The interior design guide

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All sections

Knowledge

2Running a project

Survey
Programming
Concept design
Design development
Pricing
Documentation
Supervision

Flooring by room
Colour: undertone, LRV, light
Paint sheen by surface
Stone and tile
Joinery materials
Junctions and transitions

4Space planning

Zoning an open plan
Circulation and clearances
Furniture layouts that work
Doors, swings and openings
Testing a plan at 1:50
Planning a small flat

Sofa scale and depth
Rug sizing
Dining table and pendant
Beds and bedsides
Vintage, new or custom
Reusing what the client owns

The socket plan
Switches, circuits and scenes
Ceiling spots: grid or wall wash
Floor sockets for floating furniture
Kitchen and bathroom circuits
Data, TV and charging points

Where the soil stack sets the plan
Supply, waste and fall
Kitchen sink and appliances
Bathroom layout around the WC
Showers: valves, trays and wet rooms
Heating: radiators or underfloor

8Joinery & millwork

Kitchen carcasses and fronts
Wardrobes and alcove storage
Shelving that doesn’t sag
Skirtings, architraves and panelling
Doors, hinges and handles
Drawing joinery for the maker

Door schedules: sizes, swings and hardware
Window schedules: glazing, sills and heads
Openings without doors
Ironmongery and handles
Thresholds and level access
Fire, acoustic and privacy ratings

Art: size, height, grouping
Curtains: height, width, fullness
Lamps as objects
Shelves and objects
Plants
Knowing when to stop

Materials and finishes for a render
Daylight, evening and artificial light
Ambient occlusion and contact shadows
Camera height and lens
Styling a render
From render to client sign-off

Others

Lexicon FAQ MCP About

Brief.

What it means in interior design.

A brief is the client’s statement of what the project must achieve: who it is for, what it must include, the budget, the timescale and any fixed constraints.

In practice

Write the brief back to the client in your own words and get it agreed before designing. Every later decision is tested against it, and a change to it is a change of scope.

Where the guide uses it

Use

Related terms.

More from Running a project.

Program

A program, or space schedule, turns the brief into spatial requirements: each activity, its users, its target area and the spaces it must sit near.

Concept

A concept is the central idea a design is built on: a layout strategy, a mood and a material direction that answer the brief together.

Design development

Design development is the stage that turns an approved concept into a resolved design: fixed layouts, chosen finishes, sized joinery and coordinated services.

Tender

A tender is the process of asking contractors to price the same set of documents, so their prices can be compared like for like.

Specification

A specification is the written description of what is to be supplied and how it is to be installed: products, materials, finishes, standards and workmanship.

Snagging

Snagging is the inspection near the end of a project that lists defects and unfinished work, called snags, for the contractor to put right before handover.

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