Interior Design Foundations

About the course

Ever wanted to redesign your space but don’t know where to start?
Design West presents an introductory, hands-on evening course for anyone improving their home or curious about architecture and interiors.

Across 6 weeks you’ll learn the essentials of colour, space planning, lighting and materials—building a clear, cohesive concept for one room. No prior experience needed.

Start from scratch developing your own scheme with guidance from a professional Interior Designer & learn to completely transform your own space. Whether you’re renting, renovating, or simply in need of a refresh, this course will provide you with the foundational knowledge to redesign your home, starting with 1 space that you will design throughout the sessions.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Define a personal Style Manifesto & simple room brief.
• Use the 7 Principles of Interior Design to analyse what works (and why).
• Build a cohesive colour palette that behaves well in real light.
• Draw a to-scale floor plan by hand with comfortable clearances and flow.
• Sketch layered lighting (ambient, task, accent) with simple switching.
• Curate a realistic materials & finishes shortlist for budget and upkeep.
• Present a compact concept pack: mood board, palette, scaled plan, lighting sketch, and materials.

Kick-start in Week 1: please bring five inspiration images for the space you want to transform, images that feel like “home” (photos, Pinterest, or magazine tears). We’ll share these to set your brief and direction for the course.

COURSE SUMMARY

• When? – Tuesday evenings (Tue 6 Jan – Tue 10 Feb) to fit easily around a busy workweek
• Where? – Design West on the city’s historic waterfront
• Who?– taught by popular interior designer Hannah Redden

This course is for all home improvers & interiors enthusiasts; the focus is practical foundations, so whatever your background, you will finish the course with the knowledge and confidence to improve your own home.

Fees and Information

Fees

• Course fee: £125

Duration

• Tuesday evenings: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
• 6 Jan – 10 Feb

Location

• The Assembly at Design West, 16 Narrow Quay, BS1 4QA
• The Assembly is on the first floor and is fully accessible via a lift in The Architect.

Course Materials

Students must bring with them:

• Week 1: don’t forget your five “home” images
• Sketchbook or notebook (A4/A5).
• Scaled paper (e.g., 1:50 grid or 1 cm graph paper) — please bring your own; not supplied.
• 30 cm ruler (or scale ruler), pencils (HB/2H), eraser, sharpener, tape measure.
• Phone/tablet with saved images or Pinterest; magazine tear-outs welcome.
• (Optional) Paint chips/samples and a photo of the room you’ll improve.

Note: Minimal physical samples onsite, please bring your own references where possible. Advice on where to source wil be given.

About Design West’s Learning Programme

Interior Design Foundations is part of a series of lifelong learning courses at Design West. The programme aims to cover subjects in and around our built environment and other arts and culture subjects.

If there is a course you would like to see, or teach, then get in touch!

Email amy.lewis@designwest.org.uk and let’s start something new.