Does your house have a sense of ‘visual flow’? We’ve talked before about creating visual flow with paint colors, but there is more to consider when you want to create a room that not only looks beautiful but feels cohesive as a whole. If you want your house to feel calm and connected, it is helpful to simplify and pair down accessories so your eyes have moments to rest. I try for a careful balance in a room so it has visual interest and comes to life through accessories or artwork, yet doesn’t overwhelm you with too many busy vignettes and accessories all in one space.
I feel especially at peace in my home when I can step back, look across to rooms within my sight and feel like everything is playing nicely together–without too many things competing or calling out for attention. Not to say I don’t want pops of color, fun patterns or unique pieces here and there! Some areas will make more of a statement, and other areas will just gracefully add to the ambiance.
If you walk into a room and every wall or surface has something loud to say, it can be overwhelming to know where to look first.
It’s like going to a party full of extroverts when you are an introvert. Heheh.
Of course, what feels cluttered or loud to me may feel perfect for someone else, and vice versa. If it feels right to you and you love it, then it’s right for your home and you should embrace it!
Intentional decorating and getting a house to feel cohesive and pleasing to your own eye takes time. Adjustments often have to be made along the way to get things back to ‘the right flow.’ Obviously creating a home that works well together takes much longer than those ‘done in a day’ decorating shows!
For me, decorating my home isn’t about a rush to the finish line, but rather enjoying the process. So I’m OK with being patient.
Do you enjoy the slow process of decorating over time?
Read the Creating Visual Flow post, part one!
I do! And often, there’s no other choice, is there? haha We who enjoy decorating/arranging/organizing would be bored if it was all finished, anyway, so we might as well enjoy the slowness of the process! Good times!
Awesome post! I agree!
Great post! We moved into our house a year ago and I’ve been having fun making it our home. I think the hardest thing for me to remember is that it takes time. I have to fight with my impatient side that wants it done now!
What a wonderful article, and beautifully illustrated with the photos….I use the same principles of
“visual flow” when I am installing an art show – I am a curator at the Flinn Gallery in Greenwich, CT.
Well done!
Super post. I also love, love, love your gallery wall.
One of the most beautiful homes I ever visited wasn’t about the layout or the decorating. It was all about that visual flow. For each and every room was painted a peaceful soft blue green gray with white trim. And my eyes and heart just traveled from one space to the next as my feet moved through the rooms. And my soul breathed deep and rested still with the calm serenity of it all …
Sounds absolutely wonderful!!!
Wow, I so can relate to this post. So many pictures I see of rooms just look like visual clutter and noise to me because there is too much going on. I like how you also clarified that what is too busy for me may not be too busy for someone else. This post makes me want to do some careful editing of my home to make it restful on the eyes and cohesive. Thanks for posting.
I love the flow of your home, and that map wall always makes me smile. very thoughtful post, Melissa, thanks!
Thank you Cynthia!!
I love the “work in progress” aspect of decorating my home and I’m still so grateful that, being totally cash poor after I bought the house in Dec 2012, I’ve had to take the slow route over time. In fact, I’ve been having a ball and, though a long way from being done yet, I do wake up every morning with a smile on my face and I love walking into every room in my little house. Part of the fun of it all is getting inspired and my favorite go-to blogs such as yours, Melissa, always inspire me. Even if and though the total room doesn’t grab me because it’s just not me, I always find a takeaway. In fact, I found your blog because I was looking for inspiration to “grace” a console table and a bold blue dining room pix came up, not my color at all, but the perfect idea for what and how set that table. I checked your blog out further and I’m hooked. There are a couple of other blogs as well that work for me that way. You are all sites that I can sit down to with that morning cup of coffee and leave with an empty cup and a mind full of ideas. Great post!
Thank you! I feel the same way, it’s wonderful to find great ideas and take aways we can use in our own home! I’m happy you find inspiration here! :-D
Definitely! My home evolves as I evolve! Just in the short time (less than three years) that we have been in our home, the way we need rooms to function have changed and my tastes have changed. I enjoy “tweaking” things here and there. :)
Great advice…and something I’m continually working on, but I’m afraid I’m not as patient as you. I’m working on it though.
Your home is peaceful and inviting. Just lovely.
I am easily overstimulated both visually and audibly and so our home is decorated with this in mind. It took years to figure this out. I also find when there is clutter in my home, that is how my mind responds; I can’t focus.
We live in a busy, seldom slowing down world. Having a peacefully decorated home helps defuse our days.
I admit that my impatience with decorating has caused the occasional misstep and inevitable do-over. By nature, I am more of a charge ahead type…get it done sooner rather than later. But I’ve come to realize that behind what would initially appear to be haste, a lot of thinking, researching, planning, considering, mulling and musing has gone into the ideas that will result in my decorating upgrades, so when that last piece of the design puzzle falls into place in my head, I push ahead quickly to realize my vision and then enjoy the fruits of my efforts.
I have to decorate my home over a long period of time just because I really can’t afford to do otherwise. But, I enjoy it as I get to play with my home longer ane there is still so much progress that needs to be made. I feel justified in starting new small projects because I’m not “finished” yet.
Great tips. Shared on my FB page this week. :)
I love the map wall in the first photo! I have so many unframed maps I’d love to display but haven’t found a way to yet!
And definitely, I took my time to decorate my place and let its design evolve naturally. It worked pretty well, especially since most of my stuff was donated by friends and family and I just chose what I needed when it was available.
These are all great tips to use and go by. I always in the long run am happiest with the rooms or spaces that I slowly accumulated and tweaked until it became perfect. But I am so impatient I almost always want it to be done right away first, then life gets in the way and the slow growing of the room emerges.
One of the beautiful house as I ever seen, decorating style, texture and fabric that you used all are perfect. I’m a big fan of your blog. I love it.