand-in-hand. Whether the landscape or simply the view, your interiors should not contrast the exterior but draw from it. This allows easy progression between areas, balancing circulation and movement between spaces.
6. Inculcate Championed Pieces
Furniture as an element of focus will break monotony within your interior spaces. A successful space directs the eye through a hierarchy of differing elements, adding to the experience space aims to create.
7. Textures Are Everything
Amalgamate surfaces, finishes and materials to set a tone to every space you design. The emotions spaces are meant to evoke find a voice through tangible interiors.
So there you have it. You’ve got 7 great tips from one of India’s best! Let us know what you’d like to know about next, in the comments below!
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