Understanding interior design basic principles
Among all the information I have collected over the years creating interior renderings, both personal and commissioned, some of it has been more useful than other — for example, the ones I’m going to share in this article about interior design basic principles, which I use every day when dealing with the style my images.
01. Intro
Around the early 2000s, I started using Cinema 4D while studying Architecture @ RomaTRE University. I mainly used it to create 3D models and renderings of my projects, which I then presented during exams.
I have always been passionate about video games, visual effects, virtual reality, and everything related to the 3D world. Using Cinema 4D was also my favorite hobby: during the day I worked with it, and at night I experimented with animation, light, materials, and I had a lot of fun.
All those night hours spent in front of the screen gave me strong technical control of the software (and only technical control). Moving in 3D space, using tools, managing the file structure and hierarchy, setting up render settings and lights, installing a plug-in — all of these became very simple tasks to me.
Many classmates and friends, when they needed help in creating renderings for their projects, came to me for advice. Word spread, I started being called by people outside my network, and that’s how I began doing my first commissioned images.
During my first paid renderings, I had some freedom in certain areas — usually the camera position and the lighting, which I could manage fairly well — but I received very clear instructions on how to furnish the spaces, which design pieces to use, and which textures and colors to apply to the surfaces. My first clients were architects, so they simply wanted me to create images of what they had (more or less) already in mind.
Working in this way made me think that becoming a professional in interior rendering was quite easy, and that it was only a matter of keeping my technical skills trained.
When for the first time I was given the freedom to make style choices I realized that this part of the work was not as easy for me. I didn’t know how to choose or combine furniture, colors, and materials. I had no clear criteria and no natural talent to rely on. I could not find any help on my favorite forums, because users never talked about interior design and its basic principles. They mostly talked about 3D modeling, render settings, plug-ins, and other very technical, nerd topics.
Not knowing what to do, I always ended up choosing the “best” 3D models available: the ones with more detail, the ones that looked cooler, the ones that looked more realistic in the render, and — very importantly — the ones I could download for free! The problem was that once I put those models together in the same scene, they did not make sense together from a style point of view. The final images were technically quite realistic, but they had no real aesthetic quality and the combinations were in bad taste.
That was the moment when I felt that I was missing crucial information, and that I had to look for it somewhere else.
I started to find interesting things by reading magazines for the Italian general audience, like Elle Decor, Home, Casa Facile, and Casa Viva. Then I slowly moved to more authoritative magazines focused on interior design, such as Architectural Digest, Domus, and Casabella. In them, I found a huge amount of useful information not only about style, but also about camera position, light, colors, materials, and textures. Some images were so beautiful that I felt the need to recreate them, to train myself to rebuild what I saw in a real world photo as faithfully as possible (this is a very useful exercise that I recommend to everyone).
The thing that helped me the most was looking at and store in mind the many interior photos I saw in these magazines. I kept track of the ones I liked the most in an intuitive way, tried to divide them into categories, and pushed myself to understand what they had in common. From this analysis, I built a vocabulary, a structure, and a method that I could use when working on the style of my renderings.
Piece by piece, this puzzle started to take shape, and I began to understand what style really is.
02. What is style
The word style is used in the world of fashion, music, dance, sports, car design, and many other fields. In interior design, the word style describes the set of choices that the interior designer makes while creating a project:
• colors and surface finishes (walls, floors, ceilings)
• main furniture (number, position, direction in space, colors, and materials)
• secondary furniture pieces (number, position, colors, and materials)
• decorations and accessories (number, position, colors, and materials)
These choices give the project an identity, a personality, in one word, a style — that makes it different from others.
When we walk into a space or look at a photo of an interior, no matter our knowledge level, we are all more or less able to tell the difference between a balanced and harmonious project, with care for details and good taste, and one that was done quickly and without clear thinking.
