There are five elements of design you should use when designing your space. A great designer will help you execute these in your design project.
The elements are:
- Emphasis
- Balance
- Proportion
- Rhythm
- Color
EMPHASIS is the key design element that is forgotten more than any other. So often people fill their space with what I call “The Dribbles”. The key to emphasis is to use it to direct your eye to the most exciting part of the room. If there is a string of different items in a row or pictures filling all of your wall space you don’t know where to focus. A fancy cover on a light switch may be fun or funky but is that really where you want your eye to go?
Color is the most misused element of emphasis used in today’s design world. Many people are doing accent walls that throw most rooms out of balance. Today people put accent colors on walls they don’t know what to do with. It is an easy fix, but bad design. I normally only do three colors in a home. Two are usually two different shades of the same neutral color and maybe one room of an accent color. I don’t put that accent color on one wall but rather paint all walls in the room the same color. If the color that you love is very bold then you can try to break it up with pictures that have white mats.
Emphasis should be something like a great piece of art hung above your sofa that helps bring the color of your sofa alive.
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