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Interior Design 101

The 7 key components of interior design are color, form, light, line, pattern, texture, space. While it’s essential to learn more about each of these in-depth, this article highlights the best tips and tricks from each of our “Interior Design 101” series. Today on the blog, Vishion discusses everything you need to know for interior design 101 mastery.

Interior Design 101: What To Know

Interior Design

Interior Design from Mymove

The New York School of Interior Design defines interior design as how people experience a space. As humans are spending more and more time indoors, especially with the current pandemic, our interior environment plays a big role in affecting our moods. There’s a lot that goes into designing an interior space. You need to plan, research, and create a layout, which all comes together to create an aesthetically pleasing environment. This all-encompassing guide introduces everything you need to know to become an interior design 101 pro.

Color in Design

If you find color theory to be daunting and difficult to understand, you can take solace in the fact that there are several tried-and-true, logic-based color rules that cater to professional designers and design lovers. To really get down to the basics of interior design 101, you need to know all about color.

The Color Wheel

The Color Wheel

The Color Wheel from DecoArt

You can use the color wheel to conceive various aesthetically balanced color combinations, the most basic of which is a complementary color scheme. The color wheel refects all colors and shows the relationships between them. These relationships are either complementary colors or analogic colors. 

The 60-30-10 Rule

The 60-30-10 Rule

The 60-30-10 Rule from Uniplace

If you’re puzzling over how many colors and how much of each is appropriate to have in one room, consider the 60-30-10 ratio. This ratio tells you the classic interior design rules for creating a color palette for a space. The dominant color should account for approximately 60 percent of the room, the secondary color should account for approximately 30 percent, and the accent color should account for approximately 10 percent.

Color and Color Palettes

Now that you know a little bit about color rules, it’s time to put them into action. Creating a color palette is essential to ensuring an adhesive aesthetic and a consistent look. It can be daunting to create a color palette for the first time on your own. Luckily, Vishion is here to help. Here are some color palette posts that will inspire yours instantly:

Ways to Bring Color to Your Space

  • Paint
    • If you’re thinking about redoing your space, giving your home a fresh coat of paint may be just what it needs to make it seem brand new. When giving your home an updated look, there are a few things to keep in mind to make it look professionally painted.
  • Wallpaper
    • With various trendy colors and patterns to choose from, wallpaper poses a fun and funky alternative to paint. It’s important to understand terms such as booking, blistering, butting, colorway, and centering if you want to learn how to put up wallpaper like a pro.

Light

Modern Lighting

Modern Lighting from CB2

When it comes to your space’s ambiance, interior lighting is everything; however, it doesn’t just affect your aesthetic. It can also drastically affect your mood. Here is where you should understand color temperature, which is the difference between warm, neutral, cool lighting, and the different lighting types: ambient, task, and accent lighting. Lighting is just another key factor to mastering interior design 101.

Space

Designing With Furniture

Furniture in design

Furniture in Design via Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams

While it sometimes may feel daunting to choose furniture and decor for your home, they’re key components when it comes to design. Furniture and decor are really what make your space and are just as important as a paintbrush is to an artist.

If you’re into DIY projects, there are many ways you can easily create furniture and decor that will add an aesthetic element and a unique flair to your interior design.

  • Upholstery
    • At first blush, upholstery seems like a job best left to the professionals—but it’s faster, easier, and cheaper than you might think. As with any DIY project, your best bet when upholstering furniture for the first time is to start small, such as with a chair seat or a headboard.
  • Patterns 
    • The colors and patterns you gravitate towards say a great deal about your unique design style. Because we encounter both regularly, our preferences tend to develop instinctively and shift naturally. Color-pattern compromise is one of those things that shouldn’t stand out in a professionally designed space. If it’s done correctly, the effect should be seamless and subtle.
  • Textiles
    • Textiles are any products that are made of fabric or woven. These components can serve to inspire many facets of interior design. Using these products in your space helps set the environment’s mood and adds the key finishing touch to create a complete design.

Feng Shui and Space

How to feng shui

How To Feng Shui from Simply Abundance

Feng Shui is all about finding balance and chi in different spaces throughout your home. China created this ancient art more than 3,000 years ago. Feng shui is essential in making sure people live in harmony with their environment. Due to COVID-19, it may seem difficult to implement this practice into your home without buying anything new. That’s why Vishion is here to help. Finding good Feng Shui can be just as easy as rearranging the items you already have in your home.

Inspire Your Next Interior Design With Vishion

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  • Search for decor by your chosen color
  • Explore all decor options with Vishion
  • Find your perfect match and start your project today

Vishion’s Guide to Wallpaper Design Styles and Trends

Wallpaper is the quintessential way to breathe new life into your old walls. Today on the blog, we explore some modern, trend-forward takes on this old-school design choice.

