Form Vs Function: The Ultimate Interior Design Question

When it comes to the style and design of their home’s interiors, a lot of people find themselves somewhat torn. This is because they often feel as though they are being forced to make a choice between two things: form and function. Do you want your home to look beautiful and stylish, or do you want it to be the kind of home where you can stay warm and were you always have enough room to store all of your stuff?

Of course, it doesn’t take much to realize that you don’t actually have to choose between these two things at all. In reality, it’s much easier to balance form and function in a way that leaves you somewhere in the middle than you might think. However, a lot of people tend only to want to focus on one thing at a time, which leaves them unable to juggle both of those things at once. To help you avoid falling into that trap, here are some simple ways that you can balance form and function in your home.

Light

Light is something rather on in interior design because, despite the fact that it’s incredibly important, a lot of people still tend to ignore it. This is often because it’s rather hard to pin down what lighting actually does to a room. A large piece of furniture in a room that’s too small to accommodate it is obvious in the way that it disrupts its environment, light is a little more subtle. Too much light and a room feels clinical, too little and it feels small and cramped. The key is to strike a balance. Not only will this help bring out the aesthetics and style of a room but will generally just make it a more pleasant place to be in. You also should be aware of the quality of light that you’re bringing into your home. After all, the soft, warm light that you would use in your bedroom is going to be far less suitable for your kitchen, where it would make the room feel dirty and drab.

Space

When people think of making space in their home, they often think of it purely in terms of function. Making space is about the convenience when you’re in your home after all. However, it can also have a lot of impact on the style of your home as well. A room that is arranged in such a way that there is no floor space whatsoever is much more likely to end up looking cramped and untidy whereas one with more space is going to seem lighter and more cared for. Not only that but you have a lot of opportunities to get creative with your storage, with things like floating bookshelves. That way you can turn storage solutions in decoration in and of themselves.

Warmth

Keeping your home warm is a pretty high priority for a lot of people and generally is a rather function heavy endeavor. However, there are a lot of people who find that the kinds of things that they need to do in order to keep their home warm get in the way of the style of it. Some things won’t make any difference. The only difference that a set of replacement windows is going to make is that they might be a little bit cleaner, at least for a while. However, you could also think about having a fireplace installed. Whether it’s a gas burner or a wood burning fireplace, there’s something genuinely charming about sitting by the fire of an evening. Not only that but things like luxurious carpeting throughout the house will not only look fabulous but will help your home retain a lot more heat in the winter months.   

As you can see the balance of form and function often comes down to compromise. If you’re making allowances for function, then you’re always going to end up having to sacrifice a certain degree of the aesthetics of your home. The important thing to remember is that how much you sacrifice is always going to be up to you. Think about what it is that is most important to your home and work from there. Having a clear plan and idea of what you really want to get out of your home is the best possible way to avoid falling into the trap of ending somewhere in the middle where your home doesn’t feel anywhere close to the way that you would want it to.