395 Page Mill First Floor by Studio O+A serves as AOL’s headquarters. The variety of form in this atrium space creates interest without using bright colours, textures or patterns.
The principles of interior design provide some fundamental guidelines for designers to draw upon. These do sound like rules, however some rules are meant to be broken… thoughtfully. A great interior designer considers and implements the elements and principles of design, and then goes beyond to break the rules to create excitement, interest and surprise. If you missed our previous series on the elements of design (line, colour, texture & pattern, light, and scale & proportion), or our first three principle of design posts (balance, rhythm and emphasis) you can look back to catch up.
Variety How-To
We love how simply Geremia incorporated variety in this space for Asana by changing the angle of paint applied to the chairs.
Variety is the spice of life. Can you imagine living in a world where everything was the same colour or every person had the same personality? Boring! In everything we do and everywhere we go, variety makes things interesting and exciting. Variety in interior design can come as a unique shape or form, a contrasting colour, or as varying patterns or textures; the use of it adds diversity to our commercial interiors. Variety can be achieved by using opposites or strong contrasts, changing an angle or a point of view, or by breaking a repeating pattern to create a focal point.
Variety When & Why
We incorporate variety in our interior spaces to mix things up. The danger of not implementing some type of variety are dull, stagnant interiors that provide little to no stimulation or focus. It can be used to draw attention to a help desk, aid in wayfinding or add interest to a large open work area.
fischerAppelt’s Hamburg office exhibits variety by placing this pattern rich seating area amongst a sea of monolithic tile and concrete structure.
While variety is an important principle of interior design, it should go hand-in-hand with harmony and unity so that the result is a space that doesn’t look thrown together. Check back in a couple of weeks to learn more about harmony and unity, and how to use it in conjunction with variety to create dynamic interiors that strengthen your brand.