Those who are planning the interior and decoration of their home for the first time select photographs on the Internet, copy various interesting ideas, and collect one picture from several photos they like. This method is good and effective, but, as always, it is important to take into account the nuance: for the beauty of the interior, you need to select only components and elements that are in harmony with each other.
Collage is one of the best ways to present an interior project
In my design work, I often use hand sketches, sketches, wall scans, and 3D modeling, but only during the initial assembly of an apartment’s interior, done on a blank sheet of paper, do I get special pleasure. Recently I planned to review this process and tell more about the methods of stylistic and color visualization. The time has come.
What are collages and their purpose?
In general, collages are often composed to obtain the effect of surprise when combining dissimilar finishing or decorative materials. And also - for greater acuity of perception and increased emotional richness. An interior collage is more like a draft - it’s a way to sketch out a plan, a diagram (roughly, but we’ll see later) to outline the boundaries of the style of the room in the future (after renovation, that is, after implementation). Therefore, college is always more useful for a designer than for a client. The author of the project is interested in catching the mood, direction and finding out what level of boldness is in his future work.
Any user can find a photo of a beautiful interior on the Internet; it won’t cost much to repeat what you see at home. But details, as elsewhere, are important even in such a situation.
In order for the interior to make a good impression and charm you at first sight and touch, I advise you to turn to a designer with experience: harmony in design has always been important, because this is what you live in and see before your eyes every day
You can try to develop the project yourself, the only important thing is to avoid mistakes in time. I recommend all beginners to use a good tool. It's called "collage".
Collage is an old find among journalists, illustrators and artists. Previously, collages were assembled by cutting out the necessary pictures from newspapers and magazines.
The forgotten method of collaging now helps when developing a design project for any interior
How to use collage for visualization
I work with 2 types of collages. The first is common for a house or apartment.
An example of a general apartment collage
I use it to give the client an overview of the upcoming interior. Most often, before the start of work, the customer already has some of his own work (various saved photos, images of kitchens, living rooms, bathrooms or children's rooms), and I usually ask them to send them to me. Some materials will end up in the draft collage, but in my interpretation. This stage does not take much time, but the first points will be found for agreement with the client or, conversely, this is how we will identify critical discrepancies in the concept of perception.
After approval of the first and main collage, we move on to the second type - detailing by room. It might look something like this:
Compiled collage for a small balcony to transform it into a comfortable relaxation area
To make the interior design harmonious, you must:
- determine the palette, identify the main color of the interior;
- put together the main components - then you can compare them and select the most successful combinations.
Two main problems can be solved by creating a collage: it will serve as a good alternative to 3D visualization and interior modeling, since this can be done by a designer who is fluent in the program.
An example of a finished interior collage
When starting a renovation in an apartment or in a separate room, most people have already selected ideas, have some sketches ready, even prepared some components (for example, furniture), purchased wallpaper, panels or laminate for hanging, although how will it all look in the end? It is difficult to imagine the overall picture and in a single room.
This is where an interior collage can help.
The second type of collage will show in detail the design of each room, help clarify the color variety and select companion colors, give life to each of the selected objects that the client or designer would like to see in a new picture of the updated design: lamp, table, painting, dishes, the same table or set of chairs. Collages make it easier to convey the essence and concept of interior design. This cannot be said about a three-dimensional project: it appears after the final approval of the layout, repairs, decoration and decoration with furniture and decor.
Interior collage is creativity, art, and a good way to organize and plan future renovations. By collaging, you can create a rough picture of the arrangement of a future room, develop its layout and select the right colors.
Collages will help you imagine the future interior before renovation work
They consist of a set of photos, images of furniture, lamps, decor, facing and decorative materials, textiles.
Interior collage as an alternative to visualization
Almost everyone who was planning to renovate an apartment was faced with the question “do I need a design project”? “It, of course, includes a full set of working drawings, 3D visualizations, selection of materials and furniture, but it also costs quite a lot of money.”
- you think.
Indeed, despite its importance, a complete design project is not a cheap pleasure. And in this case, collages that are part of the draft design can be a good alternative for you.
For reference:
- In our studio, the cost of a complete design project is 2000 rubles per 1 m2
- And the cost of a preliminary design project is 1200 rubles per 1 m2
The preliminary design includes a complete set of working drawings without selection of materials. There are no visualizations, they are replaced by collages.
Collage of an apartment in a modern style
So, let's first define what an interior collage
and why it is needed.
A collage is a picture of the future interior, which gives a visual idea of the style of the project. The collage consists of a combination of furniture, lamps, finishing materials and decorative elements.
