Lesson 1: The Five Basic Factors
Focal Point
Through the use of emphasis, eye movement is directed towards a center of interest that takes a position of prominence in the room design. It is basic in human nature to seek that center of interest, as both a resting place for the mind's eye, and a means to bring order out of disorder.
Without a focal point, a room seems disorganized, confusing, perhaps "busy" – even boring. If you have not introduced or featured an element in the room which serves as a focal point, the occupant will seek one anyway: a pile of dirty clothes, a misplaced magazine, a picture that is hanging crookedly on the wall! These, however, are distractions and not desirable. And if there is too much "sameness" of color, the eye will be drawn to the one object that is "different": the one white cushion against a dark chair, the single yellow wall in a green room.
Gaze around your project room and you will most likely recognize a natural feature that is the focal point: the fireplace, the view out of the window, the entertainment center, the piano, the bed. You are fortunate if the feature pleases you as it is. If it does not, try to figure out what is wrong with it. Does the piano block passage from one room to the next? Is the view visible from the main seating area?
Most likely you will not be able to move the feature which currently serves as the focal point. Windows and fireplaces are fixtures and with rare exceptions remain where they are. You may not be able to move some large pieces of furniture, such as a 54" screen TV or a wall-sized entertainment unit, because there is only one space large enough to accommodate it.
Your mission, in this case, might be to create a second focal point to balance the immovable primary focal point. Or you may choose to enhance the primary focal point by changing the placement of other furniture to draw greater attention to it.
