How to Create a Focal Point in a Room

A focal point for a room can be compared to the center stone of a fantastic piece of jewelry: It can make or break the design and must be shown off to its best advantage. Following are some tips for creating and using focal points.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bookcases
• Flowers
• Folding Screen
• Lighting
• Pictures
• Plantation Exterior Shutters
• Pleated Window Shades
• Tall Plants
• Throw Pillows
• Folding Screen
• Pictures

1. Recognize that a fireplace is usually the focal point in spaces such as living rooms and family rooms. It should be outfitted accordingly, with flowers, a picture or pictures, candleholders and other accessories, as befitting its status as the star of the room.

2. Accommodate a television that must compete with a fireplace for attention; choose one (usually the fireplace) as the focal point and subdue the other. Leave the fireplace relatively plain, perhaps obscuring it with a couple of easy chairs when not in use; or downplay the TV by putting it in a cabinet and shutting the doors when it is not in use.

3. Dress the bed in a bedroom well, as it is nearly always the room's focal point. If the headboard is pushed against a wall, increase the bed's importance by hanging visually strong artwork above it; if the headboard cuts a corner, set a tall potted plant or decorative screen in the corner.

4. Downplay the bed in a bedroom with a fireplace, which may then become the focal point, especially when played up with a strong mantel arrangement. Dress the bed simply with a subdued spread and skip the collection of pillows.

5. Create a focal point in a room that lacks a logical one of it own. You might choose a handsome bookcase that shows off your best collectibles; a favorite painting; or a quilt or other textile. Anchor this focal point with an important piece of furniture - a piano, a great desk or a sofa - and accent it with lighting.

6. Show off a beautifully crafted window by leaving it free of window treatments, if there's a pleasant view. A stained-glass window can be used in conjunction with a plain window to create a focal point.

7. Screen out the view of a dominant window if it offers a poor view. (Use a light-filtering pleated window shade or plantation shutters, for example.) Maintain the window's importance with an attractive treatment and situate the furniture so that it frames or anchors the window.

Tips & Warnings

• Set up only one focal point and then arrange your furniture to enhance it. When too many objects are competing for center stage in a room, the design seems chaotic and prompts a feeling of restlessness.