Furniture & Interior Design

About the Furniture and Interior Design silo

The Furniture and Interior Design silo covers objects that hold the body and spaces that hold activity. Courses address furniture fundamentals, construction and joinery, interior space planning, materials, ergonomics, lighting, sustainability and a studio capstone.

Furniture and interiors are judged by years of use, so durability, comfort and maintenance are central. The courses combine structural and ergonomic reasoning with spatial planning and lighting so that a piece of furniture and the room it sits in can be designed together.

Suggested learning path

1. Foundations of Furniture Design. Furniture design sits at the intersection of structure, ergonomics, and daily use. Covers what makes furniture design distinct, furniture typologies, load-bearing structure basics and more.
2. Furniture Construction & Joinery. Joinery determines a furniture piece's structural integrity, cost, and character. Covers traditional joinery methods, modern & manufactured joinery, matching joint to load & use case and more.
3. Interior Space Planning. Space planning organises furniture, circulation, and activity zones within a room to support how it will actually be used. Covers circulation: how people actually move, zoning by activity, scale & proportion in room arrangement and more.
4. Materials for Furniture & Interiors. Material selection for furniture and interiors must account for durability, tactility, maintenance, and how a surface will age under daily contact. Covers material categories for furniture & interiors, tactility & daily contact, maintenance requirements and more.
5. Ergonomics for Furniture Design. Furniture ergonomics applies anthropometric data and postural research specifically to seating, tables, and storage heights. Covers anthropometrics for seating, seat angle, back support & sustained posture, table & work surface heights and more.
6. Lighting Design for Interiors. Lighting design determines how a space feels, functions, and is perceived at different times of day. Covers layered lighting strategy, colour temperature & mood, natural light across the day and more.
7. Sustainable Furniture Design. Sustainable furniture design considers sourcing, durability, repairability, and end-of-life disassembly together. Covers furniture's historical durability advantage, sustainable material sourcing for furniture, designing furniture for repair and more.
8. Furniture & Interior Design Studio (Capstone). This capstone studio applies every prior course in the specialization to a real, complete brief, designing a furniture piece and the interior space it inhabits together, from concept through production-ready documentation and a critical review. Covers defining the studio brief, integrating structure, joinery & materials, integrating ergonomics & lighting into the space and more.

What you will be able to do

• Choose joints and materials for long service
• Plan circulation and zones in a room
• Apply seating and table ergonomics
• Layer lighting for function and mood

How to study this

Read Foundations of Furniture Design and Interior Space Planning, then Furniture Construction and Joinery. Finish with the studio capstone.

Who it is for

Furniture, interior and product design students, craftspeople moving into design, and architects who want to deepen their furniture knowledge.

Frequently asked questions

Is this only about wood?

Wood is covered in depth, but the materials course also covers metal, textile and stone.

Does it cover lighting design?

Yes. A dedicated course covers layered lighting, colour temperature and daylight.

What is the capstone?

A studio brief in which you design one furniture piece and its interior setting from concept to documentation.