The concept of positive and negative spaces in interior design.

When talking about positive and negative spaces it is importantto first understand the term "space" in itself. In interiordesign any volume which is being contained within masonrywalls and are habitable is normally termed as space.

The volume that gets enclosed in an architectural structure isjust a tiny fraction of the vast amount of "universal space".By universal space I mean the cosmos or the gigantic vastnessin which our planet and all other planets, starts etc.. survive.

The volume, which gets contained in a building, varies according tothe use of the building. A cinema theatre and a bedroom will surelyhave different purposes and hence volume. Volume gets defined bythree factors, length, breadth and height of the habitable room.

But irrespective of the volume both types of buildings mentioned above have "spaces" enclosed within. Lets consider the bedroomfor the sake of this article.

A typical bedroom will have certain architectural elements attached to it at the time of construction of the building andcertain "imposed" later for the sake of proper function. Alsoit is important to note that no one builds bedrooms in isolation.A bedroom is always a part of the entire home plan.

The architectural elements already present in a bedroom would beattached toilet and its entrance door, attached terrace or backyard entry, attached study room. All these spaces havework like supplementary role in a bedroom. Now the "imposed"elements are the furniture in the room, other accessories thatwill occupy the space in a bedroom.

A typical bedroom will have a double bed, wardrobe, dressing table, side tables, study table, book shelf etc.. All theseare necessary to use the room in a comfortable way. When thesefurniture are arranged in a room what remains is termed as the"circulation space". Now most people think that the volume ofthe furniture and the remaining empty space must have a balancebetween them. Because it is not the occupied volume, but theempty volume, that decides the comfort levels inside a room.

If you visit a store room on the basement of a house which isnormally used to dump useless things, you will notice that theempty space remained is very less and hence the comfort levelsthere, are poor. So in interior design the "empty space" isequally important. Now here comes the concept of positive andnegative spaces. Normally a negative space is considered aspace which can not be used for a specific human activity.

But this is not true. As said above the over all comfort levelsin a room is determined by both the occupied as well as non-occupiedspaces. So any smallest piece of floor area that is not being occupied is going to contribute to the comfort levels.

That's why the terminology of being positive and negative as far as usability is considered becomes a personal matter. Whatyou think as a useless and non functional space can become agood place for your kid and his friends when they play hide and seek. It's just the viewpoint to look at thing that matters.

Also a little creativity can alter a non-functional space intoa functional one. But remember what I said earlier, in interiordesign empty space matters. It is not just beautiful furniture,costly paints/wallpapers/paintings that are going to decorateyour rooms. Finally it boils down to only one thing, YOU and YOUR mental as well as physical health in that space.

I hope this article was helpful to everyone.

Copyright Shrinivas Vaidya
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Shrinivas Vaidya discusses some excellent tips on home renovation at Bedroom-Design-And-Decorating-Ideas.com .You will also find some great concept level thinking on bedrooms and decorating ideas.
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