INTERIOR DESIGN

planning and design of man-made spaces, a part of environmental design and closely related to architecture. Although the desire to create a pleasant environment is as old as civilization itself, the field of interior design is relatively new. Since at least the middle of the 20th century, the term interior decorator has been so loosely applied as to be nearly meaningless, with the result that other, more descriptive terms have come into use. The term interior design indicates a broader area of activity and at the same time suggests its status as a serious profession. In some European countries, where the profession is well established, it is known as interior architecture. Individuals who are concerned with the many elements that shape man-made environments have come to refer to the total field as environmental design. the planning and design of man-made spaces, a part of environmental design and closely related to architecture. The design of interior spaces is undertaken to create a harmonious and appropriate environment for the human activities to be pursued in those spaces. Interior decoration is an important part of interior design, and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, though strictly the designer is concerned with larger concepts and the overall organization of space; the decorator works to select the best fabrics, furniture, colours, and accessory furnishings to enhance the entire interior space. The interior designer must consider the form and character of the exterior architecture; the site, size, character, and lighting of the interior spaces; the function of those interiors; the lifestyle and socioeconomic needs of the people who will use those spaces; and the appropriateness of any design features to be incorporated. The designer's goal is to create a coordinated and harmonious whole where the architecture, site, function, and visual aspects of the interior are unified and pleasing to mind and body. Scale is a vital factor in interior design. Furniture and accompanying accessories must be in proportion to the space they occupy and also to the human needs. Character is equally vitalwhether the feel of the space is to be formal or informal, for example. The design and decoration of residential spaces involve a personal statement about the status, taste, and lifestyle of its residents. Such interiors can be infinitely varied, though the overall good design criteria such as harmony of colour, texture, lighting, scale, and pleasing proportion remain paramount. The design of nonresidential spaces such as offices, hospitals, stores, and educational buildings invites a more standardized approach on the part of the designer, who will often strive for clear organization of systems and functions ahead of purely aesthetic considerations. Additional reading General works Arnold Friedmann, John F. Pile, and Forrest Wilson, Interior Design: An Introduction to Architectural Interiors (1970), an introduction to the field of interior architecture written for students of design; Sherrill Whiton, Elements of Interior Design and Decoration, 3rd ed. (1963), a scholarly text; Ray and Sarah Faulkner, Inside Today's Home, 3rd ed. (1968), a thorough and well-illustrated book on the interior design of homes; Diana Rowntree, Interior Design (1964), a brief and personal view of interior design written primarily for British readers; Edgar Kaufman, What Is Modern Interior Design? (1953, reprinted 1969), a very brief but perceptive treatise. A later monograph on home decorating is Mary Gilliat, The Decorating Book (1981), with special photography by Michael Dunne. Special types of interiors Michael Saphier, Office Planning and Design (1968), a clear overview of the field of business and office interiors; Betty Alswang and Ambur Hiken, The Personal House (1961), a photographic collection of very personal interiors primarily designed by the artist-occupants, rather than professional interior designers. The photographs and comments contained in the following works make them significant sources for the study and understanding of special interiors: William Wilson Atkin and Joan Adler, Interiors Book of Restaurants (1960); Henry End, Interiors Book of Hotels and Motor Hotels (1963); John F. Pile, Interiors Second Book of Offices (1969); Morris Ketchum, Shops and Stores, rev. ed. (1957); George Nelson (ed.), Living Spaces (1952); Mary Gilliatt and Michael Boys, English Style in Interior Decoration (1967). Special subjects Johannes Itten, Kunst der Farbe (1961; Eng. trans., The Art of Color, 1961); Faber Birren, Color for Interiors, Historical and Modern (1963); Leslie Larson, Lighting and Its Design (1964); John F. Pile (ed.), Drawings of Architectural Interiors (1967); Mario G. Salvadori and Robert Heller, Structure in Architecture (1963), a very readable introduction to structural principles understandable to laymen, but written on a professional level; Mario Dal Fabbro, Modern Furniture, 2nd ed. (1958). Edward Lucie-Smith, The Story of Craft: The Craftsman's Role in Society (1981), explores the unifying and the distinctive