Maybe at that moment in our life we cannot say if the designer was inspired by industrial, neo-classical, or minimalist style, but we can still tell what is beautiful and what is not. This is because arranging and customizing the place where we live is a natural ability that we all have, even if that does not mean we are all professional designers.
Look at these two images, one in Neo-Classical style and the other in Industrial style. They are two completely different styles, but both interesting and very easy to recognize, even if you know nothing about design.
The difficult part is explaining why those color combinations, design pieces, or finishing materials work so well together, even if they come from different times or different Country. If you don’t understand the reasons behind that balance, it will be very hard to create it in your own rendering.
Interior design is a very complex field. It is not a science, because it is strongly based on personal taste, but it has clear and practical basic principles that can help us approach it in the best way.
03. Two different approaches: space vs furniture
Interior design is a field that is both hybrid and highly specialized. It sits between architecture — from which it draws its principles of spatial organization and planning — and industrial design, whose goal is to improve quality of life through the aesthetics and functionality of furniture and accessories.
Given this dual nature, a successful interior design project can be approached in two ways:
- Starting with furniture and accessories: here, the surrounding space is conceived as a complementary element designed to enhance and highlight the strengths of the pieces within it;
- Starting with the characteristics of the space: in this case, one selects furniture and accessories that are as sober and neutral as possible, ensuring the beauty of the “stage” stands out more than the “actors” themselves.
Can you tell which of these two images was created using the first method and which using the second?
Tea & Chocolate – Promenade sofa by Philippe Nigro
When dealing with interior renderings where the main focus is one or more design pieces, it’s usually a good idea to start by collecting some information about them: what they are used for, which time they come from, materials, colors, size, proportions.
After that, you can build a space around them with the right dimensions, using materials and colors that relate to the main pieces (similar or in contrast), and that fit into one of the popular interior design styles (Scandinavian, Vintage, Neo-Classical, Minimal, and so on).
In this case, the Promenade sofa by Philippe Nigro had to be the main focus of the scene.
Its soft shape, walnut structure, and Vienna straw details recall the attention to detail typical of the Vienna Secession, an avant-garde art movement that was part of the larger Art Nouveau movement, born in Austria in the early 1900s.
In order to highlight the shape and function of this sofa, I needed a scene that was interesting but not too strong, something that would not steal attention, but also not too ordinary, with its own quality, without overpowering the main piece, and not too contemporary. For this reason, the house has a fluted glass door, a parquet floor, and dark brown plaster walls.
The secondary furniture pieces (chandelier, chairs, small table, and lamp) recall the colors and materials of the sofa (wood, Vienna straw, slightly Vintage shapes).
The decorations (painting, teapot, sugar bowl, and chocolates) follow the same color scheme and suggest an elegant afternoon tea rather than a modern meeting.
The blue carpet is the only contrasting element. Blue and red are competitive colors (the opposite of complementary colors). Next to blue, the red of the sofa looks brighter and more energetic, drawing the viewer’s attention.
Piano house – Lounge Chair by Charles Eames
In this other example, I wanted to create an image where the main focus was the space itself, more specifically a part of this villa called Piano House, because it has a piano in one of the main rooms.
This scene already has its own clear style: a raw concrete wall that comes in from the outside, resin floors, modern lighting systems, and very large windows with minimal frames give this space a very contemporary and serious look.
To avoid taking attention away from the space, there is only one main furniture piece: the Lounge Chair by Charles Eames, in a slightly less common version than the classic black leather one.
This lounge chair was introduced in 1956 as a lighter, more elegant, and more modern version of the old heavy English club chairs. Over time, it became an icon of contemporary furniture, so it was perfect for the style of the space around it, where it fits very well.
The secondary furniture pieces (the glossy black lamps and the small table in glass and steel) mark the space as reference points but without attracting too much attention. The decorations (the Casabella magazines on the table, the abstract painting, and the dark curtains) are chosen to stay in the same tone: they are not too many, not too original or unusual, they do not create too much curiosity, and they don’t have bright colors.
