IM No.

1
Course code: MHE-9
Course title: Arts in Daily Living
Course description: This course is an application of art principles and design to family and individual needs.

Lesson No. 1
Principles and Elements of Design for an Orderly and Attractive Home

I. Learning Outcomes: At the end of the lesson, you are expected to:
a. Identify the principles and elements of design in making the home orderly and attractive;
b. Give the implications of the principles and elements of design in your daily living;
c. Appreciate the significance of arts in your daily living.

II. Discussion

According to Ray Faulkner, it is the selection and organization of forms, spaces, colors and texture to
produce beauty. There are no fixed standards to follow but there are some principles to guide us. To
create beauty, man has formulated some principles based on the study of art objects and in the
observation of the natural surroundings. Emphasis, rhythm, balance, proportion and harmony are some
principles of design that can be used as guides to create beauty in the home.

Principles of Design

1. Emphasis or center of interest is the dominance and subordination because it calls attention on the
more important parts than on the less important ones. Avoid having a room that has no emphasis
in it or that has too much of it.

 Decide which part of a room should be given emphasis and arrange all furnishings in such a way
that attention is immediately directed to that place. This can be a good view of the garden, a piece
of beautiful furniture, a picture or a painting. The ceiling and the floor should be simple and the
plants should be placed in such a way as not to call attention to it. The thing to remember is to
emphasize a few important things and subordinate the others.

Here are some ways of creating emphasis in a room:

a. Determine what parts should be dominant or subordinate. Emphasize the important points
and play down the others.

b. Limit the number of parts that should be emphasized. One dominant and two or three
subordinate parts should be good enough. Never emphasize every nook, every wall or every
grouping of furniture.

c. Arrange other parts of the house to direct the interest to the more important
 d. Use wisely bright and intense colors, large shapes and those that have unusual forms.
e. Repeat things to make them more dominant. Repeating colors or forms is one way of doing
it.

2. Balance- this means equilibrium. It gives a feeling of stability and steadiness in a room.

There are two types of balance.

a. Formal or symmetrical balance

This is the kind of balance where one side is exactly the same as the other side. It is the mirror
image of the other. Formal balance is very easy to create since one side is the replica of the other.
This gives a feeling of stateliness, dignity, quiet and repose. The middle portion is the center of
interest and the two sides are arranged in the same way. Not all parts of a house are symmetrical
but there may be parts that can be made symmetrical.

Ex. A sofa may have identical side tables and lamps. Symmetrical or formal balance is used when
a formal effect is needed or if there is something important to be emphasized. It is an easy way
to create order in a house.
 b. Informal or Asymmetrical

a. One side is differently arranged from the other side.

b. Heavier object is placed near the center and the lighter one far from the center c. More

striking

d. Tends to attract attention and makes a person think about what makes the arrangement
balanced.

e. Creates feeling of informality, movement and casualness.

f. No restraint when furnishings are arranged.

3. Proportion
a. There is no perfect proportion.
b. A house with pleasant proportions is characterized by simplicity and moderations.

4. Rhythm
a. Related or organized movement
 b. Helps the eyes move around the room
c. All objects in the room give life to it through the movement that rhythm creates.

Rhythm is achieved:

a. Repetition – colors, shapes and textures are repeated in the interior of the house.
b. Progression – transition produced by increasing or decreasing one or more qualities of an
object like the progression of size, shape, color and texture in an object or a room. It is
more lively than repetition since it creates movement that leads towards a certain
direction

5. Harmony
a. The agreement among the different parts.
b. It unifies the whole
c. It emphasizes a single idea
The Use of Design and Color Value

The effect of the whole area is the first consideration when decorating and furnishing a home. Design
makes a home lovely and a livable place. The elements of design particularly the line patterns of a home
are made by the proportions of the rooms that is the relation of heights of walls to their lengths and the
widths, the placing of doors and windows, the paneling, moldings and other details that create area and
shapes inside the rooms. Unsatisfactory original line pattern can be modified. The apparent height of the
room can be lowered or raised by alternating the moldings. Lines are considered before decorating the
room.
Color is the element of design that is easily noticeable since it gives instant impression. Color choices for
the walls and floors and the background of the home is also a consideration in decorating a room. The
ceiling like the sky, may be very light. The walls may be somewhat darker, like vegetation. The floor
covering, like the earth may be the darkest part of the room. An artist expresses the difference in lightness
and darkness of the sky, trees, and ground and applies this principle in planning the decorations of a room.
Some modern homes have their ceilings darker than walls. This may not be pleasing if the ceiling is low
because a dark color makes the ceiling appear to be lower. Ceiling that contrasting with that of the walls
is also used in modern homes. If the ceiling color is repeated in the wall or rug, the effect is pleasing.
In most Philippine homes, the floor is varnished with shellacked without staining. This is especially so if
fine-grained hardwood is used. Some rooms in the house may have a generally lighter value than the other
rooms. But whether the value of a room is light or dark, the value of the floor walls, and ceiling should
differ. A girl’s bedroom is usually more pleasing if it is in light color values.

The size of the room, the purpose for which it is to be used, and the amount and direction of outside
light, should be considered in deciding what colors to use and how much of these are pleasing in a
particular room.

An impersonal color will generally satisfy the members of the family when used in the living room. A more
decided color may make a suitable background for the dining room.

If a room is rarely used and only for short durations, it can be painted with a more striking color
combinations, as in the hallways, porches, entrance areas, and play rooms because people don’t stay long
there.
A room that is used very often, colors like sunny gray, dirty white, and tan that are neither too warm nor
too dark may be used. Intense colors used in large areas may be tiring to the eyes and nerves.

If the room is too much exposed to sunlight, we may use cool colors like green, dull blue-green or other
colors with low values. If the room is rather dark, a warm color may be used such as yellow or yellow
orange since such colors may be in high value but should not be too bright or intense.
In planning colors of a room, we should remember that dull or grayed colors are best for all large areas
such as walls and floors while brilliant orange, red, blue, or green may be used in small areas. Pictures,
vases, lamp vases and other small particles maybe brightly colored. Small room may be made to appear
larger by the use of light colors on the walls.
Some Philippine homes have figured pointed walls made by roller painting. Walls are background
therefore it should be flat and should present solid surfaces. Figured walls should have conventional
designs. The colors should not be too contrasting and use of larger design. Do not use naturalistic design
the one that closely imitates nature. Most of our painted homes have walls painted plainly. Dull or semi
glossy walls make a more attractive background for the living room, dining room, and bedroom. Plain
rooms provide more striking contrast with the drapes and furniture in the room.