Research Guides: Interior Design: Home

Related Guides

For additional research information try these guides:

Architectural History
Architectural History - Special Collections and Archives
Materials Research
Find Art & Design Images
This research guide provides links to numerous image databases and an overview of tools and strategies for finding and using art and other images.
Sustainable Design - Architecture & Interior Design
Diversity in Design
IDES 441: IDES 441: Senior Design Seminar
IDES 623: Advanced Design Studies
IDES 251/651 Pattern Project
Careers in Art & Design

Featured Resource

Material Connexion
Extensive, comprehensive collection of innovative materials and processes, organized into polymers, cement-based materials, glass, metals, ceramics, natural materials, and carbon-based materials. Resource for designers of all disciplines.

IDES in Scholar's Compass

Browse research projects created by VCU's Interior Design students.

Scholars Compass - Dept. of Interior Design
Features the Pattern Research Project

Subject Guide

Carla-Mae Crookendale

(she/her)

Contact:

cmcrookendale@vcu.edu
(804) 827-0367
Cabell Library, Room 121-L

Subjects: Arts, Performing, Arts, Visual

Ask Us

What is Interior Design?

What Is Interior Design?

"Interior design, planning and design of man-made spaces, a part of environmental design and closely related to architecture.
Although the desire to create a pleasant environment is as old as civilization itself, the field of interior design is relatively new.

Excerpt from "Interior design." Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica .

Interior Design (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Introduction to the Interior Design discipline, including principles and origins of Interior Design, Interior Design in the West & East, and additional reading.

Bloomsbury Design Library

Bloomsbury Design Library
Cross-searchable access to a broad and expanding range of encyclopedias, reference works, e-books, images, and more covering the global history, theory, and practice of crafts and design.

Interior Design Reference Books

Professional Practice for Interior Designers
Call Number: Access Online
Human Dimension and Interior Space
Call Number: Cabell Library Reference NA2542.4 .P356 1979 (and other locations)
The first major anthropometrically based reference book of design standards for use by all those involved with the physical planning and detailing of interiors, including interior designers, architects, furniture designers, builders, industrial designers, and students of design.
Time-saver Standards for Interior Design and Space Planning
Call Number: Cabell Library Reference NK2110. T48 2001
Encylopedia of Interior Design
Call Number: Cabell Library Reference NK1165. E48 1997
History of Interior Design and Furniture: from ancient Egypt to nineteenth-century Europe
Call Number: NK1710 .B57 2006
Furniture and design are placed within the broader context of social, political, economic, and technological perspectives of each period.
Elements of Style: a practical encyclopedia of interior architectural details, from 1485 to the present
Call Number: NA2850 .E44 1996 ( Reference, 1st floor)
Examines the details of Western architectural styles from 1485 to 1996.
Interior Design Since 1900
Call Number: NK1980 .M37 2020
From the 19th-century Arts and Crafts movement to the present day, and from Art Nouveau and Bauhaus to hi-tech and green design, every style of interior design since 1900 is charted in this wide-ranging survey. It shows how a shared language of design and cutting-edge technology are reshaping interiors around the globe.

Resources Beyond VCU Libraries

If you can't find the book, article, or dissertation that you want at VCU, try these resources to find what you need.

Inter-library Loan (ILL)
Via Interlibrary Loan, you can borrow books, articles, and DVDs that VCU does not own.

WorldCat (via FirstSearch)
Consolidated catalog of items held by OCLC member libraries worldwide. WorldCat FirstSearch is the subscription version of the WorldCat database, with advanced search options and result listing by number of copies available.

RALC
The Richmond Academic Library Consortium is a group of Richmond area libraries which have agreed to extend limited borrowing privileges to students, faculty, and staff of any RALC school.

Cite Your Sources - APA Style

APA Citation Style - Perdue OWL
How to use APA style to cite different types of sources.
APA Citation: Websites - Perdue OWL
Guide to citing many electronic sources, including websites, blogs and YouTube.
APA Style.org
Companion site to the Publication Manual. Select the Learning APA Style link in the green bar to access tutorials and FAQs.
APA Style Blog
The official companion to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Sixth Edition run by experts who work with APA Style every day.
Son of Citation Machine
Easy-to-use web form for generating APA citations.
Citing Images
Tips for citing images in APA style.