You enter your living room. Something feels off.
You can’t explain it. The furniture is nice. The paint had appeared nice in the store. However, there is something amiss with the room.
You can believe I get this a lot. Having been dealing with hundreds of clients throughout the last decade, it has taught me that sometimes homes that seem strange when you see them are not. They are only messaging messages that most people do not understand how to decipher.
“My Room Feels Uncomfortable, But I Can’t Tell Why”
“Oh, why, I suppose one side is heavier than the other?”
“Yes! How did you know?”
This is visual balance. And it happens to take the blame when someone tells me that my home looks weird.
Francis D.K. Ching in the book Interior Design Illustrated (2018) defines the concept of balance as a fundamental visual first principle that influences the comfort or discomfort of a room. When one side of the brain appears heavier than the other, it catches the brain by default.
Think of it like a seesaw. When all the weight is on one side it capsizes. Your room works the same way.
The following is my solution: Take a picture at your room. Does your eye dumbly presume to linger at one side of the spot? That’s the problem. Push towards the light side, something on the heavy side. A book-shelf low can be supported by a tall plant. Balance is not about symmetry, but rather making harmony. It is among the most important interior designing tips for the living room I would give any client.
“I Hate My Paint Color Now, but I Loved It at the Store”
“When I purchased it the colour was beautiful. This time of it appears entirely different!”
“That is because light changes everything.”
The identical living room colour appears to be different in the morning light, afternoon lighting, and in the evening lighting. The study of colour theories demonstrates that there is a warm-cool cycle to natural light, and man-made lights distort the paint colour (Birren, Color Psychology and Color Theory, 2013).
I’ve seen beige turn yellow. Gray turns blue. White looks dirty. That is why my home looks weird, such a typical complaint after painting.
What I do with each client: Foul your paint on each wall of four. In the morning, morning, morning see it. It saves you from repainting. Pro-tip: In case you already have a picture on and dislike it, another thing you can do to rearrange it is to switch your light bulbs.
“My Furniture Looks Good, But the Room Still Feels Wrong”
“I paid good money for this sofa. Why does it look so awkward?”
“Because it is, no doubt, too large to fit in your room.”
The Designing Interiors (2014) by Kilmer and Kilmer suggests that scale and proportion affect spatial harmony rather than the style of the decor. One mega-sofa consumes your room. Small art loses itself on a large wall. Large rugs will make your room appear smaller in size.
My 70-percent rule: The proportion of furniture in the space in which it is situated ought to be approximately 70 percent of all the space.
When the scale is erroneous, my home looks weird. It matters particularly when it comes to planning furniture ideas in smaller spaces.
“My Home Feels Chaotic and I Don’t Know Why”
“Even when it is clean, my place is just messy.”
“That’s clutter. and it wears your wit out pointless.”
According to studies conducted by Saxbe and Repetti (2010), visual fatigue and anxiety are caused by clutter. Your eyes lack a place of rest. Your brain keeps scanning.
This is what I observe in most houses where people say my home looks weird: everything is covered. Too many small items. Unthoughtful random gifts. No empty space.
What changed my design career: I realized that good design does not lie in making more. It has to do with knowing what to take away. Sometimes all that a space requires is breathing space. This is one of the major guidelines in the modern living room design.
Let us do a test, empty a third of what is on your shelves. Put it in a box. Live with the space for a week.
“I Put It All together Logically and It Does Not Look Good”
“I put the sofa facing the TV. The place is all where it belongs. What’s wrong?”
“Logical can sometimes not be visual.”
Christopher Alexander wrote A Pattern Language (1977) discussing the influence of layout on motion, comfort and psychological comfort. It is out of place when the furniture is placed on routes, you have no centrepiece, or you have it all against the walls.
The trick up my sleeve: An anchor must be present in every room. That’s your focal point. It may be your fireplace, a window, art, or your bed. Ready all things there about that anchor.
Move your sofa out of the wall. Create conversation areas. Allow your furniture to hang. This is among the best interior designing tips for the living room that I can offer you.
“My Room Feels Flat and Boring”
“I don’t know what’s missing. It just feels…empty?”
“You’re missing texture.”
In Interior Design (2007), John Pile points out that textures provide depth, warmth and emotional attachment. When it is all too shiny it is cold. Too matte, it feels dull. Too smooth, it feels flat.
It is then that my home looks weird is the complaint though the actual problem is texture.
My way of applying texture: Synch texture. A velvet sofa. A jute rug. Linen curtains. A wood table. A metal lamp. This overlaying method is critical to a modern living room design.
Add a chunky throw. Swap plastic for ceramic. Instead of smooth cushions, use textured cushions. Fabric is why luxurious hotels are expensive.
“My Home Looks Nice, But It Doesn’t Feel Like Mine”
“I cloned everything I saw on Pinterest. But it still feels…wrong.”
“Because it’s not you.”
Studies indicate that our space should fit our personalities to be comfortable (Proshansky 1978), it is observed that our place identity is shaped by our personality. When everything is perfect with no personalized photos or objects, it looks amazing on the photos but appears chilled in real life.
Gather out the vase of the grandmother. Hang your kids’ artwork. Keep books you actually read. Show your travel photos. The most beautiful modern style of living room design fails miserably unless it appeals to who you are.
“Some Corners Look Empty, Others Look Stuffed”
“I do not understand how much is the right amount.”
“That’s density imbalance.”
The existence of visual rhythm in the spacing between objects that acts as a natural guide to the eye is an ideal requirement of the design, as per the design thinking studies by Haziza and Bucolo (2015).
The fix: Spread things evenly. Think of your room in thirds. A third of it must be weight (furniture). Interest (decor, art) has to be one-third. Breathing space (nothing at all) should be one-third.
In assigning visual weight equally, all the pieces fall into place. This is regardless of whether you are doing the colour schemes of your living room or your placement.
The Reality behind Homes That Look Weird
Having spent more than ten years in interior design, this is what I am able to tell you: When you believe that my home looks weird, it is not so. It is simply disproportionate or unintended or ill-fitting.
Home beauty occurs when there is a feeling of intentionality with the balance, colors play with your lighting, the layout is smooth, the scale makes sense, texture is three dimensional depth, clutter is tamed, and a reflection of yourself.
Want Help Fixing Your Space?
Should the word weird still be used to describe your feeling when you look at your home, then you are not alone. I am an interior designer and have 10 years of experience and I can specifically tell you what is causing stuff to go wrong.
The majority of the issues are easily resolved. These are simple interior design suggestions of the living room. They are founded on the knowledge of the interaction of visual elements.
As soon as you learn such principles, like how to pick the right colour of the living room, or how to make your furniture intelligent, you will begin to look at your space in a new way. You will know precisely what to correct. And that “weird” feeling? It’ll disappear.
Need some details regarding your particular space? Comment below or get in touch I would be happy to help you figure out what your home is speaking to you about.