04. What is a moodboard and how to use it
Having a starting point, like a space or a design piece, can help when developing a project. But sometimes you have to start from zero. In that case, everything is more difficult.
A main theme can be useful to set a direction when you don’t know how to choose elements (colors, materials, furniture, etc.) and guide through all functional and aesthetic choices process.
For the human mind, it is easier to understand a concept through images rather than through writing or reading text. For this reason, an effective way to describe a theme or a style is to summarize its main features in a group of images — this is a moodboard.
A “classic” moodboard usually includes a color palette, close-up photos of textures and materials, images of single furniture pieces or entire rooms.
Its goal is to give a visual form to the general feeling created by all these elements. A moodboard is not only an abstract idea: it can also include practical information about how to organize the space, which materials to use, and which furniture to include in the project.
The overview helps you quickly notice which elements don’t match well with the others, so you can remove them, and which elements work well together. A moodboard is also useful to check the balance and harmony of the elements you will use in your image.
Besides the initial inspiration stage, a moodboard can also be shown to the final client, to explain ideas through images and make the style of the project easier to understand.
The image of the black Neo-Classical living room was used as a reference for the overall style of the scene. Adding a flowers vase in the foreground would have been too obvious, so the image of the pink roses was used for the large painting on the left side of the scene. It was very difficult to include black feathers in a literal way, so I looked for a more visual connection instead: the closed black curtain creates very thin vertical lines that recall the feathers in the moodboard. The gold leaf inspired the wallpaper on the main wall in the center of the image and the other golden accents that give the scene a luxurious and elegant feeling. The light blue pouf was a reference for the fabric of the bed (which is also the client’s product). The purple satin was used for the armchairs next to the bed and for some other details.
This is the final image.
In this case, the client was satisfied. However, once the moodboard is created, it can happen that the overall view of colors and elements doesn’t work. Most of the time, this happens because the chosen elements belong to styles that are too different from each other and cannot live together in harmony in the same layout. For this reason, you need to know the elements that distinguish one style from another, in order to learn how to read harmonies — and also mismatches.
05. From Vintage to Neo-Classical – How to read the language of popular interior design styles
At the beginning, it’s not easy to find your way because there are many styles: Shabby Chic, Mid-Century Modern, Neo-Classical, Industrial, Scandinavian, Vintage, Minimal, and many others. But I assure you that learning to read them is not too difficult.
Each of these styles was born in a specific place and in a specific time. They were influenced by the habits of that time and by the culture of the people who lived in that place. For this reason, each style is represented by iconic design pieces, specific color combinations, typical materials for floors, walls, windows, and doors, and recurring ways of organizing space.
Each style has clear rules. However, the border between one style and another is not a sharp line, but a smooth transition. It is exactly in these transitions that we find the most interesting and unique combinations. A style can also simply be something you like, even if it does not perfectly follow the rules.
Industrial — Between preservation and modernization
Industrial style was born from the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution. Factories, warehouses, lofts, and stations — originally built as large, bright, strong, and functional spaces — were later converted into homes or commercial spaces, while keeping their original structure.
It is a mix of historical preservation and modernization, where the main idea is contrast: hard and soft, raw and comfortable, high ceilings and human-scale elements, cold materials (metal, concrete) and warm ones (wood, fabrics, plants).
Many elements that today we consider aesthetic such as exposed brick walls, metal beams, pillars, pipes, ducts, mechanical parts, and lamps with visible bulbs, were originally functional, not decorative.
Plaster was often avoided on brick walls not only to save money, but also because it could increase fire risk, or because humidity and wear could damage it easily.
Large windows and skylights, most of the times with metal frames and dark grid lines, allowed a lot of natural light to enter, which was important in spaces like these.
Textures, imperfections, and signs of time are combined with clean, comfortable modern furniture, and few decorations.
Common materials are metal (especially iron and steel), raw concrete, wood, and glass. The color palette is neutral: grays, blacks, browns, rust tones, with a few warmer accents (oxide tones, bronze, deep green). Floors were usually made with resin and concrete, chosen more for durability than for beauty.
