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Creating a space and mood makes colour a very important factor within the area. It can be warm or cool, and the lighting of the room can also have a huge effect on the colour and should be coloured accordingly. Texture can also add warmth, softness, harshness, and so on. Clever mixing of texture adds energy to a room; it works visually as textures play off one another within the space. Stimulating the senses through texture and colour is very important.
Lighting needs to be taken into account from the start. Where is the natural light? How does it flow throughout the day? It should shift and change to allow the client best use of the room for its function whilst still reflecting a mood. Some rooms need to be flexible to change according to the mood of the consumer, and variety and flexibility need to be created, ranging from functional during the day to relaxing at night. Calm, quiet and harmonious interiors are also beneficial to our health through stimulation of the senses, but what about the effects we can not see which are not beneficial to the body? Creating an environment which is both stimulating and beneficial for the user is the challenge. What is the balance between these two concerns? What is a beneficial environment and how do we achieve it? Having a “green” interior is not a choice of second best regarding design; it becomes a choice of a substitution with the highest design elements involved. Defining what makes a “green” interior involves many complex issues, not just with regards to sustainability of natural resources, but also with the energy consumed in processing, transport and durability, and with regards to the effects on our health. It is probably not possible to avoid non-green materials either, but they can be used minimally to enhance the design within the room. It is all about achieving what the client requires combined with the best green option.
Additionally, evaluating the impact of a material and its embodied energy is important, looking at the sum of energy used at all stages of the process. Factors to take into account include the raw material transport to the factory, processing and transport to the point of end use. The fewer steps that are taken, the better the environmental impact.
Just as significant is the way in which the material is used. For instance, a high embodied energy material such as metal used in a small way may have a huge impact on the durability and performance of the product and may be a plus to use. This in turn makes this substance beneficial to the design.
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