How to make your home interior feel more balanced
If a space in your home doesn’t feel quite right, it could be that it’s lacking a sense of balance.
1. The Problem
One of the most common reasons for a room not looking or feeling quite right is when furniture is not adequately balanced by other items around it.
It could be that all furniture is predominantly sitting on one side of the room, or more commonly, that a heavier piece of furniture is not offset by something of similar "visual weight" on the opposite side of the room.
2. The Consequence
A room that feels off balance will feel lopsided and not relaxing.
3. The Solution
If there is a solid piece of furniture on one side of the room, it should be balanced by something of similar visual weight on the other side.
Balance is not about placing equally solid pieces of furniture opposite each other. This would make for a very dull interior. Instead, it can be achieved "visually" through balancing a heavy solid piece of furniture with a cluster of smaller lighter pieces – a “cluster” of objects has greater visual weight than pieces sitting individually.
A lack of balance may also be experienced through colour, ie one side will feel heavier if darker pieces of furniture sit opposite lighter pieces on the other side of the room.
4. An Example
Here's a real life example of a client's lounge, and how some simple changes made the room feel much more balanced and cohesive.
In this case the room felt unbalanced due to two very different styles of couch sitting opposite each other. One was predominantly white, and the other much darker, so visually they weren't well balanced (even though the white couch was much larger).
By introducing some dark blue cushions onto the light coloured couch, and some lighter cushions on the darker couch, they were made to sit much more comfortably together. A simple fix that made a big difference!
This design principal can be applied not only to furniture, but also to displays of objects within your home. See if you can create a display that feels balanced, using this concept. Hint: start with one more dominant object, and offset it with a cluster of smaller, finer or lighter coloured objects to create “visual balance”.
As you start to see your home with fresh eyes, you'll be amazed at the difference a few simple changes can make. What can you change at your place to make your space feel more balanced and inspiring?