5 Elements of Great Design

1. LIGHTING/ATMOSPHERE

 great use of low level lighting - always flattering   

interesting arrangement of mirrors: element of surprise

2. COLOUR

           it shouldn't work and yet, it does, rather brilliantly. 

   blocks of colour in surprising places - reasonably easy to update

                         3. ARCHITECTURAL/CLEAN LINES

I love the somewhat industrial feel to these rooms 

4. SYMMETRY

5. DETAIL

and anyone who knows me will know why I love this one...

I've noticed over the last couple of days that a number of bloggers such as BODIE and FOU, have been posting images of Luytens. Luytens is a quintessentially British restaurant that has recently had the Terence Conran treatment. The fabulous results were photographed by Paul Reaside and are a good example of why great designers should only work with great photographers.  

Using a pick & mix of projects from his website, I've split them into sections representing key elements that make up great design:

• Lighting
• Colour
• Architectural/Clean lines
• Symmetry
• Detail

Creating an element of surprise is another key element and it needn't be on a grand scale - something as simple as painting (or wallpapering) the inside of your cupboards in bold colours can be quite effective. In the same way that revealing a truth or flipping an idea on it's head is the making of a good joke, mixing tried and tested ideas with a dash of the ridiculous/whimsical/cool will create a space that really can lift the spirit.

What would you add to these?

Edit: Interior designer, Vanessa (Decor Happy) has added scale as a key element - examples of which can be seen in each of the images above.