<b>A style classification based on evaluation experiments of residential interiors by experts and identification of explanatory elements and index</b>

The objective of this paper is to clarify the relationship between interior styles and the elements that compose them in residential interiors, and to obtain an index for determining styles that can be used by stakeholders involved in interiors. As a first step, an experiment was conducted in which interior experts judged the interior styles of circulating photographs of residential interiors, and to find out what elements characterize them. The experts performed impression evaluations, style judgments, and regional judgments on the photographed examples. Using the results of the impression evaluations, the examples were classified into six major classification and 11 sub-classification groups through cluster analysis. From the results of the style judgments, the major categories were identified as ‘Simple’, ‘Modern’, ‘Casual’, ‘Country’, ‘Natural’, and ‘Classic’. The explanatory elements that characterize these classification groups were identified, and it was determined that the names were reminiscent of the explanatory elements. Furthermore, to create an index that interprets the explanatory elements on a unified scale, the explanatory elements were aggregated using principal component analysis, and two indices, “urbanity-naturalness” and “everydayness-style,” were derived. The two indices allowed for a quantitative judgment of the major classification groups. Using this relationship, it was possible to achieve a common understanding of interior design between interior design professionals and clients.