A Lesson on Scale and Balance
You know that feeling of a room just looking right? Well, it’s no magic trick - it’s often because the pieces of furniture and decor are the right scale and it’s visually balanced. When you’re picking out pieces of furniture and decorating a room, there are some good general guidelines to follow to achieve those two things.
First up, scale.
Scale has do with the proportions of your furniture and decor with one another as well as with the room itself.
In general, if you have a larger room, you’ll want larger-scale pieces. On the small side? Stick with smaller pieces. You’ll also want your accent pieces and decor to be the right scale as well. So if you have a large sectional sofa, don’t choose a dinky side table and lamp to go with it. Those pieces need to be able to “stand up” to that sectional.
Here are a few practical tips to help you make sure everything’s the right scale as you’re putting together your room. As with all design “rules” there are times when these can be broken and still create a beautiful space, but when you’re at the beginning of your design journey, sticking pretty closely to these will help you create a really lovely home.
For seating, choose sofas and chairs that are generally around the same height. That allows your eyes to travel on one continuous plane throughout a conversation area, which gives your room a good foundation for your decor and accent pieces.
When you’re picking out a side table or nightstand, the height should be about the item next to it - whether it's the arm of your sofa or chair, or the top of your mattress (plus or minus a few inches). So if your sofa arm is 24" high, choose an accent table that's about that height - nobody wants to have to reach way down or way up to use the table!
When you’re picking out a lamp to go with that side table or nightstand, you'll want to make sure that bottom half of the shade is around eye level when you're sitting on your bed or sofa for the best lighting situation (no blinding bulbs in your eyes, please!).
The larger the room, the larger the rug should be. When in doubt, go larger! If you want guidance on exactly what size to choose for different rooms, head to this cheat sheet - I’ve laid it all out for you there.
Your coffee table or ottoman should be about 2/3rds the size of your sofa. If an average sofa is about 86”, that means the coffee table would be about 57”, which is a lot longer than the average coffee table you see on the market (most of them are way too tiny for typical sofas!). That means you may have to hunt a little harder to find a bigger one, but it’ll be worth it for the visual balance.
Second, balance.
Balance is all about creating a room that’s visually appealing and not too chaotic. When you’re assessing if a room is balanced, it’s often a gut feeling that it looks right or doesn’t. If it’s not balanced, things often feel lopsided or unstable. Things don’t have to “match” to be balanced - think more in terms of the visual weight of objects or vignettes as they compare to one another.
How does this translate to a real life room?
Well, you’ll want to create some symmetry in certain places in your home. For example, if you’re styling the top of a credenza and you place a large-scale lamp on one end, you’ll need something on the other end to balance it out. This doesn’t always mean adding another matching lamp to the other side. Instead, try putting together a vignette on the other side that has a similar visual weight. Usually this is a trio of items that together form a cohesive group that balance out that lamp.
On a larger scale, varying the heights of your big pieces will help a room feel balanced and proportional. This is where things like bookshelves, wall art, and even things like an indoor tree can help your eye move through the room to make it visually appealing.
When in doubt, take a photo!
Have a trouble spot? Unsure if your room feels “right?” Snap a photo of it! There’s something about viewing your space through a camera lens that helps you see what’s looking right and what’s looking off. It doesn’t need to be fancy - just pick up your iPhone!
And here’s one tip from someone who has shot a lot of interiors - shoot from a lower height than you’d think. On average, you’ll want to take the photos from the perspective you’d have when sitting in a chair. That ends up being about 4’ off the ground.
