This month’s blog will discuss a few fundamental design principles needed for quality interior design, including scale, contrast, and repetition.
Scale: Proper scale ensures that the size of various elements in a room feels cohesive and works well together. For instance, if you have a lot of tiny furnishings in a large room, you will have a dollhouse effect. In contrast, if you have a large sofa in a tiny space, it will end up feeling cramped and uncomfortable.
Now, these are two basic examples of scale; however, the principle of scale becomes much more detailed. When designing a room, you want to ensure that each piece works with its comrades. Everything from the height of the lighting that sits upon a side table to the artwork behind the sofa, each piece needs to work with the others in the room because they feed off each other. If this element isn’t considered, even a design novice will know something is “off.” When components are inconsistent in scale, this can lead to visual discomfort. One last thing about the principle of scale: it’s crucial in emphasizing (or de-emphasizing) focal points in a room. Let’s say you have a strange layout with an offset fireplace. Using this principle can allow you to deter the eye by guiding it to a beautiful piece of artwork instead of the off-putting structure.
Contrast: This fundamental interior design element adds visual interest, never leaving a monotonous or boring space. With contrast, you can highlight certain pieces and guide the viewer to experience the space as you intended. You can apply contrast in several ways, such as through color by using opposite colors on the color wheel. Or, you can apply this design element by pairing textural fabrics and materials together like leather and velvet, or glass and wood.
Repetition: This important design element may be simple, but has a huge impact. Repeating elements such as color, shapes, textures, and patterns- to name a few- creates rhythm and balance. It tells a story in your design. An example of this would be highlighting a particular color in a rug by adding that same color trim to your custom window treatments and pillows.
While there are more interior design elements to discuss, these three are imperative to creating a quality design. If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, we get it, and we are always here to help. Schedule a complimentary discovery call to discuss how Curated Home Designs could assist; you can do so here.