Design 101 - Scale and Proportion

Great example of pattern scale - large on

the walls and small on the floor

The deco vanity bounces the pattern around

the small room. Interior by Woodson-Rummerfield

Great scale and proportion in this interior by Paul Wiseman
The artwork and fireplace are obvious but also notice the coffee table and
sofa scaled perfectly and the arched window mirroring the wall arch.

One of the first things you learn in any fundamental interior design course is the principals of good design. This concept is not necessarily rocket science but it does seem that it's a right brain/left brain thing which some people have a natural talent for. It's really a matter of understanding relationships in space; between objects, colors and light and it's what interior designers are great at doing.

Proportion can be hard to define and ancient Greeks actually had a theory called "the golden mean', which happens when the ratio of small elements to larger elements is the same as the larger elements to the whole. Have I lost you yet? What that boils down to is the size of an object compared to everything else. It can be the size of your furniture in proportion to the room, or the size of you in proportion to the furniture. How to balance color and pattern are also components to getting the scale of a room right. In the picture above of a room designed by Michael Taylor, the huge windows could easily dwarf everything in the room but by flanking them with the tall tables and stunning mirrors, he's filled up the space and created a focal point. This looks to be a large room but there are not a lot of small things to create clutter. The paint color helps ground and absorb the light filled space.

I'm having technical difficulties and can't seem to upload all the examples but just keep in mind when planning your rooms that the shape, scale and layout of your rooms provide the foundation for what's to go in it and if I can get the rest of the pictures uploaded I will post them soon.

Have a great weekend and a Happy Mother's Day!

Michele