Clients who ordered a stylistic collage from us noted that with its help they were able to get an idea of what the overall picture of the interior would look like. For example, how do they combine with each other:
- colors;
- furniture;
- decor;
- Decoration Materials.
Collages provide a visual representation of the style of the project.
Advantages of style collage:
- Collages are cheaper than visualizations;
- It takes much less time to develop a collage, which means you will get a finished project faster;
- Collages do not require long adjustments, which again saves both your time and the designer’s time.
Disadvantages of style collage:
- This image is quite conventional - all objects are interchangeable. Basically, specific models are not indicated, but only their analogues;
- This means that you will be missing some sizes. For example, if the sofa in the picture is out of stock and you order furniture of a different size, it may cover the sockets in the originally planned location.
In our practice, there have been cases when, at the initial design stage, the client ordered collages in order to understand the general concept of the interior, prioritize the color scheme, furniture style and decor. After that, for a more detailed design, the customer applied for a full design project, which already included visualizations.
To summarize:
Collages provide a visual representation of the style of the project. If there are no visualizations, then such an image will be a good alternative. This is a completely accessible means of expressing your interior and its concept.
In the next article, read about tips that will help you better decorate your apartment in a modern style.
Where to start making a collage
The first step in creating an interesting stylistic collage is to search for original ideas and identify inspiring elements and objects. At this step, you need to try to determine the style of the room being developed: what colors will be decisive, what style is best to take as the main one (for example, minimalism, loft or classic), and many other important nuances.
It is better to start work with a sketch, a sketch - a rough image with the location of each detail in the room.
At the second step, pictures and photographs are selected (downloaded from the Internet, from designers’ websites, archival magazines). Each element needs to be worked out: from the location of the sofa or the arrangement of chairs around the round table in the center of the living room to the type of door handles and the type of fittings in the bedroom set.
You can start selecting furniture and lamps in advance
When the aesthetic pictures are prepared, you can begin to put together a complete picture, forming the core of the project. For clarity, you can not only randomly place elements on the selected background, but also create a rough layout of the room and decorate it beautifully.
You can make several options to analyze and evaluate which one is better, changing the color of the finish or moving or swapping pieces of furniture
The last, third step to make the collage complete includes adding notes, signs, and inscriptions. You can indicate where to buy this or that item, what material it is desirable to use, including the price. This will speed up orientation on the room plan and eliminate any difficulties when purchasing.
What do you need?
You need to collect a certain archive of photo images - in other words, explore the vastness of the Internet, save your favorite images of wallpaper, parquet, furniture, lighting fixtures. Walk through shopping centers and showrooms yourself, take pictures of what you like.
It will be great if you distribute this entire database into specific folders. As an example: Folder “Living Room”
. In it you place photographs of wall coverings, parquet, furniture for a given room. And so on, we make the initial selection for all the necessary premises.
The second stage will be creating a collage. You can create a collage on paper - then you just need to print out the photos and lay them out on a single background. You can use computer programs for processing digital images or find an application for smart devices that matches the task.
You may ask - Why all this?
We answer:
When you come to a wallpaper/furniture/lighting salon, you look at the objects “in isolation”, that is, the object solos and dominates.
In the interior, everything will be different: each item will take its place, and together they should be perfect “friends” and fit each other. First of all, the collage will show us before purchasing
a product: will a sofa, an armchair and a coffee table be friends? Or how will this wallpaper, door, parquet visually interact?
By making a collage, you can answer many questions before you begin renovation work, expensive purchases, and even before you finally decide on the style and color scheme of your apartment. This is a very simple but very effective way to structure and simplify the renovation process.
If you do not have the time, experience, or desire for such work, we recommend that you contact specialist designers and decorators. Smart apartment layout
- this is a very important stage. This is a guarantee that your life will be convenient and comfortable.
Specialists designers, decorators, and architects are always ready to help you with other important questions. Including specialists.
How to technically correctly create a collage yourself
It is better to work and create it in Photoshop with a little preliminary preparation.
Developments for a collage
For example, the results of the work on collecting and preparing materials for a separate project are stored in two folders - “My work” and “Client’s work”.
The software (Photoshop - desktop or online) gives complete freedom to change and edit sources: photographs can be reduced/enlarged, mirrored, recolored, completed, and then arranged all on a sheet.
Kitchen collage example
I usually take images for centering from my photo collection of interiors. I select other components (furniture, decor, textures) on the Internet. When I need lilac curtains, I ask exactly this query in the search: lilac curtains. I save the desired photo in “My Work”, then open it in Photoshop, and after editing I send it to a collage.
