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How to achieve balance in a room
When I visit clients' homes, they often tell me that
their rooms don't feel quite right and they are not
sure why. Many times the problem is that the room is
out of balance. Sometimes the room feels like it is
tipping to one side because of too many heavy pieces
of furniture on one side of the room. Other times it
is the artwork or accessories that are out of balance.
To remedy a balance problem in your room, keep the
following tips in mind.
- If there is a large piece of furniture on one side
of the room, such as a bookcase or entertainment
center, place something large and visually heavy
on the other side for balance. For instance, place
the sofa directly across from the bookcase, with
a large piece of art above it to add height and visual
weight.
- Bookcases and entertainment centers can be separated
if necessary to achieve a more balanced look. Try
placing one bookcase section on either side of a
sofa or fireplace instead of keeping all of the sections
together on one wall.
- Sectional sofas, too, are sometimes too large for
a room and can make the room feel too heavy on one
side. If necessary, separate the pieces of the sectional
and arrange the pieces across from each other, as
you might with a sofa and love seat.
- One way to balance a space is with symmetry. A
symmetricalarrangement is one in
which both sides of a central dividing line are identical.
Matching pairs of items work perfectly. For example,
place two matching chairs on either side of the sofa.
Or place matching candlesticks on either side of
a floral arrangement. Symmetrical arrangements
are easy to create and tend to look a bit more formal.
- Another way to achieve balance is with an asymmetrical
arrangement, which brings together equivalent, but
not matching pieces. If you have a number of items
in varying sizes, shapes and colors, an asymmetrical
arrangement would be appropriate. One example would
be to place a large vase on one side of the mantel,
balanced with a trio of candlesticks on the other
side. Asymmetrical arrangements are a little more
challenging to create, as you must keep in mind the
visual weight of each object, and tend to be more
informal.
- Balance a floor lamp on one side of the sofa with
a table lamp on the other side. If the table lamp
is too short, use a stack of books to elevate it
to the appropriate height.
- Use a tall silk tree to balance the height of a
bookcase or armoire. A large, vertically oriented
mirror or piece of art can also be used.
- If a piece of furniture is too short and more height
is needed, hang one or more pieces of artwork above
it. Artwork can also be used to extend the width
of a piece that may be too narrow for the wall.
This article first appeared in Alameda Newspaper
Group papers on Oct. 1, 2005.
Go
back to the list of decorating columns.
All articles copyright 2003-2008 Anna
Jacoby.
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