Interior Design Concepts You Can Use at Home

A well-designed interior is the equivalent of a breath of fresh air. It’s what your guests will remember, it’s what reflects your personal style and it’s what makes your home so different from everyone else’s. 

But there’s more to interior design than a busy Pinterest board and a couple of Target runs. If you really get down into it, there are tried-and-true principles at work that turn a pretty room into a gorgeous one. 

An overview of basic design concepts

Balance

The concept of balance in interior design is all about the visual weight and practical functionality your physical space creates, whether your interior style is busy and rustic, neutral and minimal, bright and eclectic or sleek and modern. 

There may be computer programs and special glasses that can track the movement of our eyes, and if we were to use them in well-balanced interior space, they would show that our eyes would travel smoothly and equally around the room, stopping to gaze at any objects before gently moving on. Unbalanced spaces are tricky to pin down — especially if the changes are subtle — but even though most of us are not interior designers by heart, we can still sense when something is just off about a space. 

Balance also applies to the functionality of a space. Sure, the decoration can be perfectly spaced and balanced so that the overall look is appealing, but if a living room has all its usable and livable space in one corner, then you will find that actually living in it will feel unsatisfactory and, well, unbalanced. Think about how you exist in a space, as if you had a movement tracker creating a little map of your life, and see if there is any way to use your space in a more functional and efficient way.

Focal points

A focal point should give people something to latch on to when they enter a room, and it should serve as the center of attention of which all other objects work to enhance. It doesn’t necessarily have to be big, bright or bold, but with some careful placement and consideration, it should serve as the defining statement of your room. 

Struggling to figure out what your focal points are in your home? Try this simple exercise:

First, stand in the entryway to your space; this could be a doorway, the top of a staircase or an archway. From here, you’ll want to imagine the room completely empty. Or, if you have the time, remove all the furniture, décor and features from the room. You want to strip away all the frills and be left with a blank canvas.

What’s left in your space? Is there a fireplace, a large window or an architectural feature that stands out? Whatever catches your eye first is the focal point. Everything else should work to enhance that point through color, pattern, contrast and flow. 

If your space has no natural focal point, then you can create one! Decide what the purpose of the room is (as in, whether you will be socializing, cooking, relaxing etc.), and use what you have to create a focal point that aligns with your purpose. This could be an accent wall, a headboard for a bed, a stove range, a strong light fixture or a piece of artwork in the entryway. 

It’s absolutely possible to have more than one focal point, as long as these focal points are not competing with each other. Remember, balance!

Rhythm

In music, rhythm allows a composition to move from beginning to end in a smooth and satisfying fashion. It allows the listener to be carried through the song while simultaneously taking in all the little parts that make it so good. 

The concept is the same in interior design, as rhythm is meant to create a sense of movement in a space. This can be expressed in a few different ways: through repetition, through progression and through alternation. 

Repetitions of color, pattern, texture, material or object in a clear and organized way can create order and focus, allowing your eyes to take in everything easily. Examples of this are a series of identical barstools, patterned wallpaper, evenly spaced lights, matching furniture sets or a collection of throw pillows made from the same material. 

Progression refers to how two “ends” of a space relate to each other in an orderly and gradual manner, just like a gradient moves from one color to the next, even though each end is different. Examples of progression could be as simple as a gradient accent wall, a series of picture frames gradually growing in size or a stepped bookshelf.

Finally, alternation allows for a greater variety of elements while still keeping to a pattern. Take poetry, for example: not all poems have the same rhyme on each line, but sometimes they create rhyme by following an ABCABC pattern, or an AABAAB, or whatever sequence you’d like. This subtle form of pattern still provides rhythm in a decidedly less-structured way than pure repetition does. 

Contrast

Contrast is important in making sure that your design doesn’t look so, same-ish, but it also has to be used very carefully. Opposites attract, yes, but opposites also clash by nature, so there’s a fine line to be trodden. 

Contrast can be seen in the colors, textures, shapes and styles used in interior design. Black and white is one of the most popular forms of contrast, as are accent walls, wallpaper combinations and furniture shape. Even combining different styles can be exciting and fresh, as can experimenting with shape and texture in your furniture and artwork.

Here are some types of contrast you might find in interior design:

• Organic vs. geometric
• Big vs. small
• Smooth vs. textured
• Fragile vs. strong 
• Light vs. dark
• And so much more!

Harmony

Of all the interior design elements we have talked about here already, harmony is the one that will tie everything together; and not just in the room you are decorating, either, but in your entire home. 

The secret to a well-designed interior is to find a way to implement the concepts of balance, focal points, rhythm and contrast in a harmonious way. Each has a role to play, yet each must be a team player — otherwise none will truly work. 

Now, this isn’t saying that each room and each type of decoration has to look exactly the same. It just means that each individual room is still part of your one home, and that the interior design should reflect that connection and create a cohesiveness to tie it all together. After all, you want your interior to be a space that you absolutely love, and what better way to create a harmonious home than by creating a harmonious design?

Whether your style is Texas rustic, SoCal boho, Florida seaside or modern minimalist, these interior design concepts will elevate your overall style and help you mold your space into the best it could possibly be. 

Good luck!

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Featured photo courtesy Pixabay/StockSnap