In recent years, Industrial style has developed different “sub-versions,” such as Modern Industrial, Industrial Farmhouse (with rustic elements), and Scandinavian Industrial. These versions keep the basic style but add more lightness and warmth.
Minimal Style — The empty space that helps relaxation
Minimalism in architecture and interior design became popular around the 1960s, mainly as a reaction to the excess of the Modern and Baroque age, and decorative styles. It introduced essential forms, negative space, light as a main element, and naked materials. Spaces designed in Minimal style are clean, simple, and free from visual noise. They communicate calm and relaxation.
It is easy to see the influence of Japanese philosophy, Zen culture, and the simplicity of Scandinavian design, which focus on soft light, natural materials, and functionality. “Less is more” is not just a slogan, but a real guide: in Minimal interiors every element has a purpose. A decorative element is never added if it doesn’t bring functional or emotional value.
Empty space (or negative space) becomes an aesthetic element: a void that helps relaxation.
Architectural choices are always made to allow natural light to enter: large windows, light curtains, and light-colored surfaces that reflect and spread the light. For the same reason, colors are never too strong: white, gray, beige, sometimes soft pastel tones, but always very light.
The biggest risk when designing in Minimal style is that the space may feel too perfect, cold, and repetitive. For this reason, color accents are not forbidden. One well-placed color point (a chair, a lamp, a piece of art) can prevent boredom and give energy, without being shocking.
Artificial lights are usually hidden. Lamps have clean and almost invisible lines. Textures are reduced to a minimum. Furniture and accessories have flat surfaces and simple geometric shapes: no ornaments, no heavy decoration, no excessive curves. Furniture and walls often include hidden storage, and pieces often have more than one function to avoid object accumulation.
Minimalism also has its variants: Neominimalism — a contemporary version that includes technology, innovative materials, and light finishes, but keeps the essential philosophy; Japandi — a mix of Japanese Minimalism and Scandinavian style: simplicity, natural materials, attention to detail, and warmth despite sobriety; Warm Minimalism — a version that tries to avoid the cold feeling of pure Minimalism, using light wood, warm light, textile elements, and a few more color accents.
Vintage — The style of nostalgia
Vintage does not necessarily mean “antique” or “collectible”. It refers to something that comes from past decades, usually between the 1960s and the 1980s, with stylistic lines from another time, functions that today we would call outdated, and a lot of history behind it.
The word Vintage comes from the old French word vendenge (which comes from the Latin word vindēmia) and originally refers to high-quality wines from a specific year. In the same way that wine becomes more valuable as it ages, some materials and design objects, instead of going out of fashion, have gained more value over time (not only economic value, but also aesthetic and emotional value) and have become icons of an era.
While other styles (such as Industrial and Minimal) are strongly connected to the features of the space and a bit less to the furniture and decorations inside it, in Vintage style it’s exactly these elements that give the space its nostalgic character. These are design pieces with outdated functions, such as record players, typewriters, radios, coffee makers, or other appliances that are not contemporary (in function or in form).
Vintage is strongly connected to the idea of nostalgia. It refers to past lifestyles that bring emotions, memories, and feelings of “simpler” times, or to decades marked by strong cultural moments (the 1950s, 60s, and 70s).
The most common colors are warm pastel tones: ochre, mustard, terracotta, brown, moss green, blue-gray, dusty pink, peach. Bright colors are used only as accents, for example in fabrics or decorative elements. Fabrics and wallpapers often show retro geometric or floral patterns. The nostalgic feeling is also created by posters, propaganda prints, old advertising illustrations showing fashion and hairstyles of the past, movie posters, and black-and-white photos. Furniture is often made of dark polished wood with curved lines.
As with Industrial style, to avoid a kitsch effect it is good practice to balance past and present with contemporary, simple furniture and modern lighting systems. Using vintage pieces in modern spaces helps highlight the contrast: the old placed next to the new gives more strength to the vintage element.
