Think about something you love, let’s say your favorite perfume. You like it because it has one essential quality that other fragrance products lack, which makes this perfume memorable. The same goes for your favorite food and even the music you listen to.
When talking about a room, this essential feature is known as the focal point. When you enter someone’s home, you will notice things that immediately catch your attention:
- A fireplace
- A bookcase
- A statue
- An antique record player
Along with serving a superb aesthetic purpose, these focal points compel you to remark, initiating conversation.
What about your hallway or living room? If people enter and do not notice anything, the room either completely lacks a decent focal point or you haven’t arranged the most prominent items in the room in a positive manner. If that is the case, you are missing out on a focal point’s amazing potential.
That is why, if you have been following our blog, you will have noticed that we stress creating a ‘focal point’ in a room while imparting home décor tips. Today, we will discuss why this focal point is so important and also add a couple of extra tips. Read on to find out more.
What Does Feng Shui Have to Do With All This?
If you study the ancient science of Feng Shui, you will notice that many of its principles for balancing energies inside physical structures are widely used in interior design. The Ying-Yang principle of Feng Shui has become an accepted term in popular culture. It simply means that a particular space needs to have a balance of active and passive energies. This applies to both your home and your workplace.
Another known concept of feng shui is the flow of Chi (Universal Energy). A room decorated according to Feng Shui principles ensures that this energy is guided harmoniously by arranging various decor items. This calls for the creation of different focal points in the room. Focal points that can achieve this include something as simple as a well-positioned artwork or even a fresh green plant in an attractive pot.
To summarize, a focal point is a concentration of Feng Shui energies. These points make the room alive and give it a unique ambiance. If a room has no focal point, Feng Shui teaches that there will be an imbalance in the active and passive energies, thereby destroying the room’s purpose.
Interesting Ideas for Focal Points
To recap, a focal serves the following purposes:
- Attracts interest and attention in a room
- Draw people’s eyes and impress them with the décor of the room
- Creates a mood or theme that will define the emotional impact the room is intended to project
This will help us ascertain what we can do in our own homes. One of the best ideas is to place a beautiful portrait on a wall with a historical theme, such as 18th-century New York. This will be immediately noticeable and define a room’s mood.
Ultimately, it will make the room visually impressive and inviting. Make sure you choose a painting with the appropriate scale for your space and tones that stand out and draw the eye in but aren’t at odds with the rest of the room. For instance, one enormous art piece will look superb when set against a neutral wall and furniture. The frame of the painting itself can be a focal point as well.
As noted above, architectural features like a fireplace have visual appeal and help align other decorative items in the room, such as upholstered furniture. But here, you must get the size of the architectural element right. If it is too big, it can look out of place.
Likewise, if it’s too small, other items will become the focal point, taking the limelight away from the main feature.
Moving on, color can be a powerful tool when decorating a room. Simply changing the color of a wall, trim, or carpeting can transform the entire look or mood of a room. So, if you want to draw attention to a particular area of the room, use color to get people’s focus on it.
Of course, having something lavish, like a grand piano, is guaranteed to get attention, but don’t be fooled into thinking that a room’s focal point must be exquisite or large. It can be something as simple as a crafted ocean-blue globe or even accent pillows on your furniture.
Remember, the quality of the focal point’s visual display is more impressive than the space it occupies in the room.