New Year, New Looks for Your Home
Learn How to Redecorate Beautifully This Year
Jumpstart home redecorating with these rules professional interior designers and decorators use in their own projects.
Get inspiration from this introduction to the six principles of design. They are the application of design elements and work whether you need to redo a single room or the whole house.
Balance
Balance brings a sense of order to the interior design of a room by the way objects are arranged in reference to each other. Symmetry, when two sides have identical elements, achieves a formal look. For example, two accent lamps on a buffet flanking a large mirror have a traditional feel. More interest and less formality comes from asymmetrical balance like a furniture arrangement anchored by a sofa with a large armchair on one side and two smaller side chairs on the other.
Harmony and Unity
For a room design that truly works, it needs to include harmony, or the pleasing relationship of objects in the space. Harmonizing is as easy as repeating design elements. Use patterns such as a simple check and tailored stripes in the same color scheme. Hang a drum shade pendant to pick up the curve of a round dining table. Playing with similar elements will unify the space.
Rhythm
If you want a room to feel right, find its rhythm. This repetition of design elements brings life to a space because it keeps the eye moving, whether around a tabletop display or around the whole room. Imagine a typical fireplace/mantel combination. Above the mantel, framed art hangs in a grid echoing the square of the firebox below. Three spotlights shine down accenting the art and a row of antique vases lined along the mantel. The straight lines, lighting, and vases all establish rhythm.
Focus and Emphasis
Every room should have a focal point. Maybe you have a gorgeous view outside your family room or a great vintage furniture piece. Show them off. You can emphasize a pretty view by keeping windows bare and painting trim in a neutral color for minimal distraction. Emphasize a must-show-off furniture find with a vibrant coat of paint, a bold fabric, or a central location within the room. Whatever you think is most important, make that your focal point.
Variety and Contrast
Just as a room’s design needs unity, it also requires variety to keep the look from being boring. It is a little confusing when you’ve just been told to harmonize the elements in your room, but all you need is a little contrast, something unexpected. Throw a few pillows in fun, bright colors on a neutral sofa, add soft Roman shades to windows already dressed up with tailored drapes, or place a plant in an empty corner bringing texture against smooth walls.
Proportion
Similar to scale, proportion helps keep a room’s elements in order. Finding the right proportions makes a design look put together on purpose, not like a bunch of furniture and accessories simply thrown in a room. For example, a heavy marble top would appear disproportionate on slim cabriole legs but look just right on sturdy wood, and you wouldn’t want a delicately carved loveseat and side chairs in room where a cozy sectional sofa would fit in much better.
Students learn these principles in design schools, and they are practiced every day by the pros. They are proven methods sure to make any decorating project come together. This January, make them part of one resolution – creating a beautiful space you will never want to leave—you can enjoy for years to come.
Reference:
- Ballast, David K. Interior Design Reference Manual. Belmont, CA: Professional Publications, Inc., 1998.
