There is more to auto interiors than just the upholstery. Car interior design and paint concepts are two things that should compliment each other and flow together. For those of you looking to have a complete interior re done, think about more than just bucket or bench. Especially if this will be a show car. There are tons of options for auto interiors ranging from the carpet, door panels, seats, dash, consoles, headliners and even trunk and speaker enclosures.
Incorporating the Outside in the Car Interior Design
After all is said and done, the paint and look of the outside of the vehicle should work well with what will be done on the inside. This is a car I upholstered several years back but it provides a good example of how the inside and the outside flow into each other. The car interior design is meant to be chaotic and structured all at the same time. The idea was to capture the passengers inside the pattern on the outside of the vehicle almost as if the pattern on the outside flows freely on the inside of the car yet there still maintains a sense of structure.
The Carpet
This example shows the incorporation of the pattern of the car interior design into the carpet. In order to establish the pattern two different carpet colors were used, patterned in place and installed. The silver stripe runs all the way through to the back of the vehicle in order to pick up and stay true to the pattern.
The Headliner
In this example you can see the incorporation of the pattern into the headliner material as well. Three colors were incorporated into the car interior design for the headliner as with the seats and other elements of the car.
The Door Panels
This picture was taken before the door panel was completely installed but you can still get a general idea of the pattern flow. Again three colors were incorporated into the car interior design. When the door is closed it will pick up the pattern from the back seat to continue the even flow through out the vehicle.
The Center Console
The center console also has the three color incorporation flowing from the carpet onto the side of the console. The top has a small accent light feature that ties in the speaker enclosure and trunk door cover light feature in the trunk. The console also provides a nice, clean convenient set up for hydraulic controls. Later we installed lighted drink holders into the car interior design to make the interior more noticeable and dramatic in a show setting.
The Hydraulics and Speaker Enclosure
The car interior design was also incorporated in the trunk of the vehicle to cover speakers, hydraulic pumps and batteries into a nice clean set up. I later added a lit trunk lid cover to enhance the drama in order to attract more attention while displayed at car shows.
The Seats
The most important element of car interior design is the seats. The style and design of the seats can dramatically change the look of the vehicle but as you can see by all of the other elements of the car interior the seats may be the focal point but every element is critical to the overall look of the design.