features of craft and fine arts. Historical developments George Savage, A Concise History of Interior Decoration (1966), is an English-language work that summarizes the history of the subject. Information about the earliest furniture may be found in Hollis S. Baker, Furniture in the Ancient World (1966); and the Natural History (various editions) of Pliny the Elder, which contains much information in the final volumes on the Roman scene. Books about the Middle Ages are not numerous, but the Guide to the Early Christian and Byzantine Antiquities of the British Museum (1921), is a useful work. There are many books dealing with various aspects of the Renaissance, such as Peter and Linda Murray, The Art of the Renaissance (1963); Frida Schottmuller, Furniture and Interior Decoration of the Italian Renaissance (1921); Pierre Du Colombier, Le Style Henri IVLouis XIII (1941); Germain Bazin, Classique, baroque et rococo (1964; Eng. trans., Baroque and Rococo, 1964); and Victor Tapie, Baroque et classicisme (1957; Eng. trans., The Age of Grandeur, 1960). Pierre Verlet, Le Mobilier royal franais (1945; Eng. trans., French Royal Furniture, 1963) and Les Meubles franais du XVIII siecle (1956; Eng. trans., French Furniture and Interior Decoration, 1967), are important works by a great authority dealing with 18th-century developments. George Savage, French Decorative Art, 16381793 (1969), discusses most of the objects in general use for interior decoration. Fiske Kimball, The Creation of the Rococo (1943), is an important examination of the sources of this style; Terisio Pignatti, Il Rococo (1967; Eng. trans., The Age of Rococo 1967; Eng. trans., The Age of Rococo, 1969), is a scholarly picture book based on an exhibition so titled. Adrien Fauchier-Magnan, Les Petites Cours d'Allemagne au XVIII Siecle (1947; Eng. trans., Small German Courts in the Eighteenth Century, 1958), is valuable for information about the pervasion of French art and culture. The Wallace Collection (London) catalog of Furniture by F.J.B. Watson (1956), and the catalog of Sculpture by James G. Mann (1931), are scholarly works essential to the study of their subject; see also F.J.B. Watson, Louis XVI Furniture (1960).On English decoration the works of Margaret Jourdain: English Decoration and Furniture of the Early Renaissance (1924), Regency Furniture, 17951820 (1934), and The Work of William Kent (1948), are all worth consulting. Percy Macquoid and Ralph Edwards, The Dictionary of English Furniture from the Middle Ages to the Georgian Period, 2nd ed. rev., 3 vol. (1954), is a scholarly and important work. Thomas A. Strange, English Furniture, Decoration, Woodwork, and Allied Arts (1900; reprinted 1950), reproduces many pages from 18th-century English design books, including Chippendale's Director; and Hugh Honour, Neo-Classicism (1968), discusses the style in its international implications, as well as dealing with that of the brothers Adam. Susan Lasdun, Victorians at Home (1981), discusses domestic interior in the period from 1820 to 1900.For the Gothic revival there is no better source than Sir Kenneth Clark, The Gothic Revival (1928, reprinted 1970). J. Mordaunt Crook, William Burges and the High Victorian Dream (1981), is a study of the life of a protagonist of the Gothic revival style in design. Joseph Downs, American Furniture (1952), is a standard work. George Savage, The Dictionary of Antiques (1970), discusses former objects of interior decoration and their style from the Renaissance onwards. Art Nouveau has been the subject of a number of books. Among the best are Mario Amaya, Art nouveau (1966); Marton Battersey, The World of Art Nouveau (1968); and Stephen Tschodi Madsen, Source of Art Nouveau (1956).There are no works discussing Oriental interior decoration only, and information must, for the most part, be gleaned from books discussing specific types of objects, such as painting, porcelain, furniture, and bronze. By far the best source is Chinese Art, 4 vol. (196065), an international symposium by several well-known Orientalists that discusses almost everything of importance to the subject. A useful general survey is Leigh Ashton (ed.), Chinese Art, by several well-known authorities (1935), which summarizes in one volume the salient facts about works in many differing materials. For Japanese art, Marcus B. Huish, Japan and Its Art (1889), is an excellent general work, but few books that can be recommended for the present purpose have been published in English.On Islamic art, an excellent work is David Talbot Rice, Islamic Art (1965); a more detailed survey is Maurice S. Dimand, A Handbook of Muhammadan Art, 3rd ed. rev. (1958). A.U. Pope and Phyllis Ackerman, A Survey of Persian Art from Prehistoric Times to the Present, 14 vol. (193867), should be consulted for this aspect. Franz Boas, Primitive Art, new ed. (1955), discusses the principles behind the decoration of a wide variety of art of this kind, with special attention to the North Pacific Coast of North America. Eric Larrabee and Massimo Vignelli, Knoll Design (1981), is a history of modern commercial interior design.