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History of Interior Design

Throughout their education and certification process, prospective interior designers must learn the history of interior design in order to place their own work in the proper perspective. Indeed, the certification exam requires designers to understand the work of their most prominent forerunners, so they can incorporate the best practices of the interior design trade with new and fresh ideas for the future.

We can trace some of the earliest examples of interior design back to the later days of the Roman Empire. Wealthy Roman noblemen would commission elaborate homes for themselves and their wives, which often reflected their owners' appreciation for beauty, sophistication and relaxation. Ancient forerunners to today's interior designers used magnificent frescoes and mosaics to create unique spaces for their clients to enjoy.

Interior design as we now know it emerged as a formal profession in the late Nineteenth Century. Bolstered by patronage and newfound respect for their professions, artists and craftspeople made tighter and tighter distinctions between their trades. As middle classes emerged in Europe and North America, citizens of all economic categories started to take action to improve their living quarters.

In Scotland, at the turn of the Twentieth Century, Charles Rennie Mackintosh led a segue from the Arts and Crafts style into a serious interior design movement based on the growing Art Nouveau trend. Mackintosh's basic geometrical patterns, accented by exaggerated straight lines and black and white finish, influenced an entire generation of interior designers intent on challenging Victorian modes of home decoration.

Moving forward, interior designers continued to push the envelope while taking advantage of improved construction material and design technology. In Spain, Antoni Gaudi added decorative details that inspired later Art Deco designers. Throughout Europe, Modernist interior designers like Gerrit Rietveld and Alvar Aalto employed stark, clean lines and a heavy emphasis on function into their projects. In 1932, Pierre Chareau made interior design history by building a house which featured exterior walls made entirely of reinforced glass. Charles Eames designed his own California studio just after World War II, using entirely pre-fabricated material, marking another achievement in the history of interior design.

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