Don't sacrifice lighting to trim your budget. The mistake I see most often is light fixtures that are too small or that don't dress the room properly. Use appropriately scaled, relevant lighting. Lighting, more than any other element, asserts style, much like a chosen piece of jewelry defines the style of a little black dress. Don't be afraid to inject personality with a statement piece.
Don't push the furniture against the wall. You will have a much more interesting space if you allow breathing room around your pieces of furniture, as we see here. Allow the furniture to float in the room, away from the walls. This will help create a conversation grouping. The optimal distance for conversational seating is 4 to 8 feet. This is the Goldilocks zone.
Add layers of lighting. In this kitchen seating area, the backsplash is lit, the artwork is highlighted and the cabinet interiors are filled with light. One central lighting fixture would not have had nearly the same dramatic result. Professionals build layers of lighting to create interest, intrigue and variety. In a room where everything is lit evenly, nothing stands out. Pick a focal point and perhaps a secondary focal point and highlight those. Add general ambient lighting and some lower lighting, like table lamps, for interest.
Vary the scale. What looks good in the store may look like an elephant in the room when you bring it home. Or it’s too tiny to be of any significance. So always vary scale and proportion. The oversize sunburst mirror frame fills up the wall space nicely here, while the sand dollars make an interesting grouping below. They would be much too insignificant individually. Threes and fives make for more pleasing arrangements than even numbers.
Consider sight lines. Your focal point should be free and clear from one room to the next, so that it feels like you’re being drawn between them. That’s why the best spot for a focal point is usually directly across from the entrance to the room. Here a seating arrangement around artwork draws the viewer into the room because the sight line is clear.
Create a focal point. There are leading roles and supporting cast members in any production. The same holds true in design. Choose your star and make it the focal point to anchor a room. Allow other items to take a secondary role. Don’t ask everything to have a leading role; it will just result in visual noise. Your focal point might be a dramatic hood in the kitchen, a mantel and art piece in the living room or a headboard in the bedroom. Whatever it is, choose something that will draw attention. In this room the fireplace and the lighting work together as a collective focal point, bringing your eye right to the center of the composition and anchoring it there.
Resist the urge to be too theme-y. For example, the Cape Cod look is a very popular request. You know the hallmarks: beadboard, a blue and white nautical palette, some sailboat paintings. But this has been done so many times, it lacks individuality. In this room the coastal vibe was achieved through a palette, artwork and materials that give the effect without drawing on the obvious clichés.
Hang artwork at the right height. Galleries and museums hang artwork so that the midline (center) of each piece is 57 inches to 60 inches from the floor. (The average human eye level is 57 inches.) And you should do the same. In a room like this, where the ceilings soar, there might be a tendency to hang the art higher. But remember: It needs to relate to human scale, not the structure’s scale. If you’re not sure, take a picture. It’s remarkable how much a photo can reveal. Print it out or use Photoshop or an app to draw on the photo. This can give you a sense of whether a larger or smaller piece of art is needed or a tall plant might be best to fill a vacant spot.
Pick the paint color last. I get calls all the time from homeowners who want to pick a paint color before they move in. I get the logic. Why not arrive to walls with a fresh coat of paint? Of course you can do it this way, but in my opinion it’s not ideal. There are thousands of paint colors with various tints, tones and shades. And each one looks different from home to home, because light sources vary, meaning what looks good in your current home might not in your new one. You want the color that best complements your upholstery, artwork, rug and whatever else. You can pick that color only if your stuff is actually inside your home.
Give your furniture some breathing room. Resist overcrowding a room. Gracious living means space to maneuver with ease. This is really great news if you are working with a tight budget. You don’t need to fill up a space with lots of furniture. Spend more of your budget on fewer but better-quality pieces, and your room will look better than if it’s stuffed to the gills with flea market finds. The high-backed chairs shown here, for example, stand out because they don’t have to fight for attention.
Traffic. Think about the flow of traffic through the room — generally the path between doorways. Don’t block that path with any large pieces of furniture if you can avoid it. Allow 30 to 48 inches of width for major traffic routes and a minimum of 24 inches of width for minor ones. Try to direct traffic around a seating group, not through the middle of it. If traffic cuts through the middle of the room, consider creating two small seating areas instead of one large one.