Sometimes you come across such successful items that individual elements can even move from one design project to another, although the texture and palette change.
An interior collage is a good way to put the most interesting ideas together and see how this solution will look in the interior
The collage begins to be built from the center: a picture is placed here that most closely matches and most harmoniously conveys the atmosphere of the room. Around the central image, accents are placed one after another in the same order in which they appear in the performer’s imagination - this is how the designer concentrates and organizes unusual approaches and ideas.
When at least 4-5 elements are put on the sheet, then the picture takes shape on its own: the colors gather into their own palette, and somewhere certain objects just suggest themselves. And when it’s the turn of accessories, it’s like a river flow, making its own way. This is the moment when the designer becomes a guide, and the interior creates itself.
Miniature planning makes the designer's work easy and creative. This explains the value of the stylistic collage, its uniqueness
There have long been websites and special software (programs) for collaging on the Internet, but it gives me great joy to work and improve every shade, every element manually. This is a wonderful and very creative process! This kind of work as a designer looks like meditation from the outside - time flies by during the project, but it’s impossible to stop or break away from creating a beautiful visualization. I advise everyone to make collages, even amateurs and especially beginners without professional skills.
Before renovation, you can abstractly “outline” the key features of your dream interior. The word collage from French means gluing, so any of you can do all the work on the floor of the house, taking a large sheet of paper. You can paste photos or clippings from design magazines or printed pictures from interior design websites onto it.
Five rules of successful design
- It is better to take a white background for work. Especially when photos of objects and approximate pictures are scattered chaotically across the sheet. On white it becomes clearer and more visual how decor, objects and furniture will be combined with each other.
Background color – classic white
- It is better to separate pictures that do not have intersections. You can use frames so as not to get confused when creating a harmonious picture of the interior.
Breakdown of group items
- Proportions are also important: correlate objects and their sizes in the collage - just like in life, so that the overall picture comes closer to realistic.
The size of each individual element on the sheet should occupy the same area as in reality
- Place objects on the collage composition as in life: the floor is at the bottom, lamps are on the wall or on top. Then you will get a clear, easily perceived picture of the room’s design.
For each element it is desirable to achieve maximum realism
- The structure of the created collage can be changed, for example, if you place the diagram of the room in the center, and make a callout from the diagram for each piece of furniture.
Plan of a furnished room on a collage
WHY DO YOU NEED AN INTERIOR COLLAGE
How a fairy tale is born or why you need to learn how to make an interior collage. In simple words about the complex path of creating an interior in which the collage will take its rightful place and play one of the most important roles.
For what? Very simple. Interior collage is like looking into the future. The ability to foresee, anticipate, make plans and set a vector of direction towards the intended goal. Your goal is a harmonious interior. Collage is the simplest tool and the shortest step towards the intended goal.
When we come to visit, we evaluate the interior we find ourselves in solely based on external features. Almost everyone does this. I'm no exception to the rule. Especially if we are invited to a housewarming party, we go to get acquainted with the new interior.
And we give ratings. Someone to himself. Someone brave will appreciate it out loud. What colors and textures did you like or not? How does the color of the sofa match the wallpaper in the room? Whether you like tiles in bathrooms or don’t like them at all. Rarely does anyone start asking the owner of the house directly about the construction of the screed or how he “walled up” the sewer pipes. Any interior greets us with its appearance.
This can be compared to the famous phrase of the century: you meet someone by their clothes.
Ultimately, we give our verdict to the house:
- I liked everything, very cool
- horror, nightmare, bad taste, how can you do this
Interior collage of the studio “On the wave of decor” The verdict (depending on whether you made the first or second) in turn will put a super question in your head:
- how to make it just as cool at home, how to repeat it, achieve harmony and beauty
- how not to make a terrible mistake and repeat the nightmare
The issue is a task that must be resolved long before the start of repair work. There are always several ways to solve problems. There are simple, very simple ones, and there are complex ones that require time, knowledge, and experience. But the result of the latter path is much better.
PATH 1. COPY
If the goal is to repeat success, then the easiest way is to copy. You can try asking the owner of the house you visited for all the logins and passwords. And if suddenly a person kept a detailed diary, as many people do on Instagram now, then scrupulously write down all the knowledge in a notebook.
The only thing is that you won’t be able to copy it “stupidly”. The geometry of the walls, the number and area of rooms, the configuration of the kitchen will leave their mark. And in the end you will have to work hard.
PATH 2. BE INSPIRED AND CREATE YOUR OWN
Many people say that to create a beautiful interior you need innate taste, talent and the ability to draw.
