Proportions and Balance in Interior Design
Proportions and balance in interior design are two of the fundamental problems faced by anyone who decides to make changes to the decoration of a space. They ensure that a design is pleasing to the eye and that the aesthetics are correct. But how can this be achieved?
The first and most common way is to use your eye and through "trial and error" determine the most successful and pleasing to the eye design. The more experience you have in decorating, the fewer attempts you will need.
The second and possibly safest way is to follow some specific mathematical formulas, as the rules of proportions "spring" from mathematics. Just as when you listen to music you can instinctively identify a wrong note, as it does not fit with the rest of the song, so in interior design a "dissonance" is easily distinguished, even by people without much relevant experience. So make your life easy and follow the following simple mathematical rules!
The Golden Ratio
A system of rectangles that was fully developed in Ancient Greece, but may have been used as early as early Egyptian times during the construction of the pyramids. Essentially, it is a ratio of the sides of a rectangle that is considered to be attractive to the human eye. This ratio is 0.62 to 1. In practice, for convenience, it can be simplified to 2/3 to 1. In other words, imagine a rectangle with a width of 1 meter and a length of 1.62 meters. This ratio is often used in the size of walls, window openings or, more simply, in the dimensions of furniture (such as coffee or dining tables) and decorations (such as vases and wall decorations ).
The Fibonacci Sequence
A useful series of numbers used to determine proportions. Each number is the sum of the two preceding it, so the sequence is 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, and so on to infinity. Any number after 13, when divided by the number before it, gives 1.62, the same constant we found in the Golden Ratio! As one might conclude, the two methods lead to exactly the same proportion. Any shape that is uniform, such as a cylinder or a rectangle (think of dining tables and buffets , for example), can use this proportion.
The 60/30/10 Rule
If we generalize the Golden Ratio ratio, which as we have seen is 0.62 to 1, we get the ratio 60/40. However, this ratio is limited to describing the relationship between two sizes. To overcome this limitation, interior designers have created an extension of the Golden Ratio rule, the 60/30/10 Rule. In this way, they can now easily describe the relationship between three sizes and not just two.
We most often encounter this rule in colors, and specifically in how "dominant" each of the three colors we have chosen for our space will be. At the same time, the total surface area occupied by our furniture should be close to 60% of the total space, the television close to 40% of the furniture on which it sits, and the coffee table close to 40% of the length of the largest sofa it serves.
Were you aware of the role these mathematical formulas play in interior design? If so, do you apply them in some way in your home? We would be very happy if you shared your experiences with us below in the comments!