1. What is the difference between soft decoration and hard decoration?
"Soft decoration" and "hard decoration" in hotel and home decoration are closely related. People rigidly separate hard decoration and soft decoration design, largely because the two are different in construction, but in terms of application, both of which are designed to enrich the conceptual space and alienate the space to meet the needs of the home and show people's personality. In the decoration process, the hard decoration is usually done first and then the soft decoration is considered later. The two things are different, but they are all related to each other.
Soft decoration and hard decoration are interpenetrated. In modern decorative design, building materials such as wood, stone, cement, ceramic tiles, and glass, and textiles such as silk and linen, intersect with each other, penetrate each other, and sometimes can replace each other. For example: when it comes to roof decoration, people tend to stick to hard materials such as wood and plaster. Using silk fabric to make a stretched membrane in the upper space of the room and drawing out a beautiful arc will not only have the effect of alienating the space but also have a slight sense of mystery seeping out, becoming the highlight of the entire room.
The soft decoration of this conceptual space originates from the layers of gauze curtains in ancient Chinese palaces, which fully expresses the ethereal and mysterious nature of Eastern culture. At present, the proportion of soft decoration in home decoration is not high, accounting for only 5% on average, but in the next 10 years, it will account for 20% or more.
The terms soft furnishings and hard furnishings are just a concept, and the distinction is not strict. Therefore, the classification of individual items also needs to be judged according to the situation, but it is judged based on "whether it can be moved". According to the current situation in China, hard decoration refers to projects that must be completed during the decoration stage, and once completed, it is difficult to change.
To put it more simply, hard furnishings are things that cannot be moved, while soft furnishings are movable.
2. Hardware knowledge:
1. Definition: It refers to all immovable decoration designs. It is the foundation of the entire home decoration and is also the requirement for space layout, functional use, and reasonable design. It is mainly divided into ground engineering, wall engineering, roof engineering, and painting engineering. These projects all belong to the hard decoration part.
To put it simply, it refers to the items that cannot be moved or are not easily replaced in indoor decoration, including walls, walls, floors, ceilings, water and electricity lines, etc., which not only meet the basic facilities of the house but also need to meet the needs of the house. Reasonable decoration and decoration according to the structure, layout, function, and aesthetic needs are called hard decoration.
2. Hardware content:
1). Wall: wall paint, wallpaper, ceramic tiles, decorative panels, and carpentry decoration on the wall, as well as self-built partition walls.
2). Ground: floor, floor tiles, and corresponding cement layer and waterproof layer.
3). Top surface: overall or partial ceiling, decorative surface, hidden lighting.
4). Water, electricity, and heating: water supply, drainage, circuits, gas, centralized pipe heating pipe layout, socket switches, radiators or floor heating, toilet ware.
5). Customized furniture: customized cabinets, cupboards, wall cabinets, as well as custom tables, flower stands, etc. that cannot be moved.
Most of the time, we will include the large furniture in the bathroom and kitchen, such as toilets, bathroom cabinets, and cabinets, as part of the hard decoration.
6). Whole-house appliances, large kitchen and bathroom appliances: fresh air, central air conditioning, floor heating, range hoods, built-in appliances, etc.
3. Soft decoration knowledge:
1. Definition: Soft decoration is about the creative integration of multiple complex elements such as the overall environment, space aesthetics, furnishing art, material characteristics, artistic conception experience, personality preferences, and even Feng Shui culture. It can also be used in commercial space environments and residential space environments. The general term for mobile elements can also be called soft decoration.
Every area and product of soft decoration is an organic part of the overall environment. Generally, the soft decoration stage begins after the hard decoration is completed; as long as there are indoor spaces with human activities, soft decoration needs to be arranged.
2. Contents of soft decoration:
1). Movable furniture and appliances: sofas, finished wardrobes, beds, tables and chairs, etc.
2)..Decoration: hanging paintings, ornaments, sculptures, plants, etc.
3). Fabric: curtains, carpets, bedding, etc.
4). Lamps: It is easier to replace so we will classify most lamps as soft furnishings. However, some hidden light strips that cannot be moved will be included in the hard decoration.
5). Wall paint and wallpaper: Because it is easy to construct and refreshing, many soft decoration designers will consider the possibility of changing the wallpaper and repainting the wall when designing soft decoration.