I am sure that good taste can be cultivated, knowledge can be acquired, and a beautiful home can be created. The main desire! And above all, the desire to spend personal time.
It’s hard for a non-professional to be inspired by a butterfly in a field. He must understand and feel the idea of the interior. Its essence and principles. Sit on a comfortable sofa. See how colors and textures combine. Understand why shape and volume are important in the interior as well as in the basic dream wardrobe.
Someone else's interior can inspire the feat of creating your own. And collage will become the main tool that will turn your dream into reality. After all, no other way has been invented to understand whether it will be beautiful or not as soon as you see it with your own eyes.
Collage is the easiest way to see the future interior.
COLLAGE (French collage - “pasting”, from colle - “glue”, from Greek kolla - “glue”) - a technique and a type of decorative art based on it, which consists in creating an image by gluing a material other than her texture and color. (Dictionary of Fine Arts)
work of decorator O. Panteleeva
I never start work right away with interior sketches. First of all, I need to know what I'm going to draw. Make initial selections of furniture, decor, and finishing materials. Understand their proportions, dimensions, shapes, colors. But most importantly, I must understand the mood of the interior. In simple language: write an essay “what the interior I create will tell you about.”
Secondly, check all items with the planning solution.
And thirdly, make sure that your search is harmonious at the very first stage of work.
Collage helps me go through all three steps quite confidently, in parallel with working in salons, where I touch, palpate, stroke and examine real textures, colors, and objects.
The interior sketch is my final work. Only after I pick up all the items. I will see a harmonious picture in a collage. I will see textures and materials in reality. Only then do I start working on sketches.
At the collage stage, I know the direction vector to the goal. I can foresee what the interior will be like.
Collage is the shortest and easiest way to see the future interior. Minimum preparation costs.
Are there interior magazines? Add scissors and paper. Let's spend the evening with our beloved family and together we will put together a collage of your dream interior. It is very exciting. Did you like to assemble jigsaw puzzles as a child? Creating a collage is real fun and unleashes your creative potential. Be sure to study with your children. They cut out chairs, armchairs, rugs from magazines, and you put the pictures together on a large sheet of foam board. As I said here:
WE CREATE A LIVING INTERIOR COLLAGE
If you know a computer, are proficient in Photoshop, or any other program (application for a tablet) for creating a collage, then combine business with pleasure. Time in a traffic jam can be spent on a cool collage in neybers or olioboard.
A list of all simple programs in which you can create a collage can be found here:
Collage perfectly organizes thoughts and images. There is no better draft for the future interior. No matter how loud it sounds, it is better to spend time and make 150 collages (which will not cost you anything) than to buy an expensive sofa and armchairs that are completely inappropriate for it. Be disappointed and create a list of new tasks for getting rid of the sofa and armchairs.
Advice: despite the abundance of computer programs, I still recommend cutting out pictures. You will not only enjoy the process, but you will begin to better understand and feel your future home.
YOU'RE ON THE WAY
Working studio collage.
Step 1. IDEA
Where to begin? Trite from the idea. The central and reference point from which the collage will develop. And it doesn’t have to be any kind of interior, piece of furniture. This could be your favorite cashmere scarf, which will give you the idea to make the interior soft, enveloping, and textured.
Or a yellow tram on a narrow old street in Portugal. And so you add up all the colors and textures when you see a tram, and you yourself don’t notice how you’re painting the interior. The tram turns into a sofa. The walls of an old house are carried into your room, and the complex color of the window frames is transformed into the fronts of beautiful furniture. The interior came to life.
The beginning is always the most difficult. Sometimes an idea comes quickly. And sometimes you have to wait and work hard to find “the one.”
Step 2. SEARCH FOR COLOR AND TEXTURES
Having selected the central picture, analyze it. What do you like most? Atmosphere? Colors? Invoices? What got her hooked? What is he talking about?
Carefully cut it out from a magazine or print it out. Place it in the center of the canvas for now (prepare a large sheet of cardboard or paper in advance). Start creating history around you. Highlight the primary colors. Draw a real palette. Find colors for walls, furniture, accents.
Start choosing furniture. I’m sure that in preparation for renovation, everyone has accumulated a ton of waste paper from interior magazines or megabytes of folders on their computer with photographs. Feel free to cut out whatever you like from there. Armchairs, chairs, sofas, carpets, vases, blankets, pillows. All!
project by O. Panteleev
Step 3. ASSEMBLY THE COMPOSITION
When making a collage, place the pictures on a large sheet of paper so that at one glance you can understand the general atmosphere.
