Considering Shape, Size and Proportion
When it comes to interior design, most people have some idea of what they like and dislike. The problem comes when it is time to pull everything together!
For many people understanding how to make different items work together can be a big challenge when decorating their home. However, no matter what your style is, there are a few fundamental concepts that you can use to ensure that your next project turns out exactly as you had envisioned it.
Three of these principles are those of shape, size, and proportion.
Shape: Also known as form, this encompasses the shape of both the room and the objects within it. Shapes are usually either geometric or natural. Geometric forms refer to hard lines and square edges and often look man-made. Natural shapes refer to more organic, flowing forms, which seem to have been created by nature.
Size: Also known as scale, it's how the size of one item in a space relates to the size of the other items in that space and, to the space itself. It also refers to the relationship between objects in an area and humans, such as whether the furniture is designed to human scale.
Proportion: Refers to the scale of design elements on a single object. These elements include size, shape, texture, and color. Proportion can also refer to the relationship between two objects – for example - a recommendation is that coffee tables should be about two-thirds as long as the sofa.
This is because any bigger, and the table will make the sofa look small, and any smaller, and the sofa will drown the table out. So, if you have a 250cm sofa, you should aim for a table that is approximately 165cm.
Tips to Using Shape, Size, and Proportion in your home:
If you are getting ready to work on a design project, here are a few ways that you can use these concepts:
Repetition: Repeating patterns and shapes within a room makes the space more cohesive and pleasing to look at. It is also a great way to balance proportions. For example, if you have square decorative paneling in a room, you can repeat that shape with an area rug or a square-shaped side table. Just be careful not to go overboard with repetition.
Keep the Golden Ratio in Mind: You may have heard of the golden ratio as a mathematical ratio that occurs throughout nature. It can also be applied when furnishing a space – essentially, using the ratio means filling 60% of the floor space in a room with furniture while leaving the other 40% bare. This helps you achieve visual balance in a room without the appearance of clutter.
Make Sure Your Furniture Is to Scale and Proportionate: Your furniture should not only be scaled to the size of the room but also to each other. For example, you can make large pieces of furniture work within a small room if you make sure that the rest of the furniture is to scale – and that you’re following the golden ratio!
So, it is possible to have a large sofa in a small room. But you should make sure that your coffee table is proportionate and to scale. At the same time, you should also make sure that any rug is larger than the sofa – rugs should always extend under and beyond any furniture that sits on them.
A room with a small sofa, large rug, and large coffee table, or one with a large sofa, small rug, and disproportionately small coffee table, on the other hand, will look visually disjointed regardless of the dimensions of the room.
Knowing what you like and dislike when it comes to decorating is an important first step. However, bringing the space together in the right way is many people's undoing.
By following a few simple rules, you can ensure your home is the beautiful space you had envisioned.