When you incorporate these basic interior design principles into your decor, you’ll be able to optimize your home with the maximum amount of style and comfort:
Rhythm in interior design, like in music, enhances visual interest. There are several ways to express rhythm in home decor. Repetition creates a cohesive look, tying elements together. Progression emphasizes a feature by increasing or decreasing one of its characteristics. A gradation of size, like various-sized candles on a tray, creates a pleasant effect. A monochromatic color scheme with different shades also shows natural progression.
Transition helps guide the eyes smoothly around the room. For example, curved wood paneling can define spaces like doorways or paths. Rhythm can also come from contrasts. Light and dark pillows or opposite shapes like circles and squares create a striking effect. Contrast adds energy but should be used in moderation to avoid being jarring.
As a design principle, balance is defined as the equal distribution of visual weight in a room. In interior design, there are three styles of balance, including symmetrical, which is found in many traditional interiors. Its symmetry is easy on the eyes, creating a pleasant visual effect that mirrors each side of the room equally. In contrast, asymmetrical balance is less rigid and structured, giving home decor a more casual and comfortable vibe. Another type of balance is radial symmetry, which brings all the elements of a design into a central focal point. Although not often used in interior design, radial symmetry can add an interesting look that anchors the rest of the room, such as a spiral staircase.
In the design world, proportion and scale go hand-in-hand but there are slight differences that are worth mentioning. Both are related to size and shape, but proportion is different because it involves the ratio of one design compared to the whole space.
When it comes to scale, the ratio simply concerns the size of one object compared to the other. When using scale and proportion in design, we recommend offsetting standard elements with different sizes and heights, which can create some striking visual interest in a room. You can experiment with scale and proportion in several ways, such as artwork, plants, and negative spaces throughout your home. Using your intuition and basic principles of scale and proportion, you can try different arrangements that please the eyes with an interesting focal point.
A boring and uninspired space is one of the biggest challenges for interior designers. An easy way to create a lasting impression is by bringing the attention towards a focal point that draws in the eye. When choosing what elements to emphasize in a design, you should look for a statement piece that takes center stage in a space. A common focal point for living rooms, for example, is a fireplace or couch, which can be further emphasized with accents in bold colors or patterns. This basic interior design principle applies to other rooms in the house, including the bedroom, bathrooms, and other areas.
In interior design, colors affect a room in three ways: active, passive, and neutral. Light, passive colors create an expansive and airy effect, making a room feel larger and brighter. Dark, active colors are ideal for large rooms, adding warmth and sophistication.
Each color has unique properties and effects. Red is intense and brightens a space, making it great for shared areas like living rooms and dining rooms. Mihai from Freshome recommends red for spaces where you want a strong first impression, like entryways. Red can also be used in bedrooms for a rich, elegant look when muted by warm lamplight.
Yellow is a bright, cheerful hue with an uplifting effect. It’s best used as an accent in kitchens, bathrooms, and dining rooms. Blue is calming and perfect for bedrooms and bathrooms. Green, another calming color, is a popular choice for decor.
Purple, especially eggplant, is luxurious and dramatic. It adds depth and character when used as an accent. Orange is energetic, ideal for exercise rooms or studios, where it boosts motivation.
Neutrals like black, gray, white, and brown are essential in any design. Black works well in small amounts to define a space. Light neutrals create a mellow, calming vibe.
Bringing all these design principles into play, harmony in interior design can be achieved when you incorporate balance, scale, proportion, and repetition in the right amounts. A space designed with harmony should feel complete because all the elements complement each other. To ensure a harmonious design in any room, it’s important to consider the entire home as a series of interconnected spaces.
For a unified look, designers like to use color schemes as an effortless way to bring together a collection of spaces. The best way to achieve harmony in your interior design is by using all of the basic design principles and a little bit of your own intuition. Just like Goldilocks, you’ll just ‘know’ when a space feels right; when you walk into the room, you should always feel comfortable and at ease.
Look out for more design tips from the Fashion Furniture blog, your source for the latest trends in interior design.
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