Mid-Century Modern — Bauhaus in the United States
As I mentioned before, there was a time in my life when I used to copy existing images, from the web or from magazines, exactly as they were in order to improve my skills. One of the images I chose to recreate was part of a Pinterest board called “Mid-Century Modern inspiration” which included many interiors designed in this specific style.
Mid-Century Modern takes its name from the time in which it was born and became popular: the 1950s, more precisely the years between 1930 and 1960. It was created by leading members of the Bauhaus, an art and design school active in Germany from 1919 to 1933, who moved to America after the economic and political changes caused by the World War 2. The style became popular mainly in the United States, but its character is strongly influenced by European roots.
The stylistic and functional choices come from the war experiences of its founders: the idea was to rebuild, not only physically but also symbolically, encouraging social interaction and reconnecting people with nature. For this reason, a Mid-Century Modern home has simple furniture, very few decorations (especially unnecessary ones), large open spaces (the connection between living room, kitchen, and sleeping areas is typical), and big glass windows that allow natural light to move freely through the rooms. A television, for example, is never the main focus.
This time is also known for major technological progress, which introduced new materials (plastic, fiberglass, bent plywood). These materials made it possible to create furniture with new colors, new surface effects, new smooth, comfortable shapes that had never been seen before, because they were impossible to make with traditional materials. For these reasons, the typical colors of this style are both neutral and lively: white, gray, black, mustard, orange, avocado green, and petrol blue.
The Eames Lounge Chair, the Tulip Table by Eero Saarinen, and the Egg chair by Arne Jacobsen are icons of this time. Knoll is the company that produced many classic Mid-Century pieces. But maybe the most iconic masterpiece of Mid-Century Modern is the Farnsworth House by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, built between 1945 and 1951. This house represents the principle Less is more: a minimalist structure, full-height glass windows, and no traditional walls. The main idea was to create a continuous connection between the interior and the surrounding landscape.
Scandinavian — Functional, simple, affordable, authentic
Born at the beginning of the 20th century in the Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Iceland), Nordic style became well known after the Stockholm Exhibition of 1930. From that moment, functionalist design and high-quality Scandinavian craftsmanship spread all over the world.
The cold climate, long winters, and lack of natural light led Scandinavian designers to prefer light materials (which reflect light better inside a space) and practical solutions more than decorative ones.
Floors, furniture, and details are often made of natural wood, a reference to cabins and saunas. The most common woods are ash, beech, and pine, because they grow locally. Finishes are intentionally raw or semi-raw, as a sign of authenticity. Walls are often white, again to help spread natural light. As a result, colors are few and soft: white, beige, gray, and light shades of blue and sage green. Paintings are often almost monochromatic.
Harmony with nature and respect for resources are key ideas in this style. Wood is one of the most used materials, and indoor plants are typical elements. Rugs and blankets made of animal skin or fur (often sheepskin) are not only part of tradition, but also help make spaces warmer and more welcoming, adding texture to rooms that might otherwise look too simple.
Some of the most iconic designs in the world come from the golden age of Scandinavian design. They usually have simple lines, organic shapes, and very few decorations. Alvar Aalto (Finland) and Arne Jacobsen (Denmark) created many Nordic design classics. The Egg, the Shell, and the Panton chairs redefined the idea of seating and influenced many generations of designers.
Scandinavian style has survived changing trends very well. Even today it is popular and widely used because it combines beauty, comfort, functionality, and authenticity. Most of all, a Scandinavian home feels calm and helps people recover from the stress of modern daily life in Western societies.
When speaking about Scandinavian style, it is impossible not to mention IKEA. Founded in Sweden in 1943, during the rise of Scandinavian design, its goal from the beginning was to make good design accessible to everyone. This idea of “democratizing” design comes directly from post-war Scandinavian values, which believed that design should serve the community, not only the elite. It is the same philosophy that guided both Scandinavian designers of the time (such as Alvar Aalto and Arne Jacobsen) and the founder of IKEA, Ingvar Kamprad.
