My 5 Design Principles

1) Make conversation spaces:

Problem: Many people just throw furniture together and make a big mess of dysfunctional objects.

Psychology: When your space feels messy, unorganized and incomplete you feel extremely uncomfortable, discontent, and disconnected in it.

Solution: This is how you avoid doing this; Ex. You have a couch, a coffee table, an end table and three arm chairs. Use the couch coffee table and 1 of the arm chairs as a sitting space for the living room. Then in a corner of the same room put the other two chairs and the end table together and make a reading corner. And viola, you have created two spaces in one room.

Result: You will feel like your space has a purpose, meaning and the feeling of closeness with the people around you. Also, creating two spaces in one room allows two people their own private space, but both are still enjoying each others company.

2) Place nothing against the wall:

Problem: Putting all of your furniture against the wall, makes your space feel awkward.

Psychology:  It makes you feel uninvited, it is like all of your furniture has spread to the walls and is running away from you, like they do not want you to sit or enjoy them.

Solution: If something needs to be near a wall, still keep it at least 5 inches from the wall. Also, use your new knowledge of making spaces to avoid doing this.

Result: Never putting anything up against walls places your furniture closer together and invites conversation and security.

3) Put furniture on angles:

Problem: Without angles your space lacks class and points of view.

Psychology: Your space will look like it is out of a magazine if you effectively put something at an angle. In art there is always just one thing that is off a little.

Solution: Put your biggest piece of furniture on an angle, like your entertainment set or your dinning room table. You can even place small pieces of furniture on an angle for a little less of a dramatic effect.

Result: You will look at your room as if you are looking at a piece of art.

4) Entourage:

Problem: When you have no plants or greenery in your space, your space looks dead.

Psychology: We never want to feel like we are alone. Plants and flowers make us feel calmer in a space.

Solution: Invest in a large house plant. They are super easy to take care of. Also try putting fresh flowers on your dinning room table each week. Or buy a fake flower arrangement (your brain can’t tell the difference) and sit it on an end able.

Result: A Challenge, Put a plant in a room and just stare at the room and evaluate how you feel. Then take the plant out and look at the space and assess how you feel. Now put the plant back in the space. You will notice a difference.

5) Focal points on the walls:

Problem: A space looks finished when you have a wonderful piece of art on the wall, but on the other hand a space can look tacky and over done if you have too much stuff on the walls.

Psychology: We hate blank space and walls are a huge amount of negative space.  Negative space aggregates our emotions when they have no purpose.  It makes our space feel empty, making us have feelings of depression and worry. However, when overdoing the negative space on the walls we can feel overwhelmed.

Solution: Create a focal point with one or two piece of art, by clustering the pieces and hanging them at eye level.  If you have a large piece of art just stand it alone on the wall, if you have a rather small piece of art collage it with other like pieces and center them on the wall.  Note: Putting focal points on every wall is over doing it, just put art on one or two walls. Balance the focal point by putting a large or high piece of furniture on the opposite undecorated wall. Also, you can just add a splash of color on one wall, it also gives the eye something to look at much like a piece of art would.

Result: A finished space.


Note: None of these principles/suggestions will substitute the expertise of a Designer