A home is not just another shelter or a retreat after a day's din and bustle, the long hours of working and the exhaustion that follows; it is the only and most sought after psychological sanctuary for life in peace, privacy and intimacy. And when a home is beautiful grace and scale is added to the rhythm of life, making the sanctuary ever so soothing, hence the need for home decoration.

While the human psyche is intrinsically attuned to an object of beauty, the concept of beauty is not invariable, nor is its application. For example, individuals may differ on whether to put a vase on the table (concept) or which flower to put in the vase (application). But when it comes to the bottom line, the reaction is universal. For example, no one with aesthetic sensibilities would call an untidy room beautiful.

So there are some basic facts and rules that everyone needs to follow while decorating their home. To extract some useful information on home décor, I talked to four experts in the field, all architects by profession -- Ziaul Haque Chowdhury, Rezaur Rahman, Nahas Ahmed Khalil and Tania Atiq.

Comfort and Coziness

As the aesthetic sense of human beings varies from individual to individual, no two houses need necessarily be identical in decorations. While some people may like to have nicely finished home with proper enclosures, there are people who prefer to be more close to nature and like rustic finishing. No matter what kind of theme or idea you want to apply, the most important thing to remember is whether you are comfortable with it. A well-designed house may not be considered very beautiful for the user if it does not match his day to day lifestyle. According to all the architects I interviewed, we should never design a house compromising our own comfort.

Nowadays people seem more concerned about creating a house which would earn great appreciation from others and this way they tend to forget their own taste and comfort, says Rezaur, who is also a member of IAB (Institute of Architect Bangladesh). At first, a house should be very comfortable to the user and then he should think about beauty. For this, the user should have a clear concept about his own and his family members' lifestyle. According to Tania of Grihayonbid, a house should not be decorated to such a point that it looks like a restaurant or a shopping mall; rather the interior of the house should be very soothing and calm. Rezaur adds to this by saying there should be corners in the house which inspire those living in there to think about life and the events that happen in their lives. People should always decorate a house with whatever they like or whatever inspires them, an example of it being a portrait of a legendary poet or a personality.

Archetypes

The Traditional

Nahas of Arc Architectural Consultants says the way a home is decorated reflects the taste of the user and his aesthetic sense. Nahas loves nature and his passion has been expressed superbly in the feel of his house at Dhanmondi. The transitional space between the interior and the exterior of the house with the extended roof provides maximum sunlight and air. With large windows without any grills and wooden sitting arrangements adorned with plants and traditional antiques, this corner is the most attractive place in his house from where he can enjoy the time change during the day. The bricks jutting out from some inside walls have given a dramatic dimension to the look of the interior. Nahas has also decorated some sections of the walls with paintings but to avoid making a gallery of them he has kept enough space between his art collections. He has maintained the theme of traditional and natural look throughout and this is why his house is very pleasing to both the eye and the body - to the body because traditional sofas are more suitable for use in our climate.

The Avant-garde

Beauty can be modern, too. Shamsul Alam, Chairman of Rupa Group, owns an apartment at Gulshan-2 that has an exquisite interior with the glossy touch of the latest technology. The designing was done by Ziaul Haque, Managing Director of Architects Limited.

The apartment is decorated with finished materials and furnished with expensive furniture sets which are placed in a well planned way. Zia believes that storing is very important for a house to look neat and clean so he designed attached cabinets. This has produced large spaces to walk and move freely inside the house. In certain rooms false ceilings have been used to attain diffused lights creating a feeling of being in a dreamy atmosphere.

Furniture and Space

Storing in a planned way is a very important part of decoration. If there are kitchen cabinets and attached closets then these help to cut down many clumsy and space consuming furniture sets; the rooms look neat and chic and there is ample space to move about. While decorating your home, make sure you place your furniture in such a way that there is enough space and this will help to make your room look large. It is always advisable to avoid unnecessary, large furniture in the house.

Nowadays, even a small space has become very expensive and that is why space limitation is a major problem faced by most people, especially by those who buy or live in an apartment. According to Tania, popularity of an interior designer depends to a large extent on his ability to solve this space problem methodically and make the furniture functional.

Color

According to Zia, the interior of a house is mainly comprised of floor, ceiling and wall and those who want to decorate their house should keep these three things in mind. You can bring variations in the materials used on the floors, change the color of the walls and create false ceilings. Some people tend to color their walls with different hues and textures. However, Tania feels that in our country it is better to use light colors on the walls and if desired at most one or two walls can be painted dark provided that the room is a large one. Dark colors absorb light and make the room look dim. If colors of the walls are kept light then any furniture of any color would look nice against the walls.

Some Important Home Décor Tips:

• Keep minimum furniture in the room to maximize space.

• Try to have an informal living room so that family members can meet and spend some quality time watching TV or playing.

• Try to avoid keeping upholstered sofas in the informal living room. Keep those sofas that have separate cushions so that you can easily wash them.

• Color a wall dark only if the room is a very large one.

• You can do mix and match with furniture of different materials but try to avoid too many variations in the same room.

• Try to maintain uniform style in a room, traditional or modern.

• Try to keep different kinds of plants both in the veranda and inside the house to create a very cooling and soothing atmosphere.

• You may add false ceilings to your house but keep them limited to only long corridors, hall rooms or dining rooms.

• Try to have enough cabinets and closets so that you can store your things nicely.

• Try to place the bed between two windows or between a door and a window to attain proper cross ventilation.

Even the floors should be of light colors so that the furniture and the decoration pieces can exhibit their own colors properly.

Other Factors

To create variations, you can play with the floor heights by lowering a room's height or by adding a false ceiling. Zia thinks this gives a volumetric feeling as well as adding new sparks to the interior. However he warns against using this idea in every room as it might give an impression of clumsiness.

Try to keep furniture sets of the same material or colors in one room; too many variations in the materials might not look very pleasing. You can also design a home with less expensive materials but make sure you place them appropriately.

The best thing to decorate your house with is plants. According to Tania, as well as removing carbon dioxide, plants in a house generate fresh feelings and bring you close to nature. Nahas says that to maintain his huge collection of plants he has appointed a botanist and this makes it easier for him to maintain his plants properly. So, if you are planning to fill your house with green plants then you might also think of having someone else working on the plants for you.

To bring changes in the height of a room or give different lighting effects in your house you can consult an interior designer. They understand the basic grammar of architecture and so you can have perfect decorations. Also, they are market updated and so they can always get you good quality furniture pieces with least price.

Rezaur lays emphasis on the point that if somebody has a plan to get interior designing done by a designer he should make it known to the architect so that the walls and windows are properly set up. When you appoint an interior designer, to decorate your house, you must always be very open about your lifestyle and elaborately explain your interests to him so that your house properly illustrates your way of living. But whatever design you like your house must be very comfortable to you and should represent your lifestyle and desires and only then can have a 'beautiful home'.

Oditi Shirleena Mostafa