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Principle 1

BALANCE / 3:1 RATIO

A way to make a room feel right and make everything in it cohesive you need to introduce balance to the space. This can easily be done by ensuring the weight of objects that you put into a room are all balanced. For this, you may consider colour, pattern, texture, and height. As a rule, designers normally use the 3:1 ration. In a nutshell, using the 3:1 ratio would mean you have 3 of the same or similar objects but they are all slightly different e.g. 3 different sized frames. Although no all being the same, they are all proportionate to one another, therefore, create balance within the space. 

exotic decor
Decor items are arranged as per their size and texture
fire place
Pattered tiles make this fireplace a focal point in the living room
Principle 2

FOCAL POINT

One thing that will make your room look more visually interesting is by having a focal point.  You are very flexible when creating a focal point as it can be furniture, a feature wall, or a painting/wall decor. But the overall aim with a focal point is to have an emphasis on one object in the room as that will be the first thing that will stand out to people. Personally, my favourite way to add a focal point is by adding a feature wall to a room. E.g.  by having a wallpaper wall. I normally go for a bright and bold wallpaper that really stands out however you must then ensure that the rest of the room ties in with it. A way to also as a focal point is by having radical balance. This is when there is a central focus point e.g. having a dinning chair with chairs around it.

Principle 3

RHYTHM / REPETITION

Although rhythm is normally used to describe music it can also be used to describe the repetition of colour and texture in a space. An example of this is using a colour from the wallpaper on the throw cushions and the rug. This is one of the most important design principles to keep in mind as repetition is what carries your eyes around a room and if it’s not done and too many different colours and texture are used may lead to confusions and a space that clashes.

living room design
Repeating the colour blue in the space
credenza styling
Large artwork over the credenza is the proportionate to the space
Principle 4

PROPORTION AND SCALE

Although scales mean the size of one object compared to another and proportion means the size of parts of a whole e.g. relationship between them. They must both be considered when designing a space. Size and proportion are what make a space interesting and also help a space work together as if everything was the same size a space wouldn’t work well as a unit. Designers tend to use the golden section for this that was a theory invented by the ancient Greeks. To sum up, using the golden section is when the proportion of the small section to the large section is the same proportion from that larger section to the extra-large section.

Principle 5

SYMMETRY

A design principle that is worth considering to add to your space is symmetry. This will help a space feel calmer as it’s more visually calming on the eyes making it more common to be used in living rooms and bedrooms. Symmetry can easily be added to a space. Some examples of how you can do this are , having 2 chairs on either side of a coffee table or having a night stand either side of a bed.

bedroom design
Creating symmetry adds a well design look to a space!
Living room
Soothing colours on the wall, soft funishing and floor add harmony
Principle 6

HARMONY

Lastly harmony. Which overall should be everyone’s final goal for a space. Harmony is the term used to describe things fitting and working together to create a unit. In this case, the unit being a visually exciting and interesting room. If all the above design principles are followed that apply to your room you should end up with a harmonious space that feels complete.

RKB Design Studio Ltd

Author RKB Design Studio Ltd

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