May 28, 2007
Current and former faculty members at the University of Wisconsin-Stout collaborated to write the book, “Residential Interior Design,” which may be the only book to integrate information about accessibility and universal design in each chapter.
Maureen Mitton, a certified interior designer and associate professor in the department of art and design at UW-Stout, and Courtney Nystuen, a registered architect who has taught architectural design for more than 30 years at UW-Stout, are the authors.
“I have always felt Courtney presented important material in an engaging manner and I wanted to preserve this as he moved into retirement,” Mitton said of co-author Nystuen, who designed many buildings around Menomonie and Eau Claire. “This book seemed to be a way to do that.”
The authors used their respective perspectives in interior and architectural design to write an introductory textbook for students. Its easy-to-follow manner and ample illustrations also make it a good reference book for homeowners.
The book offers social history, building and lighting codes, ergonomic information, accessibility and universal design considerations for each room in the home—from bedroom to kitchen to hallway.
The book is timely in that it follows a universal design trend in the residential home market. Earlier this year, the National Association of Home Builders released the results of a study titled, “The Home of the Future,” which indicated that new home construction typically includes accessible design features.
Mitton and Nystuen also emphasize quality of design over quantity of space in their writings, making the book a resource on how to design efficient as well as attractive rooms.
The book, released in January, already has been adopted by several schools in the United States and Canada.
Mitton’s previous book, “Interior Design Visual Presentation,” is a widely adopted textbook used by design programs throughout the United States and Canada and has been translated into Chinese and Russian.
For more information, contact Mitton at mittonm@uwstout.edu and Nystuen at nystuenc@wwt.net.
