Do I Decorate?

INTRODUCTION As I wandered through the highly decorative chateaux in France, sat in 1940s cafes rich in detail, or ventured into chapels laden with symbolic references, I pondered why these places have a richness that is often missing from contemporary interior resolutions. Many interior designers seem to have rejected decoration as part of their core business. Yet over the last few years there does appear to be a challenge to the slick interiors, which were originally stimulated by a modernist mindset that believed in the value of minimal ornament, colour, and clutter. As a result, the minimalist interiors of light timber, glass, and stainless steel may not be the common formulaic response of the future as it has been in our recent past. Reinterpretations of the nineteen fifties, seventies, and eighties decorative styles have also arisen. Therefore, it is now opportune to revisit decoration in relation to interior design. In particular, the value of decoration in its relationship with the design concept and in the way that environments may exist interdependently with people are two issues that may be of importance. I will introduce briefly issues involved in this ongoing debate through this discussion paper by presenting some of the aspects drawn from the literature. I will also discuss responses by interior design students to a number of images of a range of places which depicted varying degrees of decoration. Decoration differs from design, not due to the materials and elements involved, but rather due to the conceptual depth and process undertaken by the person creating the environment. The form and degree of decoration are fundamental aspects of any interior as decoration plays a significant role in how people experience and interpret the environments that they encounter.