Trend Alert | Florals, Greenery, and Wood Tones Galore

The florals of the late 1900s are making a comeback and are longer associated with your grandmother’s living room. These updated on-trend patterns bring the outside through florals that pop and natural wood tones that are modern and timeless. Inspired by garden florals and nature, Vishion dives into interior designs modeled after this trend.

Florals, Greenery, and Wood Tones Galore

Image and Design by Christopher Stark

Since the beginning of its popularity in the 1950s, florals can be found everywhere from drapery, wallpaper, and statement upholstery. Many picture this pattern covering their grandmother’s house, however, modern interior design features florals in an updated way. Using shades of blues, greens, browns, greys, and pinks, this nature-inspired palette can help brighten your home with a sustainable feel.

Floral Upholstery

Design by NÎązly Habib (Source: Instagram)

If you love the feel the florals but aren’t ready to deck out the walls, try adding a subtle upholstered fabric to your dining room or kitchen chairs. Pair it with your favorite indoor plant to add a hint of greenery. When starting from scratch, use the floral fabric to create the rooms color palette. Vishion can help you find your favorite pattern and identify your palette’s featured color with our custom color search engine. Floral upholstery adds a chic, modern, and elegant touch that brightens your space and makes it feel warm and airy.

Moody Wood Tones

Design by Proem Studio

If your preferred personal design style is more dark and mysterious, consider incorporating wood tones and natural materials into your home interior design. Think dark greens, muted yellows, and elegant shades of black. A great way to incorporate natural woods is by refinishing furniture and restoring it to its natural state. Search your city’s Facebook marketplace or Nextdoor app to find furniture that can be stripped, sanded, and stained. Stained – an eco and budget-friendly alternative to expensive furniture store prices.

Subtle Floral Inspired Tiles

Design by Jordan Shifrin (source: Instagram)

Florals don’t need to be obvious. You can use floral-inspired tiles, for example, to still incorporate nature into your space. Take a look at this design by Jordan Shifrin. Using this daisy-inspired pattern, wood-toned barstools, and vibrant, green plants, this design is bright, modern, and trendy without trying too hard.

Using Vishion to Explore this Color Palette

Download the Vishion app to explore any of the colors from this palette, create an inspiration board, and select complementary colors. Then, find fabric, wallpaper, furniture, or art to match!

       

DIY Basics | Wallpaper 101

With a variety of trendy colors and patterns to choose from, wallpaper poses a fun and funky alternative to paint. Today on the blog, we explain and explore wallpaper terminology, types, and best practices for application.

An Insider Look at 7 Celebrity Interior Designs, Thanks to Zoom

Celebrities: They’re just like us, with their neon-hued basements, dedicated shoe closets and built-in shelving units brimming with Oscars. Well, maybe they’re not *quite* like us, but thanks to social distancing, us normal folk have gotten to peek inside the homes of the rich and the famous to see how the other side lives.

Zoom, Zoom

zoom video conference

Photo by Allie on Unsplash

If there’s one… interesting… takeaway from the coronavirus pandemic, it’s that we’re all inviting each other into our homes on a more intimate (yet virtual) level. People who may never get to peek inside the walls of our homes now get to judge us based on the novels on our bookshelves, not the self-help books piled on our desks. And in true celebrity-thirsty fashion, normal people just like you and me now have the opportunity to dissect the interior design choices of our favorite celebs via zoom.

1. John Legend & Chrissy Teigen

Social media queen Chrissy Teigen has always felt comfortable sharing the intimate details of her life with her adoring fans. But now that she has all the time in the world (read: no choice but to stay home), she’s shared even more of her life at home with husband and singer John Legend.

The Teigen-Legend household is just as aesthetically pleasing as you might expect from a bombshell model and her artist husband. Teigen likes to poke fun at her perfectly imperfect life on Twitter, but it’s clear that a lot of effort, time, and investment has gone into making their home’s interior design a place where you want to spend time. With a bright, open kitchen that would make a Michelin-star chef blush and a home gym filled with sexy fitness equipment, this is one celebrity house where I wouldn’t mind being quarantined for a few months. (OK, I’ll start packing my bags now if you insist…)

2. Tom Hanks

Cherry kitchen cabinets are admittedly not my thing. But Tom Hanks is Tom Hanks, and he can make anything look good. “Hanx,” as he lovingly signs off on Twitter, invited us into his home at a particularly vulnerable time — right when the coronavirus pandemic started. He hosted SNL’s first at-home special from his kitchen and helped many confused, troubled Americans forget about the world for a little while.

