Principle Two

Every room should have a focal point, if not, the viewer may easily get lost in the room. Rooms with EMPHASIS on a certain aspect ground the viewer and draw their eyes to it where they can then be visually led through the room by other elements.

Often, we may think of a focal point as one particular object, such as a vase of beautiful flowers or a painting on the wall, but often, focal points are usually groupings of other things, such as a fireplace and mantel with accessories, or even a furniture grouping.

Every room will have a primary focal point with secondary focal points. So that being said, when designing a room, think about what you want to foremost highlight. A beautiful view? A grand piano? Great Grandma's hutch? Sometimes the primary focal point is predetermined such as in a dining room where the dining table is the center of focus.

One way to begin your design is to pick the primary focal point or object you would like to emphasize and then build and play off of that.

Here are some good examples.

What do you first see? The first thing I notice is the fabulous view out the back of the room. Notice how the view is highlighted and framed with stunning floor to ceiling drapes? I love it.

The next thing I notice is the funky chandelier. Isn't it fabulous! I would not expect that in this type of room but it works. From the view out the windows, my eyes are drawn to the chandelier and then down to ground level where my eyes are then led to the secondary focal points--the huge painting and the fireplace.

What about this one? Are your eyes drawn straight to the oval mirror above the sofa? Here, emphasis is achieved through color contrast. It is interesting too, that the gradation in color leads

your eye from primary focal point to secondary focal point. You have the dark framed mirror near the sofa with less intense colors, surrounded by elements of white and cream. Of course, this is a Sarah Richardson interior, she has this principle down to a T.

This lovely room is grounded by the gorgeous large scale painting over the fireplace. See how the designer has taken the fuchsia out of the painting and used it in the upholstery? They picked their focal point and then played off of it. Be careful when doing this though, sometimes it can cause a room to be over-bearing.