Good interior design – and we mean really good, the kind of design that ties a space together and makes your home so much more than the sum of its rooms – often seems effortless. It seems like a kind of mystic gift your designer is born with. This principle is true to a point (design is as much an art as painting or sculpting), but there are certain timeless elements and principles of interior design that can help anyone harness their home’s innate energy. We’re exploring three of the most important today. Here’s how to use these principles of home decoration.
Balance
First up on our list of good house design principles is balance. Much like learning how to stand up on a surfboard, interior design begins with balance. You want to make sure the visual weight of a room’s objects is even, sure, and steady. The result is an asymmetrical, peaceful feeling.
There are different types of balance. Symmetrical is perhaps the most well-known. As its name implies, symmetrical balance is all about mirroring different parts of the room. Two similar dressers on each side of a mirror, for example, is symmetrical. Then there is asymmetrical. This is a less formal type of balance which is often more captivating than its symmetrical sibling. Think several pictures, paintings, and mirrors arranged loosely on a single wall. They’re staggered and, while not in a grid, still evoke order and evenness.
Both symmetrical and asymmetrical balance depend on the color and texture of the objects. You can play with the two by having a dark oak table and several light pine chairs.
Scale and Proportion
Scale and Proportion
Scale and proportion are our next principles of home decoration. Scale is how objects relate to each other. Proportion is how objects relate to the larger space they’re placed in. They work closely together to create a striking and memorable impression on the eye.
You can play with scale by having small, medium, and large objects placed together (and bonus points for playing with their balance!). Perhaps you arrange a living room with several medium-sized chairs around one large sectional. You then offset these with a large end table. Finally, you tie the room together with small art on the walls like polaroid photographs (which also give the room a vintage feel).
You can play with proportion by how the chairs, sofa, end table, and art are placed in the living room itself. If the room is small, for example, you can arrange them in a sort of stacked, heavy way. This will make the room feel intimate. If the living room is large, you can leave ample space between the objects. The result is a minimalist, almost museum-quality feeling.
Emphasis
While both balance and scale and proportion touch on emphasis (think of them as cousins in the larger design family), neither gives the full picture.
You can emphasize certain spaces and objects in a variety of ways. One of our favorites is to pick a focal point and work outward from there. Maybe your kitchen has large windows. You can emphasize them by placing small tables between them. You want to be mindful of balance, scale, and proportion, while placing and decorating these tables, of course, but simply having something to offset the windows will draw people’s eyes towards them.
Let Perla Lichi Design Transform Your Home
Now that you know some principles of home decoration, it’s time to see them in action! Take a look at our luxury interior design portfolio. From classic to modern and everything in-between – Perla Lichi Design is here to help you transform your home. Contact us today at (954) 726-0899 for a free consultation!