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Posts Tagged ‘History’

Article by Ryan Dowmann

by SLDdigital

In their training, student interior designers often learn about the history of their profession. This can be a really important way to give context to their subsequent careers. In this article, I will draw on my experience as an interior designer and educator to discuss the history of this exciting field.

The early professional interior designers were based in London – the British had become intrigued by Egyptian techniques of decorating household objects and wanted the same for themselves. London families became desperate to employ an interior designer to create magical spaces and accessorise their interiors. As interior designers came to be recognised as professionals, they increasingly found a need to draw on history to create mythologic results. This was particularly true when creating designs for historic London mansions or listed buildings – they saw historical reflections as a way of preserving the past while also looking to the future.

THE ANCIENT ROMANS

In Ancient Rome, citizens demanded comfort, luxury and wealth. These elements are still important in the work of interior designers crossways the world today. The lavish decorations, tapestries and iconic stonework this day remain as timeless and favourite in London as in Tokyo or Sydney. The Ancient Romans adored bespoke furniture and loved calibre textiles and costly fabrics.

MONASTIC TIMES

After the collapse of Roman rule, the church assumed power and largely discouraged the most creative interior designers. Opulent interiors were taken out and interior designers were instructed to install quiet and easy oak panels with dark lines and sharp edges. This influence was felt throughout Europe – from London all the way to Florence.

RENAISSANCE AND REVIVAL

The Renaissance saw the emergence of professional French or French-inspired interior designers. It was a new age of elegance and sophistication, which saw the rebuilding of the London Interior Designer community and a fresh take on creative and beautiful living spaces. A “palatial” feel was rediscovered, and interior designers began to take advantage of new transport axes going through London to the continent and to the Americas in order to rediscover their profession and herald the next generation of design.

This brings to an end my article on how the work of interior designers has changed over the ages. In my next article, I’ll reflect on how interior designers use interior fashions for great effect.

In their training, student interior designers often learn about the history of their profession. This can be a really important way to give context to their subsequent careers. In this article, I will draw on my experience as an interior designer and educator to discuss the history of this exciting field.

The early professional interior designers were based in London – the British had become intrigued by Egyptian techniques of decorating household objects and wanted the same for themselves. London families became desperate to employ an interior designer to create magical spaces and accessorise their interiors. As interior designers came to be recognised as professionals, they increasingly found a need to draw on history to create mythologic results. This was particularly true when creating designs for historic London mansions or listed buildings – they saw historical reflections as a way of preserving the past while also looking to the future.

THE ANCIENT ROMANS

In Ancient Rome, citizens demanded comfort, luxury and wealth. These elements are still important in the work of interior designers crossways the world today. The lavish decorations, tapestries and iconic stonework this day remain as timeless and favourite in London as in Tokyo or Sydney. The Ancient Romans adored bespoke furniture and loved calibre textiles and costly fabrics.

MONASTIC TIMES

After the collapse of Roman rule, the church assumed power and largely discouraged the most creative interior designers. Opulent interiors were taken out and interior designers were instructed to install quiet and easy oak panels with dark lines and sharp edges. This influence was felt throughout Europe – from London all the way to Florence.

RENAISSANCE AND REVIVAL

The Renaissance saw the emergence of professional French or French-inspired interior designers. It was a new age of elegance and sophistication, which saw the rebuilding of the London Interior Designer community and a fresh take on creative and beautiful living spaces. A “palatial” feel was rediscovered, and interior designers began to take advantage of new transport axes going through London to the continent and to the Americas in order to rediscover their profession and herald the next generation of design.

This brings to an end my article on how the work of interior designers has changed over the ages. In my next article, I’ll reflect on how interior designers use interior fashions for great effect.

by jdanvers

When holidaying at any UK coastal resort most will have crazy golf courses where you can spend some time having some fun.  Kids not only find the obstacles on these courses a challenge but enjoy watching their parents in difficulty as well.  But do you know where this particular sport comes from?  Below we take a brief look at the history of crazy golf.

The first course of its kind was opened at St Andrews, Scotland and which is where the actual game of golf is believed to have begun.  Here an 18 hole course was developed in 1867 prefabricated up of short putting greens so that women could play this game if they were interested.  So allowing them to participate in a sport where because of the violence of the movements to swing the golf club was not something women should be doing.

Yet it was several more decades before the kinds of crazy golf courses acquirable now were to be seen.  The courses built through this time until the primeval 1900’s were much more similar in design to real golf courses.  The real difference is that they cover far less space and in most cases to play a course one just requires a putter to do so.

Then in the 1920’s the game modified and all because of a golf fanatic called Thomas McCulloch Fairbairn.  He developed a new type of material which the greens of the crazy golf courses were prefabricated in 1922.  By mixing together oil, dye, sand and cottonseed hulls the greens were much easier and cheaper to produce.  So this was a game that people from all social backgrounds could participate in.

In the USA alone throughout the 1920’s tens of thousands of crazy golf courses were being built and in New York City alone you would find there were 150 courses built on to the roof tops of some buildings.  But with the economic depression taking hold in the 1930’s the game begun to take a back seat as people simply didn’t have the money to play and it was at this time a great many of the courses were shut or demolished.

But once the economy had begun to improve when it comes to the history of crazy golf so things begun to change as well.  Two brothers from Binghamton, New York, Robert and Joseph Taylor started to build and operate crazy golf courses again.  However these one differed greatly from those that had been built previously as far more obstacles were being introduced.  Instead of just trying to get the ball into the hole by putting it over banks, curves and rolls one needed to get it past obstacles such as pipes, castles, wishing wells and windmills.