That being said, if I had as much money as Tom Hanks, you better believe that my kitchen would be bright, big, and outfitted with more pasta arms than I could ever use in one day.

3. Pete Davidson…’s mom’s basement

Pete Davidson shows that a man cave doesn’t have to be a dark, dank pit of despair (and testosterone). His mom’s basement — yes, really — is a colorful oasis that’s fun and outfitted with all the modern fixtures that make life easier. Davidson showed off his pad in a recent episode of Saturday Night at Home, but that’s not the first time he’s invited his dedicated fans into his crib. Prior to his Netflix stand-up comedy special, he gave a tour of his basement apartment, complete with his signature self-deprecating humor that only a charming man as himself can pull off.

By any measure, Davidson’s home is one of the most fun homes of all the SNL actors, despite the fact that his mom lives upstairs. From the under-cabinet lighting to the *ahem* very nice shower, Davidson’s home is kind of what you’d expect from a single guy in his 20s who’s successful and famous.

4. John Krasinski

I’m a sucker for nice built-in cabinets, particularly when they’re filled with volumes of books, personal trinkets, and children’s art. Plus, abundant natural lighting never hurt anyone, either. If you’re anything like me, then the John Krasinski-Emily Blunt household may have caught your attention, as well. The actor-director power-couple that we’ve all come to envy has given us another reason to be a little jealous: their Brooklyn apartment, which they bought in early 2019 for $15.3 million, according to Vogue.

Krasinski’s home is also the production set for his quarantine remedy clip show, “Some Good News,” which floods my social media feed with feel-good stories when all the bad news becomes too much to bear.

5. Queen Elizabeth II

If there’s anyone in the world who has no excuse but to have the perfect setup for their Zoom call, it’s Queen Elizabeth II. In an address to the British people on the 75th anniversary of VE Day, Queen Elizabeth II broadcasted live from her office in Windsor Castle, which was accented by fresh-cut flowers and a photograph of her father, King George VI, who had announced the end of World War II at the same date and time 75 years earlier.

The professional setup and execution of this announcement makes it slightly more official than some of the other Zoom calls on this list, but who’s to judge? In 2020, we all have the tools at our disposal to make our virtual messages heard, and seen.

6. Gayle King

Here’s the thing about yellow patterned wallpaper: It’s bold, and it makes a statement. People will either love it or hate it. The tiny, shriveled Italian nonna inside myself is in the former camp, although I can’t say I’d ever dare to be so bold as to embrace these bright hues in the fashion of television personality Gayle King.

King’s bright NYC apartment has some pretty impressive views, too. Even though she may be based in the epicenter of America’s coronavirus outbreak, it must be some solace to be able to soak in the Manhattan skyline from the comfort of her own home.

7. Colin Jost

Looking into SNL comedian Colin Jost’s living room, you can almost smell the leather and cigars. It certainly has a masculine touch, but it’s comforting and cozy, as well. Jost gave viewers a look inside his pad starting in April with Saturday Night Live at Home. Even without the news desk SNL fans have come to expect every weekend, Jost has guaranteed Weekend Update still feels like the satire news source we all need at the end of a long week in 2020 hellscape America.

Get The Look With Vishion

Are you inspired by the interior design of one of your favorite celebs? Vishion can help you design your home using their photos as inspiration! Simply upload a photo to our color search engine and let Vishion put your favorite colors to work. We LOVE Gayle King’s yellow wallpaper in HEX E8C761

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How to Prevent and Hide Wear and Tear in Your Home

Whether you have a family of five or you’re living on your own, wear and tear in your home is inevitable.  As time goes on, especially in quarantine, it’s only natural that damage will occur but that doesn’t mean you can’t minimize and hide it with just a few simple changes. From scratched floors to chipped paint and stained couches, Vishion is here to give you tips and tricks to keep your home looking brand new all year long. 

Kitchen and Bathroom

kitchen design, cleaning tile and grout

Design by New South Home

Tile

  • To keep tile looking brand new it needs to be cleaned regularly, especially in heavily used areas or if you have pets. Tile collects bacteria and if not cleaned properly can be problematic in the future. Sweeping and mopping thoroughly is the best way to clean your tile.

Tile Grout

    • While maintaining tile can be fairly simple, grout can be a little more difficult because of how porous it is. Using a bleach solution and a small scrub brush will often do the trick to get out those pesky stains. If you are looking for a more natural approach, mixing vinegar and baking soda is just as effective.
  • TIP: NEVER vacuum tile! Scratches made by vacuums could be permanent.

