What’s a focal point?

It’s the first thing you see when you walk into a space.

Definition of a Focal Point

NOUN

1. the point at which all elements or aspects converge; center of activity or attention.

2. the central or principal point of focus.

If you don’t have a focal point, create one…

It can be a wall of windows. Take advantage of this feature and orient your furniture around it. Keep in mind the height of whatever you place in front of your focal point so that you don’t block the view from the rest of the space.

Sometimes there can be two points of focus. In this case the water view and TV (pictured below). We used an L-shaped sectional so that you can take advantage of both. Before, the TV was a small feature on the adjacent wall and was no competition for the large windows overlooking the water. Now, surrounding the TV with custom shelves gives this wall a bigger presence and a competitive edge for the view. To see the full project, click The Herringbone House !

Create a Focal Point that Truly Stands Out

If you’re asking yourself which of these two features is the focal point, the TV/Fireplace or Console/Art, then there isn’t a central point of focus. Adding floating shelves to showcase collectibles to both sides of the fireplace and horizontal wood planks in the same color as the shelves helped to unify these two features. Now, the entire wall reads as one focal point. To see the full project, click Mid-Century Twist!

Here’s another example. This is a common occurrence when you have a fireplace in the same room where you watch TV. I don’t know about you, but I find myself wanting to light the fireplace, but you can’t watch both at the same time which divides our attention. To fix this, simply make a feature of the fireplace wall. By adding horizontal wood planks, a mantle, and the TV, there is no question where the focal point is! To see the full project, click The Guitar House!

Find a Focal Point!