In the garden a water feature, such as a fountain, becomes a focal point. The focal point is the feature that people are naturally going to be drawn too visually. Focal points add interest. Our interior spaces should also be given special focal points.
In a bed room the focal point is often the bed itself, but may be a romantic fireplace. In the kitchen the focal point may be the center piece on a kitchen table. In great rooms it may be the window or chandelier. Televisions are often a focal point. Sometimes there is no obvious focal point, or there may be too many focal points.
How to Create,or find a Focal Point
The best way to find a focal point in a room is to pick one element that you are especially proud of and make it prominent. Start by considering the typical focal points, plants, art, televisions, or fireplaces.
In a room with no obvious focal point, you need to create one. Large art work is often one of the best focal points, and can say something about you, and your personal style. Original art is far more meaningful and powerful as a focal point than a cheap generic print. Use a frame that compliments both the work of art and your decor. Select a work of art that means something to you, not just one that matches your sofa. Use that work of art as a theme for other pieces in the room, each should work in harmony with the main focal point.
If the television, or fire place, is the focal point of the room, remove clutter from the area around it. Make sure to draw the eye to the feature you want to show off most. It is fine to have a few objects on the mantel but do not let the knick knacks feel overwhelming.
Often times in family living spaces a grouping of family pictures on a wall will become the focal point. Use either similar frames, or pictures finished in a similar way, such as all black and white photos. This will create unity making several small features act as one focal point.
If a grand window is the focal point, show it off. Use sheer curtains so the eye is drawn to the window rather than to the curtains themselves. In homes with bay windows, or over-sized tall windows, the window is the focal point, and should not be blocked with furniture.
If a room has too many large features it becomes difficult to know which one is the focal point, you need to pick one feature and make it more prominent while decreasing the prominence of the others. What feature most adds to the room? Keep that element and remove the others or display them less prominently.
Black is a very powerful color, in most rooms any large object that is black will naturally become a focal point. Red can also be used this way. In combination, the two colors are bold and attention getting. This is important to know when you are trying to find a focal point. If you have a large but otherwise plain sculpture, for example, that you wish to use as a focal point, you could place the sculpture on a black, or red, velvet piece. If a plain colored object is to become the focal point, other colorful objects should be removed from the room of they will compete for attention.
If we are to remember the water feature being so key as a focal point in the garden, we may even wish to bring one indoors. In a room graced with windows and plants, a water feature would be a very wise, and soothing, focal point indeed.
Remember a focal point is what ever you want it to be. It should be something that you love, and something that others will associate with you. It can either be a natural feature of the house, something that appealed to you when you bought the home, or it can be something you have added. Think about the things in the room, what appealed most to you when you bought them? Think about the natural features of a room, the window, a staircase, what caught your eye?
Once you have decided what you want to use as your focal point, go back and follow the suggestions given earlier to make that point stand out. You will be glad you did.