Where Are the Best Interior Design Schools

Any serious student who wants to pursue a career in interior design has the same question — where are the best interior design schools? In the past, you were only limited to attend schools by physical location. However, some of the best schools these days exist on the Internet.

In this article, I will give your guide on how to find the best Interior design schools both online and offline.

The fact of the matter is, even if you want to attend school physically, you can start your search online. Here, you can get an idea of all the different types of programs that are available to you, and which cities and states are offering these different programs.

Depending upon what you wish to get out of your interior design education, you’re choices will vary as to what the best interior design school for you is. However, there are variety of different programs and courses out there that are available to you, to help you determine which schools to consider.

For example, if you are going for it certification program, then the best schools are probably going to be those in your local area. This is because a certification program is not meant to be used more than to help you with common design aspects, so you do not need the latest technology and the highest level of expertise from your professors.

However, if you’re going for a bachelors of science degree, then you should be a bit more picky as to the school you decide upon.

New York City offers some of the best interior design schools in the United States. In fact, just going to New York City and studying the interior design of the different buildings is an education in itself. The Big Apple is a great place to explore, and look at the different schools that are available. It definitely has a reputation of having some of the top design schools around.

Then there’s the other side of the coast — California. There are three different cities in California that offer excellent opportunities for interior design schools. These cities are Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Ana. Los Angeles has more of a focus on fashion design as it relates to interior design, whereas San Diego and Santa Ana have schools specifically created for interior design, and focus on those needs.

Green Roofing

Continuing the theme of the importance of sustainable gardens, here we will discuss what are known as Green Roofs, the different types available and why they have become such an integral part of modern horticultural planning.

As one can ascertain from the name, the basic premise of a Green Roof is to bring plant matter, and therefore greenery, to our otherwise barren rooftops and thereby take best advantage of the dead spaces in and around our gardens, in order to better support our fast degrading environment.

Due to the nature of photosynthesis, Green Roofs are characteristically easy to establish and maintain because, by their very design, they are in the optimum position for the reception of sunlight and rainwater. The concept is not new ancient dwellings often used turf as a roofing material, but, in modern times, the Green Roof concept has once again been implemented in many commercial and architectural sectors, not to mention the broad following it has in the residential market. Rolls-Royces factory in West Sussex has one of the largest, commercial green roofs in Europe, covering over 32,000m2, and the green roofing project at the Ethelred Estate in London is another good example of the concept being taken more seriously.

The ecological ramifications of projects like these are self-explanatory, more green biomass equates to an increase in the conversion of CO2 to oxygen through photosynthesis, not to mention the purification of air borne moisture that comes into contact with the site. However, there are also great financial gains to made, which are probably best exemplified by the US Postal Distribution building in New York City which saves over $30,000 a year in heating and cooling. The project itself is designed to sustain itself for 50 years, which suggests a total of $1,500,000!

However, were getting ahead of ourselves – very few of us have the space and resources to oversee a project of such scale but, lest we forget, this is effectively an act of charity toward mother nature, and all charity begins at home.

Before you embark on a Green Roof project, it is imperative you check whether youll require planning permission to do so, and what regulation youll have to abide by. However, it is unlikely that youll be bound by many restrictions, as the state encourages their ecological benefits, particularly the green corridor it will provide for local wildlife. Regulations aside, the Green Roofs domestic applications are copious, including a cheap and sustainable form of insulation and greater control over storm water runoff. Research by the Centre for Sustainable Development at the University of Cambridge has found that “a layer of vegetation can reduce heat loss from buildings, cutting the wind chill factor by 75% and heating demand by 25%”, and the variety of plants you can grow are many – providing colourful coverings for otherwise boring, plain, or ugly roofs.

There are three categories of roof garden: extensive, semi-extensive and intensive. These are defined primarily by the depth requirement of their soil, thus dictating which plants are suited to each.

Extensive Green Roofs

Extensive category green roofs are characterized by their primarily artificial soil combinations that normally integrate materials such as perlite, rockwall, sand and concrete and, as such, they are best designated to drought resistant plants that are in need of good drainage rather than regular moisture. The planting medium is ordinarily supplemented by a filter layer, drainage layer, root barrier membrane and insulation and waterproofing respectively. Readymade Sedum mats enriched with substrate are a good choice for this environment. The planting medium itself should be no fewer than 2 inches deep.

Semi-extensive Green Roofs

The semi-extensive project needs a slightly deeper growing field (4-8 inches) as it should be able to support small perennial plants, though not the beds, trees and shrubs of the intensive green roof. Good plants to try here would be Knautia macedonica, Centaurea scabiosa and Origanum vulgare. As with the extensive roof, you will require all the standard drainage and waterproofing faculties that underpin the soil structure. A semi-extensive roof can take anywhere between twelve and eighteen months to establish and will require regular maintenance, particularly if it is situated at an unorthodox angle or position in relation to the sun. Regular weeding, watering and feeding are all a must, and even then you might find some areas may fail.

Intensive Green Roofs

An intensive Green Roof is that type which is most reminiscent of orthodox gardening, as it is often structured around three dimensions, including raised beds and box crops, and with a much wider range of suitable plants. However, these can only be supported by a richly organic growing medium and plenty of depth to become established – usually around 12 inches. It is important when constructing these raised beds that you use lightweight materials to ensure that the roof itself can support them. There are many other tricks that can be utilized to reduce the weight of the roof garden, such as the bulking out of compost with perlite, and using polystyrene rather than broken pots to crock the bottom of planters being used. However, as we know, the lighter the compost the less sturdy it acts as a plant anchor and pots and planters can easily fall over, but you can overcome this issue with clever placement of plant supports, such as wires and staking.

Floral and Hardy are experts in this field so if you would like to turn your unused flat roof into a colourful alpine meadow or an exotic Mediterranean-style vista, or you just want your own Hobbit house, just get in touch!

What is Landscaping Gardening

By definition, landscape gardening, or garden landscaping is the design of public and outdoor environments to meet specific requirements or objectives. These objectives may involve, in the instance of a public park for example, the landscaping of an area to include seating for park users, lighting, and a playground for children. Landscape gardening is also known as landscape architecture, which is perhaps a more descriptive term, since landscape gardeners will typically design, plan, construct, and oversee the development of an area of landscape that they have been contracted to work on. Many additional services are often offered by landscapers due to the nature of the work, which can include construction, carpentry, tree surgery, fencing, and ground working.
The history of landscape gardening unsurprisingly derives from the design, planning and management of large estates, manors, royal palaces and residencies. During the 18th and 19th centuries, demand grew for the design of increasingly lavish and decadent gardens among the royal palaces and noble residencies. It is thanks to these commissions that we can now enjoy such delights as the gardens of the Palace of Versailles in France, designed by the famous Andr Le Ntre, and the beautiful gardens of Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England.
Throughout the 19th century, the need for urban planning grew with the rapid development and growth of many cities. The term -landscape architect’ first began to be used by professionals in 1863 when Frederick Law Olmsted adopted the term. Olmsted was in fact responsible for defining many early practises of American landscape architecture in some of his great commissions, which include the famous Central Park in New York City.
Today in the UK, the Landscape Institute (LI) is responsible for promoting and regulating the profession of landscape gardening and landscape architecture. It currently has approximately 6,000 members.
RVDM Landscaping offers a comprehensive range of expert landscape gardening services including ground working and construction services.