REATIVE INTERIOR DESIGN INTERVENTIONS USING HANDLOOM PRODUCTS AND ASSESSMENT OF CONSUMER SATISFACTION

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PROFESSOR JAYASHANKAR TELANGANA STATE AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY
Abstract
The field of interior design and decoration is an ever expanding and a rapidly changing one. Two recent trends in this field is the creation of ‘Sustainable’ or ‘Green’ interiors and ‘Theme based interiors’. One of the ways to incorporate Sustainable quality in interiors is through the use of Handloom materials for interior furnishings. The use of Handloom materials in a theme based approach is an innovative approach and interesting approach along with following the trend. Hence, this study was framed with the following objectives: (1) To explore the handloom products produced for interior design in the selected clusters of Telangana, (2) To study about the consumer preferences regarding interior design products, (3) To design and develop creative themes for interiors using handloom products, (4) To conduct suitable interventions with the developed themes and (5) To elicit the consumers opinion and satisfaction about the interventions conducted. In the first phase, an exploratory research method was adopted. As a part of this, a study was conducted on 90 independent handloom weavers from (1) Kothawada cluster and (2) Kamalapur cluster from Warangal (Urban) district and (3) Siripuram – Yellanki cluster, Yadadri district of Telangana; in order to study the design features of the interior design products manufactured by them. Another study was conducted on 30 consumers from the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, Telangana in order to study their preferences regarding interior design products. Later, six theme based interiors i.e., three for residential spaces and three for commercial spaces using handloom products were designed and developed as study interventions. Around 71 products were developed related to six themes. In the second phase, an experimental research method was adopted by conducting a pre - test and post - test with the same 30 consumers involved in the evaluation study by showing them the six existing and modified interior environments which were decorated using the study interventions to study their opinions and satisfaction regarding the environments. Results revealed that the weavers manufactured furnishing fabrics, bedsheets, durries, door mats, hall carpets, bath towels, pillow covers, curtains, cot tape (nawaar), mosquito nets, diwan sets, chair cloth and janamaaz. Cotton, jute, wool, polyester, teri - cotton, mercerised cotton, polyester - cotton yarns were commonly used to make the products. Vat, naphthol, direct, reactive, natural dyes were used. Plain fabrics or fabrics with lines, checks, ethnic, naturalistic, floral, animal and geometric design or motifs were woven using a plain weave. Shades for local markets, tints for exports or a mix of tints and shades were used in double or multi - colour variants. No surface finishes, value addition, standardization marks and care labels were given; and product testing was not done mainly for the products sold in India. Stitching or knotting the raw edges were the product finishing techniques used. Plastic covers, threads and newspapers were some of the packaging materials used. Related to the consumer preferences regarding the interior design products; majority designed their house/ room interiors based on their self - choice using a theme/ colour/ material and changed their interiors once in 5 - 6 years. Majority purchased them only whenever required. Interest to decorate their home was quoted by majority as the reason for changing furnishings and accessories. Majority purchased furnishings at retail/ wholesale stores and accessories at exhibitions. Appearance was the first factor considered for purchase. Living room and master bedroom were giving prime importance during decoration. Majority preferred to spend Rs.20,001 and above for decoration of living room, dining room, master bedroom and children’s bedroom; and lesser amounts for kitchen, master bathroom, children’s bathroom, pooja room, guest bedroom and store room. Majority preferred to spend more amount on furnishings compared to the accessories. They preferred furnishings made from handlooms/ natural/ eco-friendly/ sustainable materials; and traditional artefacts/ antiques and handicrafts for accessories. Heavy, light, smooth, rough, sheer or semi - sheer fabrics were preferred for furnishings. Cotton, silk, satin, brocade, lace, plastic and leather were preferred. White, red, blue, green, yellow, orange, pink, black and brown were some of the colours preferred. Plain fabrics or fabrics with lines or checks or geometric or ethnic or floral motifs/ designs were preferred. For the accessories; glass, plastic, ceramic, metal, fabric/ cloth, stone, wood and paper were the materials preferred. White, red, blue, green, orange, black, cream, grey/ ash/ silver and brown were some of the colours preferred. Accessories which were plain or had lines or geometric or abstract or floral or animal or bird or nature inspired or ethnic designs on them; or which were in that shapes were preferred. Light, medium, dark and bright colour values were preferred for accessories and furnishings. In the evaluation study, the evaluation rating given by the consumers for the different design attributes in all the existing environments ranged between 2.13 to 3.00. For the modified environments designed using the study interventions the rating ranged 4.13 to 4.87. Majority belonged to the category of low satisfaction level for the Existing environments; and to the high satisfaction level for the Modified environments. Among the three interventions developed for the residential spaces; children’s bedroom designed using the theme ‘Rainbow’ gained Rank 1. Among the commercial spaces; Rank I was gained by the guest room which was designed using the theme ‘Etnico’. Among all the six interventions; the first and most preferred one was the theme based interior developed for the children’s bedroom designed using the theme ‘Rainbow’ and the least preferred one was the living room designed using the theme ‘Geometry’. Majority expressed willingness to adopt all six themes in their living spaces; if they owned or given a choice in the case of commercial spaces. The study interventions developed in an innovative theme based approach gave an increased satisfaction to the consumers and will surely motivate the consumers to buy and use handloom products for the decoration of their living spaces and
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D10,487
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