Seeking Balance in Your Home Decor

Article by: Indra Books

In our homes, , Ottomans as in other parts of our lives, we are happier when we live with balance and harmony. Just like the rest of our lives, balance in the rooms , Painting a ’s woodwork and the trim around doors and windows opens up a number of designs potent of our homes , A Look at Luxury Down Comforters is sometimes hard to create.

For many years, decorators and home , Used Furniture Stores owners tried to create this physical balance by having pairs of everything: 2 matching end tables, a matched pair of wing chairs, , Back Be Nimble - Mattresses even sets of twin beds , Bamboo Fences in the master bedroom. This certainly created a balanced room. , How to Decorate the Apartment on a Budget It also created rooms , Give Your Family Coastal Cottage Style that were sterile, formal and visually boring. In a formal setting or a Federal or Georgian home, , How to Buy an Oriental Rug this is still the way things should be to look 'right.' Our ancestors valued this perfect balance so highly that they created false doors , The More Creative Home Office in hallways so that both sides matched or doors , Decorative Fireplace - Where The Family Meets that looked like windows , Used Furniture Stores so that the right and left sides of the back of a house , Easy Decorating Ideas for the Kitchen matched perfectly. This can still be seen if you go to visit some of our historic homes. , Ottomans A notable example is the Hammond-Harwood House , Decorating Ideas to Make Your Living Room more Livable in Annapolis, Md. We, however, tend to prefer a more relaxed approach to our homes. , Give Your Family Room Coastal Cottage Style

So how do we create a feeling of balance without matched pairs of everything? You can use:

Color: Dark colors , Retro Decorating For The Basement have more 'weight' than light , A Look at Luxury Down Comforters colors.
Actual size: Height, depth and width of an object
Mass: A thick bulky looking object has more 'weight' than a fragile, delicate one. Just visualize a blown glass , Decorating With Bamboo Room Dividers vase and a terracotta pot , Living Room Furniture - The Basics of the same size.
Number: A group of several like objects in different sizes grouped together creates 'weight.' Think of an assortment of silver candlesticks.
Light: A dark corner has more 'weight' than one filled with light. , Choosing An Interior Decorator

If you want to prove this to yourself, , Unique Home Decor - Thinking Outside the Box gather together a group of assorted objects and use a tabletop/mantel and try out different scenarios. Be sure you have different sizes, colors, , Decorating With Bamboo Room Dividers textures and shapes. You can put a larger framed picture against one end and a slightly smaller one in front of it. On the other end of your table put a heavy pot. , Persian Area Rugs - Tabriz Rugs are a Fine Choice to Enhance Your Room's Decor Do the same thing with a matching pot , Ideas And Solutions For Your Bedroom Decor And Bedding Needs at each end. Try pairing the picture group with an assortment of candles in candlesticks. Each time you create an arrangement, step back and look at it. In fact, if you have a digital camera, , Retro Decorating For The Basement take a picture of it. If you do this for a while you will start to get a feel for balance. You can actually give the illusion that the tabletop is tilted slightly by throwing off the visual balance.

The same effect can occur in your room , Indoor Lighting arrangements. If you doubt this, close your eyes and try to 'see' a room , Cleaning Aluminum and Wooden Window Blinds in which you felt physically uncomfortable or slightly disoriented even though there was no obvious reason. A room , Lamp Shades: a Stunning Change for Your Home Decor in which the heavy items are all on one side of the room, , Portable Home Decorating: 11 Tips for Creating a Comfortable Home Even When You Move Often almost feels as though the floor , How to Decorate the Apartment on a Budget tilts. Once you have a feel for balance you can start to create a harmonious home. , A Guide to Memory Foam Companies

Stand in the doorway of any room , What to Look For in Selecting Kitchen Flooring in your house , Ottomans that you feel isn't 'right.' What do you see? Does the burgundy chair , Lamp Shades: a Stunning Change for Your Home Decor stick out like there is a spotlight on it? Does the entertainment center overwhelm the room? Do you have a TV and a fireplace battling for focal point? Do your easy chairs , How to Buy an Oriental Rug look like they were made for children next to your mammoth sofa? Does your fireplace mantel look like you are setting up for a tag sale? Your room , The More Creative Home Office is out of balance.

Move the furniture , The More Creative Home Office around and try different arrangements until you have one that works. Unless you have a room , Decorating a Bed for the Subconscious Mind - Psychology of Colors that is just for show like a Victorian parlor, you need to be able to use the room , Choosing An Interior Decorator comfortably. Once the practical set-up is done, look at the room , Luau! Decorating with a Hawaiian Theme from different angles. If the room , Bamboo Fences is out of balance use color , Decorative Fireplace - Where The Family Meets and accessories, , Retro Decorating For The Basement plants , Living Room Furniture - The Basics and pictures, groups of like objects, light , A Cut Above and volume to create an illusion of balance.

Try grouping the accessories , Powell Furniture - Make Your Kitchen A Gourmet Kitchen on your mantels and tabletops. Balance the entertainment center on one side of the fireplace with a tall plant , A Cut Above or group of plants , Retro Decorating For The Basement on the other. Note: avoid having the tops of everything at the same height. You might as well draw a line around your room. , Ideas And Solutions For Your Bed Decor And Bedding Needs Repeat the color , A Guide to Memory Foam Companies of the chair , Used Furniture Stores in pillows, throws, lampshades or the matting around a group of pictures. You really will be amazed at the difference it makes.

We may all be born craving balance but except for the lucky few, we have to learn to achieve it. There is a myriad of books on the subject and it can help to read them and look at the pictures, but the best way to get a feel for balance is 'hands on.' Experiment with portable objects until you get a feel for what works and then enjoy creating your harmonious home. , Ottomans

Indra A Books, author of this and many other lifestyle articles is the owner and founder of ON THE GO 4 U, Personal Shoppers & Concierge Service in the Washington DC metropolitan area. The company's creed is to provide its clients with the ultimate life management experience. In addition to its shopping and concierge services, ON THE GO 4 U also publishes a monthly e-zine and conducts workshops on wardrobe, entertaining and decorating. , Cleaning Aluminum and Wooden Window Blinds For more information , Portable Home Decorating: 11 Tips for Creating a Comfortable Home Even When You Move Often about the author and ON THE GO 4 U, please visit http://www.onthego4u.net

Content for this article was provided by Suzanne Copenhaver, Design , Bathroom Decorating Consultant to ON THE GO 4 U. Suzanne has years of experience decorating , Jazz Up Your Room With Folding Screen Room Dividers in less than ideal situations and always provides us with tons of insight.

Â© 2005 Indra Books for ON THE GO 4 U

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