Finding a room’s “anchor”

I love quick and dirty design advice to wield out to friends or clients in a pinch. I have a few on-hand tips to get you un-stuck from whatever road block you may be facing. A lot of times, the biggest hurtle I’m asked about is simply where to begin. For a lot of homeowners, especially those new to a house, an empty space can feel very daunting - color schemes, furniture layout, décor and lighting decisions are overwhelming when working with a blank canvas.

Source: Crystal Sinclair Designs

My solution to this is to find the room’s anchor. Meaning, what’s the thing that will pin down the style of the space? What the thing that you can create a room around? This can be an architectural detail like a bank of bookcases or a fireplace, or it can be a piece that you already own like a piece of wall art or furniture.

Obviously, a fireplace is a great anchor since it already requires (demands, even) attention in the layout a room. But you can amplify this by taking cues from it’s inherent styling - like mimicking the woodwork elsewhere or using the mantel as a stage for other key décor.

Source: Pappas Miron

My other favorite trick when it comes to your color scheme is to use a piece of artwork as your anchor. If you have a painting or print in your collection that you are drawn to, pull out accent colors from it to tie the room together and pick wall and large area paints that work with the tones of the painting as well.

Source: Carlos Garcia

Historic home interiors can be very expressive on their own, so make sure you utilize the story your house is already telling to either work with or push against, creating an and intentional and dynamic relationship between what’s already there and what you bring into a space.