How to Choose a Focal Point of Any Room

The focal point of a room is arguably the most important part, it’s the center of attention (literally). Here’s how to choose a focal point for any room when designing the interiors of your home.

Whenever you enter a space or a room, there is always something that will draw and keep your attention. The best-designed rooms often have a focal point – the place where your eyes lock into.

It’s what makes the room look complete and it’s what gives the room its character. It also sets the mood, the tone, and the overall vibe of the room for both you and your guests.

This includes the size of your furniture, the accents of your ceilings, the colors of your walls, the shapes of objects, the textures of materials, the brightness of lighting – the list goes on.

Interior designers put a lot of thought into focal points as they truly determine how your home will be interpreted by others. With so many elements to consider, the options are endless when it comes to designing what your focal point could be.

However, it won’t take a professional to create the perfect focal point in your home. You can do it entirely on your own with very minimal effort. Here’s how:

How to identify a focal point

Identifying focal points you may already have is one of the best ways to start re-designing a room. A focal point can be anything that will become the center of attention. In many cases, that could be a fireplace or a television. In extreme cases, it could be a breath-taking skyline or an exposed brick wall.

A few questions to ask yourself when trying to identify existing focal points are:

• Which element in the room is the most interesting? People have a tendency to be more attracted to outdoor elements than indoor elements. If you have a decent view from a window then you should create your focus around that area.
• Which portion of the room receives the most natural attention? If you live someplace cold and have a fireplace, then focus on that area in particular. It will give the room the natural balance you and your guests will need.
• Where is the main hub of activity in the room? If you have things like a pool table, a television set or a stereo system, then creating a focal point around those things would be the most natural thing to do.

Try your best not to have too many focal points. If there are multiple areas of your home that draw attention, treat those areas as secondary focal points. That will ensure the balance of the room and can avoid it from looking too cluttered.

Once you get those questions out of the way, you can begin formulating exactly how you want to design the rest of the room. The hardest part is always figuring out what the “center” of your room will be. After that, the rest is a piece of cake!

Highlighting Architecture

Architecture comes in many forms. A fireplace, a coffee table, furniture etc. The size and shapes of these things help to determine how they can be highlighted.

You would want to have your guests surrounding a central element or particular centerpiece. It’s important that when creating this, you are mindful of the size and shape of these objects.

Furniture is usually grouped around a focal point, facing it, or with its lines leading towards it.

If a coffee table is your centerpiece, have the furniture balanced around it. Allow the table to be larger and the accents around it to be smaller.

Or if you have a fairly large couch, have it face parallel to the smaller coffee table so that one piece does not overpower the other.

Focusing on Patterns

If a room is lacking architecture, patterns can help bring it to focus.

A permanent pattern finish, such as granite tables, for example, creates a focus of itself. Tile or stone are popular textures to have as they are bold and simple to maintain.

Clever backlighting also promotes focus on the different patterns in a room. Spotlights and strategic light fixtures can bring the attention in the right areas of your home.

Maximizing Views

Having a nice view is not only impressive to others but tranquil as well. It could be the view of a skyline or even the view of a large backyard.

Large windows can help to expose the view in the best way. But smaller windows could also expose portions of the view just as beautifully.

Minimal furniture, artwork, and decorative pieces are great ways to help highlight the view.

Emphasizing Textures

The textures throughout your home can easily get overlooked if you are not mindfully emphasizing them. This includes tiling, appliances, ceiling palettes, etc.

The temperature of a room is more than the actual level of degrees.

Smooth, shiny appliances will project coolness in the room while soft, raised textures can easily project warmth.

Textured tiles around a stovetop or a wallpaper surrounding a refrigerator should match the overall palette of the room. Keep the cooler textures from the warmer ones to avoid busyness.

Choosing the Right Colors

Color schemes can get a little tricky. Maybe you want everything to match. Or perhaps you’d prefer for things to coordinate. Regardless, the colors of a room can make or break the overall appearance.

A good way to create a focal point through colors is by choosing one area of the room for a bold color to be featured.

Having a bold color in one particular area engages the eye towards something specific.

Adding color to the doors of a tight hallway will divert the attention from the tightness of the area. Or covering non-appealing windows with a wall of bold-colored curtain can re-focus the room.

Adding Artwork or Botanicals

Dramatic artwork with the proper lighting to emphasize it serves as a great focal point and a natural conversation starter.

The tone of the artwork should match the tone of the space. Large, bold art works well on neutral walls. Smaller, simpler art can balance out a busy wall.

Centering it between two major components is also important. Look for architectural details: arches, high ceilings, exposed wood beams etc. These kinds of elements dictate the balance between the room and the artwork on the wall.

For a more open and natural vibe, adding a single huge plant or a collection of smaller plants is a good idea.

Pick plants that can flourish in the available light. Avoid having any dead plants!

A focal point is truly the highlight of any room. When handled with care, you can ensure that your home will have just the right design you desire. Need some further tips? Take a look here.