For Nepal, furniture is always a luxury objects, imported from foreign country. Later people lifestyle started to urbanize, hence started to manufacture furniture accordingly with an inspiration of foreign design. Since we Nepalese are not aware of furnit

FURNITURE FUSION: DYNAMIC USE OF RIGHT FURNITURE IN INTERIOR DESIGN

When we talk about prehistory of furniture, it is said that from around 30,000 years ago, people began constructing and carving their own furniture using naturally available materials like wood, stones, animal bones etc. However, the significant historical development in furniture was found in Early Egypt, during the dynastic period in Egypt in around 3200 BCE. It is assumed that there is no such history of development in furniture in Nepal. However, thrones that many kings of Nepal used were only the furniture that we can find in museum till date.

Furniture simply makes human activities and task easy. No interior design is complete without furniture. The primary purpose of using furniture should be functional; luxury and aesthetic is the secondary thing. This functionality can be achieved with the correct use of furniture in the correct space.

There are numerous types of furniture which has its standard sizes. The sizes of furniture are derived from human body dimensions which is called Anthropometry. The study of anthropometry helps us to standardize the size and shape of the furniture. For example; the sitting height and standing height of a human is different. Hence, height of a working table in standing position and in sitting position is different. Likewise, the size of a bed for a person is different from the bed for two persons. And aesthetically, the

 

Three major things to keep in mind while choosing the right furniture for the space:

Determine the usage

The furniture is basically used to make human activities easier such as seating, sleeping, dining, working, storage. So, the most important factor while choosing and arranging furniture is to understand its purpose and use of the space. The user should prioritize the functionality first then its proper size and aesthetic design. The furniture should also maintain the flow of the space adding functionality and defining the role of the space. Mainly the furniture we use in design are: Residential furniture, traditional and Antique furniture, Outdoor furniture, Office furniture, Accent Furniture, Kids Furniture, Recreational furniture, Industrial Furniture, Rustic furniture etc. All these types of furniture are used according to the need and requirement, like and dislike of the user. Like, the sofa seating for the living room should be different from the sofa at lounges and bar. The chair for dining should be different from the chair at office area and restaurant.

Maintain Flow

Furniture makes efficient use of space providing comfort, convenience and personality. Its arrangement needs to accommodate free movement or circulation from one space to another. Furniture should be placed to enhance the movement by allowing traffic to flow, or by restricting and redirecting it when necessary. The main goal here is to achieve optimal utilization of the space by eliminating unnecessary traffic patterns.

The standard clearance that is required for comfortable circulation within a space are for example;

  • Traffic path should be minimum 3 feet/ 900 mm.
  • Traffic clearance should be min 1 foot 6 inches/450 mm.
  • The clearance between sofa and coffee table should be 1 foot/300 mm.

Balance in both Function and Design

One of the principles of design is Balance. It is a visual impact of any object used, its color, texture. There is major three types of balance in design; symmetric, asymmetric and radial. In design, one should attempt to place visual elements in an aesthetically pleasing arrangement, or particular arrangement to fulfill a purpose or achieve a particular look and feel. Whether the design is symmetric, asymmetric or radial, balance in function and design is equally important in any space. It can be created by using design elements like, line, shape, form, color, texture, pattern, value.  It has to maintain both function and aesthetic value to make design stable and structured.

So when the above three things are given equally importance during design process, the chosen furniture will be the perfect blend in interior space.