Interior Materials and Surfaces: The Complete Guide - Hardcover

Bowers, Helen

3.75

12 ratings by Goodreads

9781552979679: Interior Materials and Surfaces: The Complete Guide

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1552979679 ISBN 13: 9781552979679

Publisher: Firefly Books, 2005

View all copies of this ISBN edition:

Comprehensive reference to every type of surface material for floors, walls and ceilings.

Interior surfaces add beauty, structure and comfort to homes. Available in a stunning range of natural and synthetic materials, these surfaces are both cosmetic and functional.

Interior Materials and Surfaces covers the full range of home surfaces from three points of view: technical, practical and aesthetic. The book provides comprehensive details on each material, featuring their pros and cons, general uses, and alternative applications.

Chapters cover a wide range of options for do-it-yourselfers and professionals alike:

Wood -- hard and soft, wood composites and veneers
Plastics, resins, rubber and linoleum
Metals, iron, steel, copper, brass, aluminum, zinc, lead and gold leaf
Glass
Fabrics and papers
Leather and suede
Paints, varnishes, lacquers
Stone, ceramics and tiles
Concrete and cement
Plaster and plaster composites.

Each material is profiled with details about its properties, use and maintenance, safety tips, availability and relative cost. Jargon-free text with color photographs provide easy installation instructions and important advice on uses.

Interior Materials and Surfaces is an indispensable guide for homeowners and for professional renovators, decorators, interior designers and stylists.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author:

Helen Bowers is a Member of the Royal Institute of British Architects and a Member of the Architects Registration.

Introduction

Interior Materials and Surfaces: The Complete Guide is a practical handbook to use when consulting or instructing an architect, designer or builder, or when working on home projects or home decorating. It aims to inform, so you can choose and discuss materials with confidence, and to inspire you to consider new materials, think about familiar materials in a new way or use traditional or innovative materials in interesting combinations or applications.

The range of materials includes those that have been in use since the beginning of civilization, some that have been developed recently and those that have been popular in the past but which have fallen, perhaps only temporarily, out of fashion. When we decorate our homes or use newly available materials either structurally or decoratively, we are participating in a long tradition of improvement and embellishment. Whether we choose wood, stone or the latest high-tech glass, metal and plastic products, we are perpetuating the tradition of satisfying a basic primal instinct to make a home.

From the time people first constructed tents, tepees or huts, or even just sheltered in caves, they have sought to decorate and furnish their living space to increase the level of comfort, to create a particular atmosphere or to personalize whatever they called home. Since the first use of vegetable pigments and animal fats in cave painting, advances in technology and the access to different materials have been reflected in the development of decorative materials and skills. Almost as soon as a material was developed for communal or industrial purposes, it was refined for use by individuals in their homes. Handworked or industrially manufactured, each material was refined to an increasingly decorative level that transcended its functional requirements. Stonework became beautifully finished and highly textured and stone fittings such as fireplaces and paneling were carved into complicated forms and patterns. Metalwork for brackets, trusses, hinges, tools and household items took on an elegance of form and attention to pattern that had no impact on its mechanical performance.

Since the 1930s, when the first breath of modernism arrived in a domestic context, innovation has vied with tradition in the materials you choose to be at home with, in the interiors you live in every day. Many materials initially used purely for protection from the weather have been superseded by high-performance products, but the original materials still are in demand, for effect even when not used structurally, to provide a visual connection to the tangible tradition of the built environment.

There is now unprecedented choice both in terms of style and the means by which we may achieve it. We may not only select rustic, historical, traditional, modern, post-modern, contemporary, cozy or flamboyant, but also decide whether to achieve the look through materials that have been used throughout history or with the help of the latest technology and recently developed materials and techniques. These decisions must be set against the context of budget and available craftsmanship as well as concerns with modern performance requirements in areas such as sound and heat insulation, durability and, now, a knowledge of the effect using different materials can have on our global environment.

This wealth of possibilities has not made decision-making any easier. All too often we are faced with a material or finish that we like but which we are not sure how to use, or a room that demands a special treatment but we don't quite know what. This book is here to help in these situations. It supplies the answers to questions about the suitability of a finish or material for a particular purpose, and provides the technical information you need to work in successful partnership with a consultant or decorator on an unfamiliar idea.

It also helps you look afresh at familiar materials and broaden your horizons on what is available. Included here are ideas for materials such as leather and paper, which are still manufactured much as they have been for centuries, and innovative suggestions for nontraditional decorating materials such as plastics and woven metals. You may find yourself reconsidering materials that you had dismissed on grounds of cost. Many materials that have always been considered luxury finishes, such as marble and steel, are now, due to highly mechanized processing and computer-aided fabrication, affordable and readily available in small quantities, and in a form that can be used in a domestic setting. The cost guides are numbered from 1 to 5 -- very low, low, medium, high and very high. Each rating has been based on approximate cost levels within each category of material.

As well as being a useful guide to the things you know you want, this book is intended to be a sourcebook for finishes and effects you didn't know you could have. Many materials that are commonly used in the building industry are also perfectly appropriate for home use, but have not yet been widely embraced. An increasing number of materials developed specifically for industrial or corporate applications are now available to homeowners, and we can all benefit from the advantages they have brought to the commercial world. Concrete, for example, can be manufactured to very detailed individual specifications by introducing exotic additives, pigments or aggregates for a range of potential unconventional applications. Familiar materials such as glass have been developed to meet very strenuous demands of structural stability with special properties like protection from sunlight. These advanced materials can be manufactured with a wide range of decorative effects and there is every reason to use them to enhance your home.

When stepping into the unfamiliar, it is always useful to find a craftsperson who knows the material intimately to accompany you in developing that material for your specific use. Adventurous use of materials such as steel and glass, which requires detailed calculations and heavy factory conditions for manufacturing components, depends on the use of consultants and fabricators who are experts in the abilities of those materials. There are practitioners in every field ready to push the boundaries to new frontiers who will respond to your vision. There are ideas in this book at all levels, ranging from uses for paper and fabric that you may tackle at home with a pair of scissors and some glue, to projects that may require a whole team of professionals, specialized suppliers and contractors.

This book, however, is only a reference and should not take the place of professional consultation. When making plans to carry out building work, the most effective way to get a great job done is to be able to give clear instructions to your architect, designer or craftspeople, then step back and trust their experience and expertise. The descriptions of materials here should inspire you to go beyond a popular or established application of materials, whether you are using them yourself or to inform you as a client. Either way, you will be armed with a greater knowledge and have the confidence to make decisions about the exciting possibilities that are available and achievable.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.