So you want your home to look and feel like you hired an interior designer but you don’t know where to start? The design process can be overwhelming to say the least, but don’t worry you are not alone! Life is busy enough as it is so you need simple solutions you can do yourself.
Many people struggle knowing where or how to start elevating their spaces to look and feel like they had professional help. Maybe you don’t have time in your busy schedule to sort through hundreds of samples.
Or maybe you don’t know how to make your home look like the pinterest photo you saved. Imagine if these hurdles could be overcome easily- and you got the results you were looking for!
Following these 3 simple design tips will elevate your space and make it look and feel like you hired an interior designer.
Creating a Focal Point
When thinking about how to layout your space (whether it be a living room, bedroom, etc.) it is important to create a focal point within that space. You may be asking yourself what is a focal point, or why do I need a focal point?
A focal point is an element in your space that your eye is naturally drawn to. This could be something as simple as a large piece of artwork, a picture frame moulding on a wall, a fireplace, or even a wall of windows capturing a stunning view. It is important to remember that a focal point is meant to be the centre of attention and to arrange existing furnishings in the space to emphasize it.
For example, you may consider lighting your artwork with a wall sconce to help draw your eye towards it. Or, hang floor-to-ceiling curtains to highlight the vertical lines of your windows making your space feel larger while framing your views.
Creating Visual Balance
Balance is important to consider when selecting furniture or accessories. What is meant by visual balance is considering the visual weight of the objects you have within your space.
For example, arranging four chairs in a radial layout around a coffee table creates balance as all chairs are visually the same size and shape.
When deciding on placement of your accessories you can also think about visual balance. Consider grouping objects of different heights and sizes in groups of three, five, or seven, as your eyes are naturally drawn to odd numbers.
As a way to elevate your decor even more, you can use books or trays as a base to group your accessories on.
Creating Visual Interest
Visual interest can be used to draw the eye to particular elements or furnishings similar to a focal point. The best way to achieve this is to create contrast by juxtaposing colour, size, and shape around the object you wish to emphasize.
For example, instead of mirroring two sofas in your living room, you could mirror a sofa and two armchairs.
By choosing two chairs that are smaller in size and potentially a different shape and material from your existing sofa creates visual interest in the space.
Keep in mind that together the room is still balanced as the chairs still hold the same visual weight as the sofa.
If you want to create visual interest in a bedroom, you could find two different end tables that compliment each other but still hold the same weight visually to create balance.
Now that you know these 3 simple design tips, you can apply them in your home to elevate your space and make it look and feel like you hired an interior designer.