IKEA played a key role in making Scandinavian style recognizable worldwide. Before its international expansion, this style was known mainly by design and architecture enthusiasts. With IKEA, millions of people were able to bring Nordic-style furniture into their homes at affordable prices.
Japandi — Between Japanese and Scandinavian
The word Japandi comes from the fusion of JAP[an] + [sc]ANDI[navian]. It’s a style that combines Japanese minimalism with the simplicity of Nordic design. Even though this word appeared around 2010 and became especially popular during the lockdown period, when many people felt the need to live in calmer and more organized spaces, Japandi had already started to take shape in the 19th century.
The main elements of Japandi are natural materials and textures (wood, bamboo, rice paper, stone, linen, handmade ceramics), functionality, and negative space. Decorations are always reduced to a minimum, and colors are soft and neutral: off-white, beige, light gray, and “greige” (gray + beige). Terracotta, sage green, light brown, and matte black are used only as color accents.
In a Japandi space, you will never see industrial products or artificial finishes that cover natural materials with bright, glossy, or uniform colors. The focus is on craftsmanship, natural materials, and plants (always healthy and well cared for), as a symbol of respect for nature and a lifestyle based on calm and serenity. Spaces are always clean and organized, in harmony with the basic principles of Zen.
Furniture is usually low (in line with Japanese habits), with simple lines and small volume. It often combines typical Japanese shapes with Scandinavian ones (clean, organic forms with thin wooden legs).
Contemporary Neo-Classical — Classic forms, modern spirit
In Contemporary Neo-Classical style, the formality and perfection of the past meet the lightness, functionality, and freshness of the present. The principles of Classical Architecture (balance, harmonious proportions, symmetry) are reinterpreted in a modern way and adapted to today’s living needs.
Traditional Classical style included complex and expensive elements (columns, arches, pediments, garlands, Greek and Roman motifs), as well as light color palettes and fine materials. In the contemporary version, all this becomes lighter: moldings and wall panels are more discreet; columns become stylized pillars; decorations (even if still present) are more minimal; materials remain high-quality (acrylic or lacquered surfaces, glass, satin metals such as brass and copper, marble and polished stone) but are combined with modern technologies and more current finishes.
Furniture and accessories balance the space with clean and simple shapes. They are always arranged so that symmetry or rhythm is clear and well organized. Classical details are only accents: they do not aim to show wealth or social status, but to give the space elegance, refinement, simplicity, and grace.
Colors are neutral and soft: white, light gray, beige, pink, sand. For accents, slightly stronger colors and glossy finishes are used.
A Neo-Classical space can also be recognized by its light: rooms usually have high ceilings and large windows that allow a great amount of natural light to enter.
06. Space organization: from design to interior rendering
With this knowledge, it becomes much easier to see the direction while working on the styling of a space, both in real world design and in rendering. But the success of the result depends not only on the furniture you choose, but also on how you place it inside the room. The dialogue between full and empty areas creates the visual rhythm of a space, influencing comfort, balance, and size perception.
For this reason, a good layout can enhance even the simplest elements, while a random arrangement can damage the overall harmony. In this final part, you will find some basic principles that have guided me when arranging furniture in my scenes.
Groups and islands
When choosing the number and position of objects, it is better to think of furniture as islands in an archipelago, and never leave a single element alone. By creating groups, small systems, the use of space will look more thoughtful, the rhythm richer and more complex, and the image more interesting.
A single sofa, even if beautiful and refined, will hardly give personality or make a relaxation area inviting. But if there are decorative cushions on the sofa, a blanket, a rug underneath it, and nearby a coffee table with a cup of tea and a book, plus a floor lamp, then the space will look better used and more attractive.
