In praise of circles

What is the most used shape in home decor?  It's the rectangle of course!

Tables, sofas, beds, dressers, area rugs etc;  even the shape of our rooms are rectangular.  When you have that many  similar shapes,  it is important to bring in another  shapes to create some variety  in a space.  Of course, the perfect pairing with all those rectangles  is a circular shape .

 Nothing pleases me more than circles and spheres. I use them liberally in both my art work and in home decor.   I don't consider a space complete until I have several  circular shapes in a room.  I have a fondness for circular tables in particular. Then there are all those objects you can find that are circular: mirrors, globes, glass spheres, clocks, ... the list is endless and there are so many ways to weave them into a space.  A poke around my Pinterest vignette board  revealed lots of circular motifs.


I spy with my little eye lots of ...

  circles and spheres

 Moving your eye around a room by creating constants (shapes, textures, colours) is a well known design principle.  Can you see how this homeowner created  visual flow with circular shapes?

 Love the freshness of this arrangement.  There's nothing like the colours of nature  to attract our senses. There are circles/spheres everywhere here.

This arrangement of two circles inside a square is simplicity at its best.  Our eye is drawn to the juxtaposition in both shape and colour.  Isn't it interesting how contrast continually draws us? You could not sit in this room and ignore this wall.

This high contrast room has a similar design aesthetic to the one above, but there  is more variety in sizes.

 

 

 In this room we are first drawn to colour and pattern and the coloured spheres in the lamp add to the overall effect.    The lamp  is stunning and not easily ignored .  The second lamp looks almost insignificant and perhaps (in my mind) it needs to be a tad larger. Scale is so tricky! Purple and light wood- it doesn't get any better than this.

 One of my favourite tricks is to overlap shapes when I pair objects.  Love this simple mantle arrangement that sends your eyes round and round. Additional circular shapes are repeated with the table, vases and wheels on the coffee table.

Another circular shape overlapping a rectangle.  Notice how the handles and the tufting creates visual flow? If I could wave a magic want, I would make the mirror just a tad larger. 

 When you pair something red, with print and add in a circular shape, you have the ultimate pairing if you want to create a focal point.  The additional  rounded shapes in the carved letters move our eyes throughout the vignette.  This odd  assortment of objects is very eye catching.  I'd edit the hide rug because I would like to see the cabinet  without visual competition.

 A strong colour and  variety in shapes create an eye catching arrangement. Imagine how boring this vignette would be if all the objects were rectangular!


I think  the textures, light wood and circular motifs make this a very inviting room. I just want to see more of it. 

 

 Maybe you can have too much of a good thing.  What do you think?

Links to all of these rooms can be found on my Pinterest site highlighted at the beginning of this post.

How do you feel about circles.  Do  you consciously use them when decorating?

Can you mix metal finishes?

I love reader questions because they give  me a writing focus a post.  So here goes...

Can you mix metals in your finishes?  The answer is a resounding YES!!  You can also match all your finishes. I personally find that a  space can look  somewhat boring if you choose to slavishly match every metal finish, but that's me. I like harmony with some variety.

Marc Jacobs "Love Edge" Heart Bracelet shows that metals really do work well together.

Here are a few guidelines that will ensure that you have a cohesive look.

Work with what you like best
If you are renovating/ updating, choose the finish you like the best / is the most stylish and match to it. Be aware that a dull gold/brass look is trending right now as is chrome, and it may not be long before all that brushed nickel will have a new status.

Limit the variety of tones
If you already have things in silver tones (brushed nickel, pewter or chrome) consider mixing them with wrought iron or black finishes. Two to three tones would be the limit or you will end up with a hodge podge.

Connect with other tones in the room
In the picture below black is used predominately in the light fixtures while the faucet has silver tones and the handles are either pewter or brushed nickel, still in the silver family. Because black carries such visual weight it works best when there is something else black in the space to help anchor it.

 

 Witt Construction

Whitney Blair Custom Homes

The heavy black lighting fixtures in the previous picture would overwhelm this room because there's  little black in the space. The delicate application of black does not look out of place in the lighting.   

 Rebekah Zaveloff

Many older homes have brass or copper fixtures that  look good  when paired with oil rubbed bronze or black. If you already have something that is dark in the room this is the tone you should select to supplement with. While copper and black breaks the keeping to the same tone guideline, it can work when you have other black furnishings.

Elaine Griffin Interiors

Copper in this space is paired with stainless steel and possibly pewter.  The copper is picking up the tones in the wood and your eye is moved around the space very nicely. It's all a matter of creating flow.