Form and function are vital factors in the world of interior decoration. While every room of a house should reflect both personality and passions, it also needs to accommodate everyday life. You and your family have to able to operate, work, and ultimately relax in the space as well.
Form covers aesthetic appearance and style, while function revolves around comfort and practicality. If one becomes larger than the other space becomes disjointed. In order to avoid this, you should always ask three questions. How do you want it to look, what purpose will it serve, and how will it be used?
Think of the Children
Kids make messes. The younger they are, the bigger the accumulating mess. There is a reason 60+ homeowners have regal, refined, and well-rounded interior decor. There are no kids around to knock them over. Part of function is appreciated where you are at in your life, and accommodating that place with a proper form.
If you have young children, active pets, or even an active space, it is best to choose mess-free options. Buy sturdy furniture and easily cleaned fabrics. Save the hand-painted tea set that Cary Grant used to own for the golden years.
Play the Simplicity
Function is very easy to calculate in any living space. If more than one person is going to be watching the television, buy a couch. If you have kids, put the breakable stuff on the top shelf and the kid-friendly items on the bottom. If you and your family are fond of snack or regularly entertain, then make sure you have a welcome supply of side tables.
Form can be a little harder to work around, but it does not have to be complicated. Simply adding paintings, framed family pictures, or even posters can add a lot of style to space. A lot of times form can be accomplished by simply making sure colors match.
Buy Showpeices
Form is great for aesthetics. It can create a living space that other people talk about. It can also cost a pretty penny. Function breeds practicality, and practicality does not require a multi-figured price tag. A good balance between the two is to buy showpieces. These are additions to your home that are solely meant to be looked at. They can be decorations, furniture pieces, expensive paintings, or modern art.
One or two well-placed showpieces can uprgrade a living space. An aquarium, for instance, is a great piece that adds a little luxury to normal surroundings. Wood-paneling is another great form-based touch that can revolutionize a space. If you are tech-savvy then the use of smart features can be a way to go. Nothing serves as a more impressive showpiece than a voice-activation.
Find a Combination
There are a wide-variety of furniture pieces that provide both form and function easily. As aforementioned, a great showpiece is the use of smart technology. A smart T.V., for instance, is a great showpiece for a living space. It is also a very functional and convenient form of technology. Many homeowners think that form is all about appearance. In order to provide form to a room it has to look good. Form also deals with functionality as well.
Mattresses are a great example of both form and function working in unison. A mattress is something you sleep on, so automatically it has to functional. It serves a very important purpose and needs to be comfortable. Luckily, form-fitting matteresses, adjustable beds, sleep-number beds are all prime examples of form. They not only accomplish the job but add style. Mattresses also provide benefit to cost, especially if you happen upon a mattress sale.
Trends
Vanity conversions are a current trend in interior decorating. This is the act of taking an old chest of drawers, file cabinet, entertainment center, or even a tiny refrigerator and converting into a vanity. People use then to store food, clothing, make-up, art supplies, and books. Another trend is the use of Satin Brass
A huge part of form in decorating is either being vintage or up to date. New trends are constantly sweeping across the world of interior decorating. A functional space can have a lot of form added to it simply by focusing on a popular trend.
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