Interiors is a survey course text for one or more semesters or quarters of college or university study. It is intended to fill needs of both the major and nonmajor student at the introductory level. In the authors’ combined thirty years of teaching interior design, they have found that many students with no intention of becoming designers change their mind during this course. A well-written text, beautifully illustrated, can be the best ally a teacher can have to persuade students to appreciate fine design, and it can influence students to look more seriously at interior design as a possible career.

Interiors is written to anyone who participates in the design process. It is geared to increasing respect for interior design as an important service and a highly professional field.

Chapter Content and Pedagogy

The text is geared to residential interiors, although most of the information is applicable to nonresidential installations as well. A section entitled Nonresidential Considerations concludes each chapter, though the instructor may choose to emphasize or de-emphasize nonresidential design (see Using the Text to Meet Course Requirements).

Interiors contains pedagogic devices that will help the teacher develop students’ understanding. When terms are used only once or are briefly discussed, a definition will be in parenthesis. When a term is important to the vocabulary of design, it is defined in the glossary at the end of the book. This list can be used by the teacher in the following ways:

1. As a checklist to ensure that topics, concepts, names, and terms have adequately been covered
2. As quiz terms on a daily, weekly, or periodic basis, or incorporated in test questions

Notes to the Text that cross-reference footnote numbers in the chapter are located at the end of each chapter and a bibliography for further readings or study on the part of the teacher or the student that are found at the end of the text.

Note: This Instructor’s Manual contains outlines, discussion topics, and a selection of test questions to accompany the text. The test questions, which are in the form of true and false, multiple choice, fill in the blank, and matching, may be duplicated as the teacher sees fit.

The Illustration Program

One of the most exciting aspects of Interiors is the illustration program. Hundreds of pieces of superb quality line art illustrate the technical concepts and materials. These were drawn by interior designer and illustrator Jim Park, who understands, and is knowledgeable about, all aspects of interior design and architecture.

In the body of the text are many fine quality interior photographs that accompany discussion topics. Some of these photos are of products and developments from the design industry, and others show the work of interior designers and architects

Using the Text to Meet Course Requirements

Interiors is planned for flexibility. It can be used in its entirety or with chapters deleted according to the instructor’s goals and time limitations. It can be followed in the sequence it is written, or segments (parts or chapters) can be shifted to fit the instructor’s pedagogic approach. For example, some instructors may choose to begin with a discussion of what interior designers do, found in chapter 1, The Process andProfession of Design. Others may prefer to begin with the discussion of historic architecture in chapter 15. Others may opt to delete either or both of these sections if the course is designed for nonmajors.

Some courses specifically cover residential interior design, while others may stress nonresidential interior design. To this end, nonresidential design is presented as a section entitled Nonresidential Considerations at the end of each chapter.

This organizational approach enables the instructor to do one or more of the following:

1. Emphasize residential design

   The instructor may present and discuss only the residential design information, deleting Nonresidential Considerations. The main thrust of many introductory interior design courses is the study of the design at home. Personal space is, and should be, the most important interior to us. It is in the home where we express our personality, where we come for refreshment and reinforcement from the stress of the world, and where fulfillment can take place. Because of the decreased time spent at home as more adults work outside the home, it has become an increasingly precious haven.

   Focusing primarily on residential design is also a reflection of the increasing importance of the home office. Fulfilling home design needs helps work flow more smoothly and people function with less frustration.

   Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the home is where children grow, families interact, and loving bonds are reinforced. Fine design can encourage healthy development of graciousness, good taste, and appreciation for culture and forebearers. Fine design that meets program needs at home can encourage more satisfied, less frustrated individuals to be kinder and more supportive of other family members.

2. Expose students to nonresidential design

   The teacher may choose to expand the students’ horizons to design beyond the home by challenging students to visit nonresidential interiors and even incorporating assignments that will encourage their recognition of fine design in public buildings, retail businesses, and professional/medical facilities (suggestions are found within the chapter outlines that follow in this Instructor’s Manual). This will bring to the attention of the students the need to be aware of fine design wherever they go, without necessarily directing them to think of redesigning those interiors.

3. Emphasize nonresidential design

   Each chapter presents information as it relates to the home environment but with principles that also readily apply to nonresidential design. By building on this foundation, then emphasizing the Nonresidential Considerations and perhaps expanding on them, the teacher can prepare students who will eventually enter the world of professional nonresidential design. The teacher may give assignments (suggestions are found in the chapter outlines in this manual) that will expose students to the programs of nonresidential design. The students could then be challenged to think of or actually produce better solutions to the program of a given (actual or fabricated) space. This will enhance their ability to solve problems, which is what designers do.

   And by supplementing the visual aids to incorporate more nonresidential interiors and exteriors, the teacher can use this book to teach an introduction to nonresidential design.

Text Philosophy

Interiors is also written to espouse a philosophy of fine design, regardless of cost. This is an important aspect of design education in a world where there is so much poor product design and finished interior design. With this in mind, the justification for observing, planning, and choosing design should be threefold:

1. Fine design will fulfill the needs of the occupants, thereby uplifting, encouraging, and providing emotional support for the people who live, work, and obtain services in interiors.
2. Fine design will meet the requirements of the program enabling the functions of living, business, services, or worship to flow smoothly and interrelate where necessary in the most efficient manner.
3. Fine design will organize space, shape and form, mass, line, pattern, texture, light, and color according to time-honored principles of scale and proportion, balance, rhythm, emphasis, and harmony. This means that excellent design will incorporate fine quality, integrity, forethought, and intelligent planning. The result will be aesthetically pleasing interiors that can stand the test of time—that will seem just as beautiful years later as when they were new.

This philosophy is within the reach of every student, regardless of whether they had a wealthy, poor, or middle-class background. Although it does take some money to accomplish any design, it is also true that spending excessive amounts of money for interior design often leads to ostentatious and often-questionable design integrity. Through the study of fine design, regardless of cost, students will come to realize that accomplishing a beautifully designed interior takes real planning, and it can be accomplished within practically any given budget when the program is excellent and the long-range goals are planned to meet the real needs, not superfluous wants.

Interior design has a profound impact on all of us. Our surroundings can, and do, affect us positively, negatively or, at the least, passively. We do feel different in different interiors—the power of the interior design is real. It reaches out to form impressions and opinions and influence moods and attitudes, sometimes without our even being aware that it is happening.