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Design 101-Symmetrical & Asymmetrical Balance

Hello, Friends!! I had planned to take photos of my living room and share them with you today but instead I’ve been cleaning up throw up and consoling my sick, sweet 20 month old.:-(.   Poor little guy!

So photos of the living room reveal to come soon! In the meantime I have an important Design 101 principle to share today.

As I’ve been putting together the living room the design principle of balance has come forefront in my mind.
Balance

Source

Every item you put in a room whether its a piece of furniture or a decorative accent has visual weight.  When the visual weight of each side of a room are the same then a room is balanced and hence pleasing to the eye.

One way designers create this equal balance of visual weight is through symmetrical balance. Symmetrical balance is created when one side of a room mirrors the other side of the room.

This method is a much simpler way to create balance because whatever you put on one side of a room you know will go in the same place on the side of the room.

Here are some examples of symmetrical spaces (or mostly symmetrical spaces)!

 

Minhnuyet Hardy Interiors via Houzz

 

Historical Concepts via Houzz

 

Austin Patterson Disston Architects via Houzz

Balance

via New England Home

balance 2

via Pinterest

balance3

via Coastal Living

The other avenue to creating balance (and perhaps more common) is through asymmetrical balance. This means that although both sides of a room are not identical that they are still equal in visual weight.

So what is visual weight?  And how do you balance it??

The visual weight of an item is determined by it’s size, color, and pattern (texture is related to pattern).

Simply put, the bigger its size, the heavier it’s visual weight.  The louder the color, the heavier it’s visual weight. And the busier it’s pattern, the heavier its​ visual weight.

Let’s look at the example below.  Here is an asymmetrically balanced space. The striped slipper chairs and larger pillows on the couch are identical on each side but pretty much everything else is different.

balance4

via Pottery Barn

How was this balanced achieved?  The table below breaks it down.

balance 5

Understanding the characteristics that create visual weight (size, color, pattern) will help you in designing rooms and spaces that are attractive and harmonious! Being familiar with these characteristics can assist you in adding or removing elements to your spaces.

Here are a few examples of asymmetrical balanced rooms.  If you are interested, take the time to study them and determine what items (and their characteristics) in the room created this homeostasis.

 

The Sitting Room via Houzz

 

Exquisite Kitchen Design via Houzz

 

SEED DESIGN via Houzz

 

 Moore Designs Inc via Houzz

Like the space below, many spaces include elements of both  symmetrical and asymmetrical balance!
Structures Building Inc. via Houzz

Want to discover more Design 101 pointers?  Here are 9 more to keep you learning!  Let me know if you have any questions and have a great rest of your week!:-)
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Comments

  1. Jennifer@decoratingdelirium says

    Wednesday, March 25, 2015 at 6:37 pm

    I love how you explain this Tamara. I have never thought about this topic in this much detail. Very educational! I am sorry to hear of your sick baby 🙁 Hang in there and I can’t wait to see your living room reveal!

    Reply
    • Tamara says

      Wednesday, March 25, 2015 at 9:11 pm

      Thank you, Jennifer!:-)

      Reply
  2. Nancy says

    Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 1:09 pm

    Hi Tamara,
    Great post. I’m in the symmetrical camp myself. I absolutely love the 4th picture of the dining room. I wonder if those chairs are slip covered or upholstered? I’m leaning toward slip overs when I look at armchairs at each end. I wish I knew how they treated the backs of the chairs if they are wood.

    Love your blog,
    Namcy

    Reply
    • Tamara says

      Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 5:59 pm

      Hi, Nancy! Isn’t that a gorgeous space!! My guess is that the chairs have a fitted slipcover on them. Fitted meaning that they were custom made for those chairs. As for the wood part I wonder if it would work to wrap them tightly and evenly with sheets of batting. Making a slipcover would be similar to reuphostering in some ways. So it maybe helpful to look over my recent reuphostering chairs post. Thanks for being here!:-)

      Reply
  3. JJ says

    Tuesday, April 7, 2015 at 9:44 am

    Gorgeous examples. Human neural architecture actually prefers symmetry. Symmetry is predominant in nature, so it makes sense that the human brain responds positively to it.

    Reply
    • Tamara says

      Tuesday, April 7, 2015 at 2:03 pm

      Good point, JJ!

      Reply
  4. graphogirl says

    Sunday, July 16, 2017 at 7:47 pm

    This is the best explanation of achieving room balance ever!

    Reply
    • Tamara says

      Sunday, July 16, 2017 at 9:36 pm

      So glad you found it helpful!!

      Reply

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