Soft furnishings are equivalent to the clothes and makeup of the living space. Different soft furnishing combinations will bring different feelings to the entire home environment. However, just like people dressing up, their characteristics must be taken into consideration to maximize their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.
4. Only when you say "good-looking" do you emphasize soft and hard decoration.
In the past few decades, everyone has been trying their best to pile up various decorative elements when decorating. The TV wall must be luxurious, the ceiling must be suspended three floors, the wall tiles in the kitchen and bathroom must have waistlines and floral patterns, and the decoration style must be European, American, and Chinese. On the contrary, furniture is just brought back randomly from furniture stores in the urban-rural fringe area, usually with a strong admiration for solid wood and leather. Regardless of whether it is useful or not, tables and chairs are all solid wood, and sofas and bedsides are all leather (in fact, many of them are artificial leather).
The result was a nondescript home with "European-style" decoration and "Chinese-style" furniture. After using it for a few years, I found that the matching was not coordinated and not very practical.
In such an environment, young people began to seek inspiration from abroad. They found that most of the foreign interior decorations were hard-furnished and looked very simple. There were no complex decorative elements, no ceiling decorations, and no TV walls. Instead, they were very light on soft furnishings. A lot of effort goes into it, including furniture, hanging paintings, and small ornaments.
Therefore, everyone realizes that hard decoration does not require too complicated decoration, because soft decoration is the way to make a home comfortable and beautiful. This is how the trend of light hardware and heavy soft furnishings emerged.
Therefore, it is recommended that everyone, even if the budget is not too generous, the budget for the decoration quality part must not be overly compressed. You can choose other cheap but high-quality materials to replace them, or you can make partial replacements.
As for furniture, you can start with basic furniture and slowly add to it.
5. Hard decoration and soft decoration cannot be separated
Although there are differences between soft furnishings and hard furnishings, we have begun to understand that a home environment needs to have an overall feel; when we start planning the decoration, we should consider the coordination of soft furnishings and hard furnishings (as well as the budget) at the same time.
Flaws in hard decoration, such as interior doors and door frames with too prominent colors, undesirable floors, and complicated TV walls, cannot be made up for by soft decoration. They can only be coordinated, accommodated, or covered up; sometimes, we deliberately use Simple hard furnishings to highlight expensive soft furnishings; sometimes, we also deliberately use slightly complicated hard furnishings to highlight some simple furniture. However, these flaws should be within control.
Hotel decoration is generally designed and constructed according to the design company's plan, from hard decoration to soft decoration. However, in most home decorations, the decoration company can only be responsible for the hard decoration stage. Therefore, in addition to hiring a designer to help alone, we must have an overall awareness of ourselves. Even when choosing a floor tile or a cabinet in the early stage, we should Consider matching the layout and furniture of the entire room.
6. Decoration will also make life more comfortable
Good decoration will also improve the comfort of life; there is a clear difference in comfort between a sofa worth 1,000 yuan and a sofa worth 10,000 yuan, which is a "visible and tangible" consumption.
For example, there are a sufficient number of sockets, reasonable switch positions, the easiest cabinet height, and some small details that ordinary people cannot notice.
Since the so-called Nordic style became popular, the phrase "light hard decoration and heavy soft decoration" and its variant "light decoration and heavy decoration" have become widely known; however, do not understand it wrongly. If you simply "lightly decorate", then these problems may be ignored. Even if the decoration quality is very high, it always feels not so convenient, practical, and beautiful to use, resulting in a gap.
Especially "light decoration and heavy decoration", this sentence is straightforward for people to interpret the meaning and misinterpret the meaning it wants to convey. Therefore, although we very much agree with the idea of "light hard decoration and heavy soft decoration", we must not relax our focus on it. Decoration details are required.
7. The relationship between hard decoration and soft decoration
In fact, "soft decoration" in the modern sense can no longer be separated from "hard decoration". Hard decoration pays attention to "shape", while soft decoration requires "spirit". Only by organically combining the two can it be achieved. Personalization and practicality in home decoration. In a good home decoration, hard decoration and soft decoration are inseparable and complement each other. After the home environment has fixed decoration furniture and materials, it also needs matching furniture, fabrics, lighting, and handicrafts to embellish it to exude the charm of life.
