Disclaimer:

Gathering information about the evolution of human spaces in history is a very ambitious project. I took on this task not as an expert, but as a student. This is a journey of discovery. I expect to revisit, rewrite and update much of the material as I go along. Thank you for reading.

Introduction

“Interior design is the process of shaping the experience of interior space, through the manipulation of spatial volume as well as surface treatment.

Not to be confused with interior decoration, interior design draws on aspects of environmental psychology, architecture,product design and furniture design in addition to traditional decoration. An interior designer is a person who is considered a professional in the field of interior design or one who designs interiors as part of their job. Interior design is a creative practice that analyzes programmatic information, establishes a conceptual direction, refines the design direction, and produces graphic communication and construction documents.

Essential parts of all design styles are concept, color, proportion, balance, ergonomics and function of design. Although all styles differentiate their usage of each of these, they are all an integral part of the overall look and feel of a roomor space. Designers incorporate the seven elements of design to create and enhance style: form, mass, shape, line, color, texture and pattern.”

Prehistory

Some of the oldest testimony of early human life comes to us in the form of art.

Since Paleolithic, we have examples of cave paintings and sculptures depicting animals. They are refined and detailed images “decorating” caves inhabited by humans.

While it is not at all likely that their purpose was to make the cave environment more welcoming and pleasant, they are beautiful images believed to have provided the cave inhabitants with peace of mind. An image captured the spirit of the beast it depicted; a beast that had been maybe slain by the humans living in the cave. Its spirit, now captured in the image on the wall of the cave (a new physical form give by man), was believed to act as a protector of the cave. So we may assume that some of these images may have acted as the first type of home security system.

Interior designers may perform some or all of the following activities, among other duties and responsibilities:

• Research and analyze the client's goals, requirements and objectives for adopting a design direction.
• Negotiate with the client the contract terms governing the scope of the design project
• Develop design plans, documents and drawings to depict the design concept
• Determine design requirements to meet health, safety, accessibility, environmental and sustainability and building code guidelines
• Perform quality inspections of design and installation work to ensure adherence to requirements and specifications
• Perform space management, including measuring spaces and arrange placement of furniture, fixtures and other objects within the confines of the space
• Provide project management services to oversee project from conception to completion
• Coordinate services to be performed by builders and tradespersons to perform work according to design specifications and requirements
• Engage in bid negotiations on behalf of client for purchases of products and services related to the design project
• Prepare cost proposals to support requirements for materials and labor

Not all images were meant to protect the cave inhabited by the author(s) of the paintings. Some were meant to insure a successful hunt. Whatever the purpose of the image, they do have aesthetic value, and we can only assume that the cave “decorated” with the magical images, and sculptures, and with the animal hides humans may have used as clothing and bedding, the cold cave became a comforting space. A place humans had marked as their own.

The neolithic peoples in the Levant, Anatolia, Syria, northern Mesopotamia and Central Asia were great builders, utilising mud-brick to construct houses and villages. At Çatalhöyük houses were plastered and painted with elaborate scenes of humans and animals. In Europe, long houses built from wattle and daub were constructed.

Elaborate tombs for the dead were also built.

These tombs are particularly numerous in Ireland, where there are many thousand still in existence. Neolithic people in the British Isles built long barrows and chamber tombs for their dead and causewayed camps, henges flint mines and cursusmonuments.