Create balance and calm in your home

Pairs of items can create balance and achieve that showhome look, says Jacqueline Wake Young

Function, balance and flow form the basis of good interior design. Showhomes show these off to great effect, which is what makes them so alluring to potential buyers. All design usually starts with the question: “What will this be used for?” Apply this question to your own home and the answers may seem obvious; bedrooms are for sleep; kitchens are for cooking and living rooms are for, well, living.

But interior designers understand rooms can be multi-functional, and the more functions a room caters for, the greater its value.

So, kitchens can be entertaining areas, bedrooms can be hotel-style sanctuaries and living rooms can be cosy nests and social arenas in one.

Flow is concerned with how people move through the space and visitors to showhomes may feel like they are gliding effortlessly from room to room.

The trick is to continue a theme, often a colour, throughout and have only essential items.

Balance is the finishing touch and is associated with calmness, luxury and taste.

It can be achieved in several ways, including through furniture arrangement and colour scheme. Symmetry and juxtaposition provide balance and an easy way to achieve it is with paired items.

A showhome is unlikely to have one lamp on an end table, but two matching ones, say at either end of the sofa.

To be really clever with symmetry, pair up items that aren’t identical, but which have similar proportions.

This will achieve that feeling of calm and cohesion – but in a much less obvious way.

The Forests set of two prints, £99, Abstract House.

Orla Kiely lampshades, £45, John Lewis.

Gold studded fruit deco, £25, Joe Browns.

Set of two tins, £6.95, Daisy Park.

Marino floor lamp, £199; Marino table lamp, £129, Accents by Sofology.

Set of two shelves with metal surround, £25, Argos.

Calina glass vases, £22-£25, Oliver Bonas.

Set of two baskets, £12.99, Homesense.