Contemporary Living Room Design: Creating Balance without Symmetry

Contemporary living room design articles are commonly focused on designing symmetrical living rooms in the average household, and you can find many design style ideas and tips for symmetrical design, but very few suggestions for those homeowners with asymmetrical spaces to decorate. Creating balance without symmetry is not an impossible suggestion; it just takes some relearning what it takes to create balance, since most of us look at it from the wrong perspective. After all, balance is more than just the same amount and size of space on either side of the living room.

To achieve balance without symmetry, create a sense of balance in the room by furniture and accessory distribution. For instance, if you can ensure that attention is equally diverted throughout the room, then you have achieved balance in the room regardless of symmetry. Make sure that an equal number of furniture pieces and accessories are on either side of the room so that no one side receives the bulk of the attention in the living room. Test your design by asking someone new to visit the room, and gauge their reaction. If attention is diverted equally throughout the room, then you have achieved balance. Should you notice attention being focused more on one side than the other, you should consider some basic changes to the furniture layout.

Experts recommend using organization to create balance when symmetry is lacking. You can organize the room so that the balance is achieved by the lack of chaos in the room primarily, but the sense of balance is heightened by a proper use of each square foot in the room. Wasted space lends more to the feeling of asymmetry in the room, and it will be noticed very quickly in the space. Using the space in an effective and efficient manner is the best way to direct attention away from the asymmetry and toward the living room and focal points therein.

Create balance by designing a floor plan and layout that does not follow the real axis in the room, and do not use furniture to create an axis in the room either. Avoid creating direct lines, whether they are horizontal, vertical, or diagonal in an asymmetrical space. This is a common home décor faux pas in an asymmetrical room, and placing furniture and accessories along the room’s real axis will only lend more to the feeling of unbalance in the room. Create an almost random furniture placement design so that there is no feeling of awkwardness throughout the room.

Draw a diagram of your room, and then practice furniture placement on the diagram before doing it in the room. This will keep you from moving furniture around multiple times trying to get a feel for balanced placement in the room. Drawing the placement on the diagram will help you see the room before you begin moving everything. You can save a lot of time and energy in this way, simply by doodling and thinking over your designs more carefully before you actually begin the physical task. Once you found a furniture placement that works well, use decorativeiron wall art that is scaled to the room’s proportions to create a focal point wherever one is needed. Whether you use a traditional framed painting or modern nude metal wall hangings, artwork can be add the perfect stylistic touch to the space.