The owner of Décor Focus at Bishop’s Gate, Bronwyn Barry is currently running a series of seminars on interior design. Last week, Our Homes TODAY covered the first topic, Discover Your Style. Today, we examine the main points of the second topic, Successful Planning.

According to Bronwyn, a successful room is one that’s functional, expresses a mood, exhibits a sense of harmony and follows the basic five rules of design encompassing balance, creating a focal point, continuity, proportion and harmony.    

When planning a room Bronwyn encourages people to draw the space on a large sheet of paper, giving an indication of furniture placement. 

“The intention of the plan is to show the ‘weight’ of various objects in relation to others in the room; check whether they’re in balance and give a sense of proportion,” Bronwyn says. 

“Draw in the windows and doors too and indicate whether they open inwards or outwards. This also affects issues of balance and helps illustrate whether flow around the room can be improved.   

Then, consider the function of the room. How many people will be using the space and for what purpose?  Is it a single purpose room or a multi-functional one?  

Once the function has been established, it’s time to consider the desired mood of the space, although often function will determine this to a large extent.  Ask yourself:

• What look and feel do I have in mind?

• Is it warm and nurturing, feminine, masculine, formal or informal?

Aside from accessories and soft furnishings, Bronwyn says one of the easiest ways to create mood is through the use of colour.

“Mood boards are also useful in helping to narrow options. These usually comprise a collection of appealing schemes from fabric swatches, magazines, favoured colour samples, flooring options, cabinetry and surfaces that all go into making a visual story board. Some people even create several boards if they have a couple of strong contenders for the mood of their project.”  

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Then it’s on to more practical and sometimes controversial points such as where to place the television. Options can be limited in contemporary homes because of the expanse of glass.

“Mounting wide screen televisions on the wall eliminates the problem of taking up valuable floor space, but consider carefully where the television will be positioned,” Bronwyn says. “Because screens are often very large, they can become the focal point in a room and there should be consensus about this.” 

Focal points are usually at eye level. They can be artworks, large mirrors or a stylish console that contains several decorative pieces.  Even the striking contemporary wallpapers available on the market today can make a very effective focal statement. 

“Try to avoid placing large pieces of furniture around the periphery of a room. Instead, move large items such as sofas towards the centre, creating comfortable social spaces. This will free up space around the edge of the room for items such as consoles and shelving.”  

Other aspects that affect the planning process are the style of architecture of the home, existing furniture that needs to be incorporated into a room, the location of the home and surrounding environment – whether it’s a coastal property, a house in the country, or an apartment in the middle of the city.