Designing a room from scratch is an exciting undertaking. You have complete creative control to think up a vision and have it come to life.
But before you get straight into painting and assembling furniture, there are a few things to consider when designing a room.
The most important things to consider when designing a room for a harmonized space
Beyond painting and decor, there are a few fundamental things to keep in mind when you start structuring any room. This is what will build your foundation for the perfect space. Here are 5 things to consider when you’re designing a space to get the best results.
Symmetry
As you start creating the layout of your room, ensure that symmetry is a core element of your design. Symmetry helps create a balanced space, drawing focus to a focal point of the room.
Symmetry can be achieved through the arrangement of furniture, pattern and colors, or through structure of the room. Determine the focal point of the area, and plan your layout to surround this center point.
Function
Despite how beautiful of a space you’ve created, unless it’s for staging purposes only, the space will be non-functional if it isn’t livable.
Design your space with the end goal in mind. Is this space meant to be a television room? Are you visualizing this to be an area for social gatherings?
Based on your vision, design your space to be functional. A functional space is one that is usable and can sustain its design as you use it.
For example, designing a television room where the sofa is not in direct view of the TV would be a non-functional element. People don’t want to have their heads turned the entire time while watching a TV show.
Visual language
The visual language of a room speaks immediately to the mood, style and tone of the space. When designing a space, ask yourself the question: what do I want this room to communicate to me when I look at it?
Defining the visual language will help you determine what colors, furniture and decor to choose for that room.
What do I want this room to communicate to me when I look at it?
| Visual Language | Colors | Decor |
| “I’m a place of peace.” | White, beige, oak, pale blue | Plants, Wood finishes |
| “I’m modern and elegant.” | Black, gold, navy, white, grey | Mirrors, refined finishes |
| “I’m FUN and vibrant!” | Blue, orange, yellow, green | Abstract art and fixtures |
Read more: 5 Color Combinations to Enhance the Look of Any Room
Flexibility
Give yourself the flexibility to re-arrange elements of the room if you need a change. The layout you choose for a room may be what you want today, but next year that might differ.
As you start creating your plan, leave room for flexibility to change around furniture and decor to your liking. This means keeping permanent wall structures to a minimum (for example, mounting anything that will damage the wall if removed).
Ideally, your space can easily be re-arranged without too much damage to the walls or floor in that space.
Lighting
Lighting is the foundation of every room, and can make or break a space if not utilized right. Optimize the natural light in the area you’re designing. Avoid putting clunky furniture or bulky curtains in front of it to draw in the maximum amount of light.
Arrange your furniture to be functional so that the light can be used in your best benefit as well. For example, when a TV faces a bright window directly, the image on the TV can be hard to see, requiring you to close the curtains mid-day to see what’s on the screen. To avoid this, play with the angles of the light to find the optimal positioning for each item in your room.
Other things to consider when designing a room
Though these are some of the core things to consider when designing a room, the thought doesn’t have to stop there. A few other things to keep in mind are:
- how the room fits in with the overall design of the house
- if the room is seasonal or will remain as its current design all year round
- who all is using the space, and ensuring that it’s functional for every individual
