A home that’s well-designed and decorated for balance and clarity is calm and comfortable. The family room may focus on the entertainment center, the dining room around the table, and the whole home may focus on the kitchen. In each design choice, try to find simple ways to add comfort and ease.
Symmetry
How many people can sit comfortably in your living room? If the sofa seats two effectively, consider keeping chairs available for no more than that number. Create groupings and seating spaces around rugs, coffee tables, or a fireplace.
If at all possible, strive to create a seating space away from the entertainment center. Work to give your family and friends a spot that isn’t inundated with electronics. Windows will add visual interest to this space, as will a fireplace or a simple display on a center table.
In addition to asymmetrical space for conversations, incorporate symmetry by putting useful items in just the right spot. In the area where the household members usually enter and exit the space, make life easier by creating a collection point. Use shelves and charging tools so everyone can drop off electronics. Incorporate a bench so everyone can remove their shoes and put on house shoes. Put hooks at the right height for children to hang up jackets, book bags, and hats.
Balance
Be aware that there are multiple forms of balance. For example, a dining room table is a tool of radial balance. The whole room turns around the table. A bedroom is focused on the bed, while a bedroom/office can demonstrate asymmetrical balance, with the bed having strong focus and the desk/chair combo also drawing the eye.
While keeping things in balance, avoid getting too rigid. For example, if your space is open, the dining table can be a source of focus, while the seating area is another. Rather than creating two balanced “pools” of focus, shake up the space with a spectacular plant collection or display case. Let the eye move easily from spot to spot in your home with accent pieces that draw the viewer in.
Proportion and Scale
Studying proportion and scale often requires that you compare items in a room against one another the size of the rooms against one another the “useful” rooms against the size of the house as a whole. For example, a small bedroom with a huge bed is out of proportion, while a twin bed, a hanging wall desk, and an office chair may look much more in proportion. A small living room with one large sectional and no other seating will be hard to bring into proportion, but if you add great visual variety on built-in shelving and other eye-catching tools, it may all work.
Study your lifestyle and determine the heart of your house. If you love to cook and do it often, the kitchen can be the heart of the house. In an open concept home, this is quite easy. However, if your kitchen is small and cramped, you can still keep it in proportion with cheerful colors and decorative accents that both help it function and draw focus.
Emphasis
Determining the things in your home that you will emphasize is where you can show off what you love. If you love music, make sure that your piano gets a lot of visual attention. If you love the great outdoors, work with local landscapers in your area, such as residential landscape lighting Houston, to turn your backyard into an outdoor living area.
Deciding on what to emphasize can overload your home. For example, those who love houseplants would do well to have just a few spectacular specimens and keep them in very good shape, instead of having a tangled mess of greenery from too many plants in one spot. The line between cozy and cluttered in a bedroom will also be determined by emphasis. Fifty stuffed animals on a child’s bed are charming; twenty pillows on the bed in the master bedroom can be too much. When decorating your home, focus on what you love. From fireplaces to aquariums to outdoor pools, study your options for creating focal points in each room in the house. Let other concerns fall away as you design spaces that are functional, comfortable, and visually restful.