Working on a collage now, you can easily discard the unnecessary. Do not be afraid. Someone else's always stands out. Our vision is designed in such a way that the brain perceives harmony instantly. And he feels disharmony very well too. Don't make complex collages. Start simple, first arrange the main items (for example, a sofa), then add additional items to it. Make it more complicated. Finish the collage by searching and placing accents.
The illustration above shows a collage that was analyzed in great detail during a live broadcast on Instagram. The idea for the interior image is based on a photograph of a cactus against the background of a beautiful wall.
Do not glue the pictures directly to the base! Until you realize that the picture is ideal for your perception of the world. Collect the collage over several days or weeks. Put it aside and come back to it. You will often want to change your mind and therefore need to be able to edit your work.
When the work is finished. Take it to the next level. Start making a collage from real fabric samples, pieces of wood. See how everything selected “virtually” comes to life in reality.
Create collages for each space in your home. There can be a lot of them. Various beautiful ones, big and small. A long process that will help you create a real dream home. Harmonious. individual, not copied from anyone.
I hope that you will truly enjoy creating collages. Fell in love with them. We learned two ways to solve a complex problem, how to create a unique individual interior.
GOOD LUCK WITH THE REPAIR!
The blog “On the Wave of Decor” is a non-profit project and is created only by the author. If you appreciated the article and liked it, I would be grateful for a little financial support. Thank you!
Collaging software
Collages on a PC are usually created from photographs prepared in advance. There are many applications with similar functionality. Each has advantages and disadvantages.
Neybers
The program is good if you need a detailed and realistic collage. There is a large gallery, structured, with a rubricator. There are categories of furniture, lighting, plumbing, accessories, etc., objects can be placed and rotated to any angle, change the direction of the light source - these are the main advantages of the software. Basic features are free.
NEYBERS works on phones, tablets, and in just 1 hour you can create the most beautiful interior collages, for example, like the one in the photo
It’s easy to work with the program even with its English-language interface
The NEYBERS database has many options for finishing, furniture, and decor.
The collages are clear and detailed
Sample Board
The program offers templates for collages, its interface is very user-friendly.
Working with Sample Board is very convenient
The free trial version is given to the user for 14 days; for permanent use there is a package for $24 per month. For collages, you need to select all the photos and objects yourself (there is no gallery), but there is a training program for beginner users.
Olioboard
Free cloud software with a gallery of furniture and finishing materials. Users of the program can communicate with each other, share their work, exchange ideas and pictures for inspiration. Supports pre-loading of user photos or those found on the Internet. Regular challenges are held for visitors to the official website to create collages on a given topic.
If you are planning constant experiments, this design program is suitable.
Even a child can handle the Olioboard program
But you can also design future interiors in Photoshop or Paint. They have enough functions and opportunities for creativity.
Collage created in Paint
With basic Photoshop skills, anyone can create amazing designs.
Making a collage from scrap materials takes a little more time, but it is also possible.
Interior collage is our everything
For those who still doubt that interior collage is our everything, I will list their advantages:
- A collage will help you see your future interior more clearly. And although this is far from 3D visualization in programs, it is a completely accessible means of expressing your interior and its concept.
- Not every person knows how to draw, but absolutely everyone can make an interior collage.
- With its help, you can set the mood of the house, determine the style, understand how the elements of the room, colors and finishing materials are combined with each other.
To create a beautiful collage you just need to follow certain rules. But let's talk about everything in order.
How to create an interior collage with your own hands
You can use cardboard or a sheet of plywood as a basis. The background (see Design Rule No. 1) is better white (the base can be covered with paper).
Material for collage design - magazine clippings...
... or samples of fabrics, linoleum, laminate, wallpaper, i.e. everything that will allow you to present the future picture of the interior as close to the real one
By applying them one by one to each other, you can check the correctness of your choice.
It is easier to collect a sufficient database of photographs and pictures for creativity than to create a project on a PC. Clippings, printed pictures from magazines, catalogs, booklets, even sketches and hand-drawn sketches - everything will come in handy.
The advantage of such a material collage is the possibility of introducing the materials themselves (pieces of wallpaper, linoleum samples, scraps of fabric, small accessories). They will make such visualization more realistic.
Place finishing materials on appropriate items: scraps of fabric - where curtains are attached, upholstery fabric - on armchairs and the back of the sofa, etc.
An interior collage is a good way to work out the design of a room from style to detail at the planning stage. This way you won’t be confused when you have doubts about the choice of furniture and other objects, materials, decorative elements, some of which are not cheap at all, so you can even save money when working on all the little things.
