- By Chloe Taylor

For a well-designed, visually-balanced and appealing home, you need to implement different design elements. While some elements will help you accentuate the beauty of your home, others will bring focus to specific features. Focal points are one of the most important interior design factors that can help you create a complete, harmonious and authentic look in your home.

Design an understated base

A focal point should stand out in a given setting and dominate the entire room. Although the authenticity of your focal points will contribute to their appeal, the key to accentuating them lies in creating a subtle base. In a carefully designed space with a subtle colour scheme, even a simple, yet conspicuous piece can come into focus. Therefore, you should start by designing a subdued backdrop that will allow your focal points to take the centre stage in your home. You can achieve this by picking a neutral or muted colour scheme or simply decluttering your space and making room for more dominant pieces.

Use lighting to accentuate

Lighting is great solution for emphasising a focal point in your home. In particular, accent lights are used to let certain details in your home stand out. For instance, if you want to use an awe-inspiring painting on an empty wall as the focal point in your living room, you can install subtle downlights that will gently illuminate your artwork. You can always use lighting to bring more focus to a particular piece, so make sure to experiment with its placement.

Highlight the architectural features

The easiest way to create a mesmerising focal point is to accentuate your home’s authentic architectural features. Typically, a fireplace can be transformed into a stylish, enchanting focal point that will set the tone for the entire room. You can also highlight your bedroom window with an inspiring view by simply not covering it with curtains. Other architectural features that you can use as focal points in your home include peculiarly angled walls, stunning pillars, built-in shelves and vaulted ceilings.

Experiment with colours and patterns

You can create your own focal points by transforming certain pieces using bold colours and intricate patterns. For instance, you can simply reupholster a piece of furniture and use a playful, colourful fabric design to set it apart from the rest of the set. This is highly effective in monochromatic settings with a neutral palette. You can also paint a column differently from the rest of your space to place more emphasis onto it instantly.

Bring focus to your rugs and carpets

Even the most overlooked areas in your home can be used as charming focal points, including your flooring. For instance, rugs and carpets are often used as the most dominant details in Australian homes, giving them a unique character. You can find beautiful and stylish rugs and carpets with mesmerising patterns that you can use in your home as focal points. If you already have an authentic carpet, you don’t even have to buy a new one, but simply have it professionally cleaned. For instance, premier carpet cleaning in Camden is highly effective because cleaning experts use a unique, meticulous cleaning process that consists of seven steps. With such a detailed approach, your old carpet will look as beautiful as the first day you bought it.

Emphasise nature

Natural details can also be used as focal points, bringing a sense of peacefulness to your home. For instance, you can design a green corner in your room and place plants of varying colours and heights. Not only will this dominate your space, but it will also brighten up your dark corners. You can also place hanging planters slightly above your wooden headboard for a beautiful flair. Finally, you can also design an entire green wall and let its natural beauty permeate your home.

Design stunning feature walls

An empty wall is like a blank canvas, so why not transform it into your masterpiece? You can turn a simple white wall into the most stunning focal point in your home. You have a world of inspiration for unique feature walls. You can design an exposed brick wall for a rough, unfinished look or paint it black for a “wow” effect. Applying wallpaper is also a great way to transform a plain wall into a creative design statement. The only thing you need to do is choose one of the most inspiring wallpaper designs there are.

Focal points are what will bring a sense of authenticity to your home, elevate its décor and create a truly harmoniously designed look.