Linda Levine
May 2010
Were you ever invited into someone’s home and you just felt uncomfortable? The people who invited you are great people. They are warm and friendly, but the house itself was just so uninviting. You didn’t know where to look first. No matter where you were within the home, it just felt stiff and you didn’t feel comfortable sitting down.
There are a few reasons why this could happen. If a room is too cluttered, the energy within that space doesn’t flow. There is just too much to look at and it becomes confusing. If a room cannot “breathe”, and create a sense of order, the person inhabiting that space won’t be feel comfortable. There should be one focal point within that room; one main point of interest. All other furnishings should balance and complement that one point. When this is achieved, the space will seem orderly and inviting to the visitor.
Within a room, furniture needs to be able to “talk” to each other. There should be groupings of the furniture so that when seated, people can face each other and have a conversation. You don’t need to be able to seat ten people at once. However, having the ability to seat six people at one time makes it easier for the host to entertain guests.
Is there enough space to walk around a room? When furniture is placed too closely together, the room becomes an obstacle course. You are afraid to turn around for fear of breaking something. Or, the opposite can happen. All the furniture is against the walls, so that it becomes uncomfortable to speak to someone when facing them. You are just too far apart. When seated, you should be able to carry on a conversation, without having to shout to be heard.
Walls of a space should reflect the owner’s interests and be interesting to look at.
For instance, if the owner enjoys bird watching, there could be photographs of various birds, grouped together on a wall. Or, if someone travels extensively, and collects various artifacts during their trips, it would be so interesting to display those items on a wall unit.
Consider all of these things, when furnishing a home and visitors will feel relaxed and welcome.
Linda Levine CID, ASID
PS. Please feel free to email me with a design problem. I will try to solve the problem, in the following column, while you remain anonymous.