Granite

  • While granite is a very durable and tough surface, if not protected and cleaned properly, the protective seal on it can be worn down very easily. Instead of using harsh chemicals to clean your countertops, use gentle cleaners to keep granite looking beautiful.
    • Gentle dishwashing soap and warm water cleans granite efficiently and keep it looking like new without taking off its finish.
  • It’s only natural to let these safe cleaning methods slip your mind. If that happens, here are some great sealants and protectants you can use to make sure your granite stays in good condition.

Cabinets

Inside

    • Cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom tend to get a little messy from spilled food or old makeup. One easy way to prevent your cabinets from getting messy is to use cabinet liners which can be almost invisible! If the damage has already been done, there are also liners in different designs and colors so you can hide those spills and stains.

Outside

    • While cooking in the kitchen, grease can tend to splatter on your cabinets leading to stains. A good way to prevent these stains is to run the vent while cooking. If you notice some spots during cooking, wipe the cabinets down with soapy water and a rag to prevent the grease from setting in.

Shared Spaces

Design by Maureen Stevens

Wood Floors

  • Wood floors can be a little tricky, but not impossible, to protect because of all of the foot traffic going through it as well as the furniture moving on it every day. To prevent and hide scratches and stains on your wood floors, you can put rugs around your home. By layering rugs around your home, especially in places consisting of high traffic like entryways, you are not only adding fun decorative elements into your home, you are also providing incredible protection for your floors.
  • To prevent scratches on your wood floors, you can also add rubber grips for the bottom of your furniture. These rubber grips are not just for chairs, they are also for couches, dressers, nightstands, and more. These rubber grips come in all different shapes and sizes to make sure your floors stay scratch-free!
  • Cleaning your floors is just as important as protecting them. A simple all-natural water/vinegar solution is an easy way to keep your floors clean.

Walls

  • Hiding stains and gashes in your walls have never been easier. If a fresh coat of paint just isn’t cutting it, you can also use peel and stick wallpaper to add an exciting and new pop of color or design into your home. The great thing about this wallpaper is that it has the capability of being ever-changing and it is super simple to apply by yourself.
  • If you aren’t looking for new color or design in your home, a very reliable tool is the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. This tool gets out the toughest of stains without taking off any protective layers of paint in your home. 

Stairs

  • Aside from the entry-way, stairs in your home have arguably the most traffic. This can cause massive amounts of wear and tear on your stairs over a short period of time. A great solution to this is peel and stick carpeting. This is a great way to protect the wood while also adding a stylish addition to your home that can be removed or replaced at any time.
  • Peel and stick stair risers can add a fun design element while protecting your home. Much like wallpaper, these pre-cut adhesives protect your stair’s kickboards.

Living Room and Family Room

Design by Joe Human

Carpet

  • Carpet has been around for years, it is something that has never gone out of style and it doesn’t look like it will be any time soon. To keep carpet clean and prevent any unwanted stains, the easiest way is to make sure you don’t wear shoes inside.
  • Selecting dark colored carpets is a great way to hide stains and keep your stress level low if you have company over. If you spill food or drink on your carpet, it is important that you clean it up as soon as possible with a mild cleanser which can neutralize the odor and remove the stains of whatever substance that has been spilled.
  • Cleaning your carpets regularly is important in keeping them looking the best they can possibly look. Vacuuming the carpets at least once a week keeps your carpets looking fluffy and new all year long.

Rugs

  • The best prevention for damage on your rugs is to apply a protectant specifically designed for rugs. These protectants bond with the fibers to seal them from potential spills and elements tracked in from outdoors. Because there are different types of rugs such as handwoven, machine-made, wool, etc. you have to make sure you use the right protectant to ensure the best results.
  • Providing an underlay underneath your carpet is also a great way to protect your rug. Underlays provide a cushioning which prevents the accumulation of of dust and debris that inevitably works its way under and up through a rug.

Furniture

  • Furniture, such as a sofa, can be easily cleaned if you know how to do it right. If you have a cloth sofa, vacuuming it weekly is suggested to prevent dust and debris from clinging to your couch. After months of accumulating dirt, your couch can tend to look dingy or dull. A great way to change this is by flipping your cushions and rotating them monthly as well.
  • If you’ve already cleaned and flipped your cushions to death and you still aren’t satisfied with your couch, a great way to hide the wear and tear is to invest in a couch cover. When people think of couch covers they think of their grandmother’s plastic covering, however, that is not the case anymore. These days there are thousands of couch covers to choose from that can elevate the interior design in your home that can prevent and hide any spills or accidents that occur.

Explore Color With Vishion

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