Balance, Harmony and Emphasis

In design, balance creates the feeling of equilibrium, a feeling of calm and contentment. 

The harmony of a room is the overall message accomplished by ensuring all the 

elements act together and flow.

Emphasis is the ability of a room which is harmonious and balanced to still be able to 

consciously draw our eye to a specific detail.  A room within which everything is assigned 

equally important will appear undefined and boring.

Before we can implement all three together we must understand the component parts.

Firstly, the importance of balance.  An unbalanced interior can feel uncomfortable and 

even affect our mood.  This is because of the way in which our brains take in information, 

as we have two eyes it is far easier for our brains to assimilate a room which is 

symmetrical and therefore more aesthetically pleasing and helps promote visual 

calmness. 

Well-designed spaces have the ability to make us feel happy as symmetry inspires us to 

make positive associations with a place. 

The harmony of the room is determined by the way in which all the elements of the 

rooms design fit together.  In truth harmony is not only applicable to a single room, but

works most powerfully when it is applied across the house as a whole.  Colour palettes, 

textures and lighting all can be used to provide harmony throughout your house.

The psychological reasoning behind this is that cohesion or harmony makes the concept 

of our homes easier for our brains to digest, our brains categorise the repeated details 

and enable the feeling of calm to evade our mind and bodies.

The emphasis piece will provide the room with a focal point, this should be used as the 

centre of your symmetrical or balanced design.  This is generally determined by the floor 

plan and architectural features of the room, such as the position of doors, windows and 

fireplaces.

However in order to draw the eye around the room you should use smaller pieces which 

add a layer of asymmetrical visual interest.  In this way we provide depth and authenticity 

to the room whilst maintaining cohesion.

In order to make the use of asymmetry effective you should concentrate of placing these 

individual pieces equidistantly from the rooms centre point, these are the objects that will 

enable your eye to be drawn fluidly around the space.

Design is an important part of owning and living in our homes, if everything in our home 

is in order then our life becomes easier.  A beautifully designed home not only lifts our 

image, it can inspire us to move forward both professionally and socially.