7 Ways to Create a Focal Point in your House

The Bees are buzzing this week with how to create a focal point in your home!!  

The focal point is the first thing you noticed and the last thing you will forget about a room. It’s where your attention is automatically drawn to when you walk into the room. It is what makes the energy flow and feel more harmonious. And let’s be honest, we want your guests to focus on something OTHER than the pile of kids toys in the corner of the room!

 When a room lacks a focal point, it can quickly feel overwhelming and without personality. There’s no “resting place” for your eye (and that’s when the pile of toys distracts you!!) Having a focal point, on the other hand, creates a storyline, a context, a direction. It’s like meditation for the eyes :-P 

Some rooms have natural focal points (such as a fireplace or a huge window) and some have to be planned out and created. But whether the focal point is natural or not, it is important to make sure to highlight it throughout your interior.  

Before buying any furniture, painting walls, or reorganizing the space, first make sure to identify that focal point. Then design the rest around it. That way all the other decorative items will support the focal point instead of overpowering it.

Let’s look into 7 different ways to create a focal point in your home.  

ACCENT WALL 

An accent wall is what we usually think of when we talk about focal points. They are easy to create and don’t require any specific architectural elements. It’s easy enough to DIY right from the start! So what are you waiting for?!

There are different ways to create an accent wall: 

With paint 

Paint one wall in a bold color that will pop out or in a lighter or darker shade of the rest of the walls to create a contrast.  This is, of course, not for everyone - but painting just one wall is a lot less intimidating than doing a whole room, right? Remember, darker colors read as if they are receding from the viewer - so the darker accent wall can actually visually enlarge the space! Bonus: it contrasts with the rest of the walls, making the space feel brighter by comparison!

With tiles

Covering one of your walls with tiles is another great way to create a unique focal point. From large tiles to mini mosaics with bold prints or natural colors, they will create a fantastic effect. This is particularly interesting for the kitchen and bathrooms. Check out the picture below, featured in Boston Home Magazine - the Bees incorporated a gorgeous mosaic tile to create a beautiful focal point behind the stove!

Using tile can create a gorgeous focal point!

With wallpaper

Removable wallpapers make it super easy to create an accent wall… and to easily remove it or switch it up. There are a lot of different options these days to help you create the style you will love. The Bees LOVE using wallpaper. Kylie actually installed her own wallpaper. It was trial and error, and not for the faint of heart (and yes, if you look too closely at one spot in her mudroom, the seams don’t match). But live and learn, right?!

CURTAINS

Floor-to-ceiling curtains are a great focal point. It helps make the room feel more spacious, it creates flows and elegance while dressing your windows.

Hang the curtains close to the ceiling and let them hang so they kiss the floor to create the ultimate effect. Do NOT hang them too low - it’s one easy mistake that we see too often. And think about a cute trim that you can add to a solid linen fabric - just a little trim will go a long way! Or perhaps you want to do a large chintz or floral print - to each his/her own! There are infinite options!

Want to read more tips and tricks about window treatments? Check out this blog post we wrote a while back - and why window treatments are SO IMPORTANT to your home (just like eyebrows are an important feature on your face :-P)

FIREPLACE

If you are lucky to have a fireplace in your home, make sure to use it! When properly highlighted it will create a magical and cozy feeling. Place furniture so that they face the fireplace, add a rug in front of it, hang an art piece on top of it or use plants to complement it.

LARGE WINDOW

A large window letting a lot of natural light is very attractive in a room. Make sure to make space around the windows so natural light isn’t being blocked. Use proper window treatments that won’t block the view too much and place furniture in a way to face this large window. In the case of the windows below, we opted for no window treatments (GASP!) but the view was just too beautiful to cover! Plus, with the sliding doors that open in the summer, you don’t want to impede traffic flow!

PIECE OF FURNITURE

A large piece of furniture is another great way to create a focal point. Have you ever been to a room where you remember the huge beautiful bed or the long elegant couch? That’s because they have become the focal point of the room. Once you have identified which piece of furniture will be your focal point adapt the rest of the decoration around it.  

If you have a beautiful yellow couch make sure this is the color that will pop out. Don’t hide it with other overpowering elements in bold colors. If you’re Kylie, you’re up for quite a bespoke pattern on a sofa or chair. She’s a little wild when it comes to her granny-chic patterns. But damn, it’s a focal point alright!

ARTWORK

Whether it is a large piece of artwork such as a painting, a framed photography, or a gallery pictures wall this will draw this attention and become the focal point. Artwork makes your decor more unique and personal. We love using local artists to create the PERFECT pieces for our clients. Check out Liz Ricketson and Trisha Shaw’s work for some amazing custom paintings! In fact, Liz created the beautiful ballerina in Kylie’s home (and this is just one of them that Kylie owns!)

MIRROR

A large mirror hanging in the center of a room will create the perfect focal point while making your room bigger and brighter. And the most important places for mirrors are in the bathroom - don’t skimp on those forgotten pieces! Do something different and daring! Like this bathroom below! These mirrors were from Uttermost!

Get inspired by these ideas! If you don’t have a focal point yet in your home or if you want to switch it up, now is the time. We are only a message away. If you need additional tips, contact us today.