Wallpaper. More affordable and accessible than tile, wallpaper was a popular fixture in homes during the art nouveau period. Palettes could be bold or muted, all in the rhythmic patterns of the era.
INTERESTING; Part of Clarke's design philosophy includes celebrating the elements of earth, air, fire and water. In the living room a bluestone fireplace combines earth and fire; a plant and light paint colors remind us of air; and nautical-inspired elements like the nickel and mahogany coffee table and optical photograph reference water.
Display only the important stuff. A room that's moderately complex visually doesn't have to be devoid of things you love. There are multiple objects on display in this space, but it is only moderately complex visually, because the items on the shelves are simple shapes and colors and are symmetrically arranged. If they were more complicated shapes or in multiple colors, fewer could be presented at any one time.
Scale is one of the most exciting ingredients in our design toolbox. No, I am not talking about the rule that says we mustn't put a big piece in a small room. Usually that rule is simply wrong. I am talking about our fourth tool: varying scale. See how this very large and lovely armoire, the single piece in this small area, is beautifully balanced by the petite picture propped beside it and by the repeating texture of the baskets resting on top of it? Scale is our very good friend when we learn to vary it. beach style living room by Kate Jackson Design Kate Jackson Design Consider the widely varying scale of the pieces in this room: the heavy, dark sofa and the light, almost airy child's rocker. The large, dark stained coffee table and the smaller end table made of white wood and glass. The imposing floor lamp and the quieter table lamp. And the fabulous giant clamshell filled with diminutive yellow lemons. If you could magically wave a wand over this room and change everything to the same scale, what would happen? The room would be totally drained of its life and its dynamism
Second tool: Find and accentuate your room's focal point. The oversize fireplace in this room is without a doubt its focal point, and the rest of the room is built around it. Repetition and equilibrium abound here as well: The Euro-style tufted bench balances the pair of black chairs opposite, and the bright yellow of the pillows shows up in the coffee table accessories and the stripe in the wall art.
Don't stop until you layer. Designers use layering and repetition of elements and motifs to achieve a professional look. Most people get the concept of layering when it comes to fashion. In design it isn't much different. Pick something you love, like this patterned headboard, then repeat the color or the pattern. The artistry lies in stopping before the look becomes too matchy (it always helps to toss in something unexpected to achieve this). Subtlety is key. Drapery, wallpaper, pillows, throws, bedding, accessories — all are great options for layering in a bedroom. You be the judge as to how much is enough.
Don't forget the details that make a piece special. I sometimes find the hardest things for my clients to understand is that the details make the design. Nailheads, custom pillows, millwork trim and inlaid floors create a custom look that's drop-dead gorgeous in the space here. Once you train your eye to notice the details, you'll see that a chair with a beautiful turned leg carved by a skilled craftsperson is different than a mass-produced machine-made piece. Custom details are evident in professional work. Contrast piecing or piping on a pillow, or welting, nailheads or trim on a chair. Details, details, details make the result special.
Don't buy small, cheap throw pillows with solid forms. Pillows should be generous, overstuffed and formable, like these. Use soft, plush, down-filled pillows that can take a shape. There are great synthetic fill options, too. Use the classic "designer's chop" to determine if they will shape up: a quick karate chop to the top edge to break up the pillow's blockiness. Get rid of any dead pillows that sit like a lump. Say goodbye to postage-stamp-size pillows and matchy-matchy ones that came with the furniture. Instead, overstuff an 18-inch pillow cover with a 20-inch insert for a professional look.
Mix in metallics. Metallic decor radiates light and holiday cheer. Switch out a few small pieces with silver or gold accents to add sparkle and glamour. Place a gilded drink table next to your favorite chair or put a gold-toned table lamp in place of your current one in the living room. Stack small silver boxes on the mantel or on the coffee table for extra shine.
Symmetry can make a small space feel important. Sneaking in symmetry where you can is a great way to bring a bit of grandeur to a compact space. Here a set of floor-sweeping drapes and a pair of artworks frame the window, while a pair of matching armchairs and matching pillows bring a pleasing sense of order to the seating area.
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