One of the oldest design principles in creating an aesthetically pleasing space is making the perfect focal point. Your eyes always need somewhere to “land” and this means that usually in a space like your living room your furnishings or even your television becomes somewhere for your eyes to go. But if you just moved into a property and you are playing with an empty canvas how do you go about creating the perfect focal point for each room?
Address The Architecture
If you’re lucky enough to move into an old house or there are relics of the previous owner’s renovations, this can point you in the direction of an ideal focal point. If your room already has prominent architecture you don’t have to work so hard to find a focal point. If you go with the contours of the property you will easily find an ideal space for your eyes to land. An older property can mean choosing items that go with the overall style. So if you are looking at putting a sofa into your Victorian or Tudor style living room you can’t go to a typical provider. But there are suppliers like Buoyant Furniture that make handcrafted sofas. Once you start to create the focal point for somewhere like a living room it tends to be the couch but if you work with the architecture it makes life easier and looks effortlessly fantastic.
Implementing Bold Colours
When you have a smaller space it’s harder to create a striking focal point. If you implement one bold colour this can create more drama. When you have a space like the living room and there’s not much opportunity for experimentation, draping the sofa in the bold fabric can add that vibrancy to space.
Play With Height
If your home is a blank canvas and there’s no architecture to speak of but you’ve got high ceilings, installing a bookcase or a mirror becomes the perfect focal point for the spare room or bedroom. An item like a mirror hung over a table draws your eye but adds height. And remember, even if you don’t have high ceilings you can still create that illusion with the right paint colours as well as playing with mirrors to make a room look bigger than it is.
Adding A Collection
If you want a talking piece adding a bookshelf or little antiques can help to add more personality to space. A book display effortlessly exudes character which provides an easy talking point as well as countless inspiration. Collecting a handful of similar items and grouping them together in the living room or the kitchen creates a sense of colour and vibrancy and even a rustic sensibility.
A focal point is where your eye will naturally fall, and if you feel that your space is underwhelming or you don’t know where to begin to transform this blank canvas, try a few of these components and see where your eyes go. A focal point provides endless conversation but it also has to be somewhere that your eyes can go to relax.