It is the same principle that suggests dividing objects into three levels when designing a whole room: main furniture, secondary furniture, and decorations. The same theory also works for different zones within the same space.
The 3-5-7 rule
In decoration, groups of objects in odd numbers seem to create more visually interesting compositions than even numbers (the so-called “3-5-7 rule”). In particular, the number 3 seems to work best.
Size and proportions of a sofa
When entering a living room, the first element people usually notice is the sofa. Its main role is to welcome guests into the space. Once seated, the eyes explore the other furniture and room’s features. But a sofa with the wrong size or style can make a space feel unwelcoming and boring. The right choice can transform a room into a warm and comfortable place.
The sofa should always be selected considering at least four essential features: armrests, backrest, legs, and fabric.
But what is the right size? The answer is simple: if the space is small, a very large sofa will look heavy and dominant. If the space is large, a very small sofa will look out of scale. A sofa without armrests will make the room look bigger. If the ceiling is high, it is usually better to choose a long, wide sofa with a low back. If the ceiling is low, a shorter sofa with a higher back makes more sense.
And what about proportions? When possible, the sofa should be about two thirds the width of the room. If you add a coffee table, it should be about two thirds the length of the sofa (if there is no chaise longue). If the sofa has a chaise longue, the coffee table should be about one third or one half of the sofa.
Size and position of a rug
A beautiful room can be easily ruined by a rug that is too small or badly placed. After placing the sofa and chairs, make sure that at least the two front legs of each piece rest on the rug. In this way, the right rug size becomes clear almost automatically.
If you look again at the images in this article that include a rug, you will notice that in most cases the rug colors are not very different from the floor color, with a few exceptions. A rug in a very different color will attract a lot of attention and become one of the main elements of the room.
Height and length of curtains
The height of the curtain rod also affects the space perception: the closer it is to the ceiling, the larger the room will feel. For an elegant and light effect, curtains should just touch the floor, and never fall heavily onto it.
Paintings and photographs
Taking a photo is the most common way to capture a landscape, an emotion, or a moment of life. Hanging photos and paintings on a wall is a way to keep those moments close. For this reason, they make a space feel more personal, because they tell something about the story and artistic taste of the person who lives there.
The subjects and colors should always relate to the style of the space they decorate.
The placement of artworks changes depending on the room (bedroom or living area) and on what is below them (a sofa, a table, or a bed). In general, the ideal height for the center of a painting or composition is about 165 cm from the floor.
Over decorating
One of the most common mistakes is thinking that to achieve a realistic rendering you need to fill every surface with decorative objects, removing empty space completely. The result can be a space that feels suffocating, visually chaotic, or without harmony.
It is good practice to think of decorations as layers to avoid over decorating. Whether you consider certain examples beautiful or not depends on personal taste, but in general it is better not to exaggerate and to resist the impulse to fill a room with too many details, especially if they don’t follow the same style.
The most successful projects are also the most essential and organized ones. Designing doesn’t mean filling empty space. If you add too much furniture or too many decorations, you risk creating rooms that look like messy showrooms, with too many focal points. In every room, there should be no more than one or two main elements that stand out from the rest, either because of scale, contrast, color intensity, or rich texture.
Conclusions
Today, an interior rendering quality depends less and less on user’s technical skills, and more and more on their design and artistic sensitivity. Software is important, of course, but without a base in interior design, technique alone is not enough. Looking at a rendering, it is quite easy to understand whether the artist knows the codes of a style or not. When they do, the result feels more mature and professional, and the story behind the image becomes more strong and emotional.
If you are just moving your first steps in this world, don’t be afraid of the size of interior design books. What really matters is learning the main guidelines and applying them consistently, together with a good amount of experimentation.
Understanding interior design is a gradual process that happens step by step. Like in many disciplines, the first step is to observe (without trying too hard to understand), then you begin to understand and interpret in a critical way, and finally to compose with awareness, using its grammar.
The last step is both the most difficult and the most enjoyable: starting to write with your own style.
