How to Easily Create Focal Points Around the House

Guest Post Alert! This week we are happy to feature guest blogger and design consultant Catherine Collins who shows us how to easily create focal points around the house.

​Catherine is a passionate home design consultant from Melbourne, Australia who loves making homes beautiful and buildings sustainable. She is a regular contributor to Smoothdecorator.com. Follow her tips and tricks on Twitter.   
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​​By Catherine Collins
If you want your home to look professionally designed and stylish, you need to have a good focal point. A focal point of the space is the first thing your eye goes to when you step into a room. A lot of elements can serve this honorary role that boosts the aesthetics and value of the whole house. Which elements, you ask? Take a look at this guide, and you’ll certainly get some great focal point ideas for your home. 

​Eye-catching artwork
Artwork always attracts attention, even when it’s small and badly placed. However, if you introduce one large and interesting piece of art into your space, it can serve as a very effective focal point. So, visit your local gallery, find an original piece you like and proudly display it in your home. The best location for your art is a wall that’s visible right from the entrance to the room. And if you go an extra step and install dramatic lighting that further emphasizes the piece, the eye will automatically wander off to your focal point. 

​Highlight your architecture
Many rooms already have a very effective focal point, but many people just don’t know how to recognize it. If you have attractive French doors, a fireplace, a clawfoot freestanding tub or a large window, you have a huge head start when creating your focal point. Other interesting architectural elements like unusually shaped arches, fireplaces, high ceilings with exposed wood beams, circular staircases or built-in niches or bookshelves can also serve as amazing focal points once they are appropriately lit and painted. If you have any of these interesting elements, you don’t have to invest a lot of money into the decoration. Use your beautiful architecture and start building your interior around it. 

Opt for interesting designer furniture
An interesting piece of furniture can serve as a great focal point of your space. There are two elements you can highlight—the design and the size of the piece. For instance, you can introduce a small but cute statement French settee or chaise lounge like those from Rococo Decor whose design will attract attention and boost your overall aesthetics. ​whose design will attract attention and boost your overall aesthetics. On the other hand, you can opt for a large piece whose size will attract the eye. 

Go green
If you want to add a natural element to your home, you can get a huge plant or a grouping of several smaller plants that will serve as your focal point. It will both draw the eye and freshen up your space. However, be careful while making your plant choice. Some plants require a lot of natural light, water, fertilizer and care in order to thrive. You don’t want your focal point to be a wilted and damaged plant. So, unless you’re ready to dedicate a lot of time to some demanding plant, better opt for a kind that’s native to your area and requires very little care. 

​Light it up
Even though many people tend to neglect lighting, stylish fixtures can make great statements in interior design. If you want to use lighting as a focal point, make sure to go all out and opt for a large and interesting fixture. Luxe chandeliers and contemporary hanging pendants usually attract the most attention. As you can see, having a good focal point is half the work towards a good interior design. If your space lacks a focal point, feel free to try out any of these ideas, and you’ll certainly end up with an attractive and well-thought-out space. And once you locate your accent piece, the rest of the decoration will be a piece of cake. 

​About At Home With Amy:
At Home With Amy is the lifestyle blog of Amy Puchaty Communications LLC - a bespoke content services firm specializing in luxury real estate marketing. Owner, Amy Puchaty, is a luxury real estate writer and communications specialist whose marketing campaigns and copywriting work have appeared in numerous print and digital publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Architectural Digest, Inman News, The Denver Post, and Dallas Business Journal to name a few. Why Amy Puchaty? Because it’s selling season. Follow Amy at www.amypuchaty.com #AtHomeWithAmy #AmyPuchaty #LuxuryRealEstateWriter