PERFECT SYMMETRY

Creating feel- good interiors is the essence of classic decorating schemes. MAGGIE STEVENSON asks the experts to distil the key elements of this style…

Rooms that feel calm and comfortable invariably contain some element of symmetry. A chimney breast with alcoves on either side, or a pair of matching windows invites the balanced arrangement of furniture and objects. Where there are no architectural features to o er direction, a significant piece such as a sideboard or sofa, a patterned rug or even a contrasting co ee table or footstool will provide focus. Taken to its extreme, symmetry can produce a forced, stagey look, so the addition of one or two nonmatching pieces of similar visual weight will give a less regimented, more natural air. In the sitting room (left), a pair of armchairs covered in di erent fabrics inject life and individuality into a formally arranged scheme.

BELOW LEFT ‘Fontana’ coffee table, £ 935; ‘Atticus’ armchair, £ 985; ‘Camille’ console, £ 395; ‘ Zamindar’ four- poster bed, £ 4,650; ‘Durbar’ chest of drawers, £1,595, all Oka BELOW RIGHT Drawing room in Will Fisher’s home with 18th and 19th- century blue-and-white pots on a George II- style ‘Holkham’ console table, £7,500, Jamb. For similar pots, try indigo- uk.com