Interior Design in Middle Schools

Middle school interior design incorporates art and geometry.

Lessons in interior design can incorporate and reinforce skills that are part of most middle school curricula. Color theory, perspective and geometry are all part of interior design and lessons can be expanded to include calculations of materials, furnishings and design elements. When these subjects come together in the study of interior design, students learn a practical use for math and art, get practice in real world economics and they gain a means of personal self-expression.

Color Theory

One of the most basic middle school art lessons is on color theory. Students often create a color wheel to learn about color schemes. An exploration of interior design challenges students to create room palettes that evoke a certain mood or represent a particular color scheme--complementary, analogous, triadic or split-complementary. This can be done with cut paper or hand-drawn swatches.

Perspective

Two- and three-point perspective is part of most middle school art curricula. Using a focal point and measurement tools, students create drawings that depict depth. Lessons and projects about interior design can require students to draw birds-eye-view drawings or perspective drawings that include proportional representations of elements within the room.

Geometry

Calculating area and surface area are standard aspects of seventh-grade math. Finding congruencies, angles and evaluating line segments as being either perpendicular or parallel are also part of middle school geometry. These skills are necessary parts of learning interior design. Knowing whether or not objects will fit into a space are basic skills needed in any interior design project.

Economics

Challenging middle school students to determine the cost of furnishing a room takes interior design lessons to another level. It asks them to research the costs of materials and interior design elements and calculate totals. Asking students to design a room within a budget then provide proof of their research is a more advanced version of this project that nudges them toward understanding real-world applications of math.

References

• Scheming with Colors
• Lesson Plans Page