Style Stories | Principles Of Design: Harmony

Darren has a broad portfolio, having studied fine art & graphic design, originally working in advertising and owning his own graphic design company. After succumbing to his true passion, Darren now operates his own interior design studio and has been a judge on numerous seasons of The Block.

Have you ever walked into a room and felt overwhelmed by it? Maybe your eyes or your brain hurt just by entering a space! That’s usually because there’s no sense of harmony or unity within the room. Here is my guide on how to define and create harmony within your home.

COHESION

According to Gestalt psychology, our eyes are constantly taking in large amounts of information. To simplify and manage it, our brains group together elements into recognisable patterns.

First, you’ll recognise the type of room it is, such as a dining room or lounge room. Your brain then groups together smaller elements within the room whilst it processes all the detail. To help your brain easily group these elements, you need to think about one of the simplest yet most important principles of interior design - creating a feeling of harmony through a cohesive palette.

CREATING UNITY THROUGH INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTS

Using the same design elements, such as repeating uniform colour and materials, is a surefire way to create harmony and cohesion. That doesn’t mean that you need to have a neutral or monochromatic palette - or even restrict yourself to one colour or timber - all it means is that you need to work at giving elements within your scheme, such as the colour and type of flooring, other elements to refer to, to create a sense of unity and harmony.

It doesn’t mean that your whole home needs to be filled with oak. You can still achieve harmony by using other inclusions with a similar colour, irrespective of their material. Think about when you squint your eyes, aged oak looks the same colour as tan leather or even brass. For this palette, add gold-toned items or materials like rattan, pampas grass or a mustard/ golden toned throw pillow or home décor item to create a harmonious palette.

VISUAL BALANCE

It is possible to layer several harmonious palettes. For example, if you want to include a second timber colour, such as a grey or walnut, simply find other elements in your scheme that will tie in the grey or brown colours.

LOOK AT THE LINES

Cohesion is also important in terms of the style and mood you are creating. Selecting appropriate lines for the legs on your furniture will help create cohesion within the space.

Square legged furniture works well with other square legged furniture. Perfectly cylindrical shapes work best together, just like mid-century tapered legs work best together.

It’s not that you have to slavishly adhere to the same colour, style and family of furniture in your home, but you should think about the shape and line of your inclusions and whether they are the correct selections to work within your desired style - whether that be a period based style such as mid-century or deco, or a geographic based one such as country or Hamptons. Selecting the correct inclusions within your style creates a cohesive interior, which in turn will create a harmonious feeling and the perfect outcome.

START WITH FOCAL POINTS

If you’re having trouble finding a place to start when creating your own harmonious palette, focus on one central element from which to draw upon. It could be an artwork, a rug, or an architectural detail, form, colour or material. Using one element as your main source of inspiration, and then extrapolating the detail across your spaces, will give you a harmonious starting point for your home.