You might be wondering what is the fundamental design principle that you should keep in mind when designing or renovating your spaces? in the expert’s words - focal points.

What Is a Focal Point?

A focal point in design typically refers to the area to which your eye is immediately drawn. it must be an element that should stand out among all the composition elements, thanks to its color, scale, style, or material. the focal point will be the crucial element that will get your attention and will immediately impress you. also, the room's focal points are essential in interior design, because they define how the furniture will be distributed in the room and how you will use and circulate in the space, determine the most important areas of the room, and so on. 

The first thing you should do is know your space. walk through it and determine which are the most interesting or visible areas to establish an interesting element to look at. at home, there are usually strategic places to establish your focal point. let's see some of them. 

- The Entry Hall -

The entry hall is the first impression we have when entering a home. the focal point here could be a vibrant painting, a large-scale mirror, a ball lamp, or an impressive flower arrangement. the important thing is that in your hallways composition, you establish which will be the main element that will draw your attention. after doing this, you must use the other elements to emphasize it. like lighting or other decrease elements that help you direct your eyes towards it. a house can have different focal points, but we must be careful where to position them since we don't want them to compete. because if they compete with each other, the concept of a focal point will be lost. it's important to establish these focal points where they don't visually compete with each other. however, they must allow you to move through the spaces. to guide yourself to where to go to the next focal points attraction. for example, if your entry hole wall is of vibrant color, your attention will focus on the vibrant color when entering. when you continue advancing, you will see an impressive mirror over the fireplace located in the living room in the distance. that mirror will attract your attention and it will encourage you to walk there and sit in the living room. these are the two focal points that do not compete with each other and stimulate the user to enjoy the space.

- The Living Room -

In here, you can select your fireplace, a double-height wall, a TV unit, a gallery wall, or wallpaper. this focal point will be the area with the most weight in your living room. around it, you must place your furniture. remember that the focal point you choose must dominate the other areas of your room. if you are someone who likes to watch TV as a family you can make it the focal point. if you prefer to read in a long chair near the fireplace, make the fireplace your focal point. by emphasizing these areas with color, texture, or shapes. 

- The Dining Room -

setting the focal point in the dining area is much easier. as everything is concentrated on the dining table or the items close to it. you can place a chandelier of impressive shapes or scale on the dining table to be your focal point. however, you must keep the wall behind without complex shapes or patterns, so that the lamp doesn't lose the user's attention. on the other hand, if you want to establish the background wall as a focal point, you can use wallpaper, a mirror, or a painting with vibrant colors and interesting shapes. in this case, it will be a better option to select lamps with simpler shapes that don't compete with the wall.

- The Kitchen -

In kitchens, the same strategy applies. first, evaluate the space and determine the potential point to make the room's focal point, depending on its architectural condition. if your kitchen has a colorful or textured backsplash, this may be your focal point. but be sure to accentuate it using lighting that makes it stand out even more. another interesting element to highlight can be the range hood or an area where you expose tableware or decorative elements. the important thing is to locate and emphasize them using other elements such as light, texture, color, or patterns that contrast with the other elements in the kitchen. in case your kitchen is integrated with your living room or dining room, keep in mind how both areas are connected, the most visible points of the kitchen from the living room, and vice versa. you can make the backlash texture, the color of cabinetry, or open shelving, the focal point of this open space. due to this kind of situation, it is important to go through the spaces and identify the important visuals when circulating the space and how they relate to each other to create a perfect picture.

- The Bedroom -

Like the dining room, in the bedrooms, it's straightforward to identify the focal point. the focal point of a bedroom is usually the bed, so it is important to place it opposite the door so that your view is directed directly to it when you enter the room. you can emphasize the wall of the headboard, painting the wall in a contrasting color or covering the wall with decorative or textured wallpaper, with coverings, or selecting a bold headboard. remember that you must use the surrounding elements to direct your eyes to your focal point. so don't forget to include decorative lamps, lines of lights, or other elements to emphasize the interesting point. sometimes due to architectural conditions, we cannot place the bed on the wall opposite the door. in these cases, you will need something interesting to look at that invites you to enter the room. such as a vanity, a bold statement lamp, a mirror, or a reading corner. 

- The Bathroom -

In bathrooms, focal points are equally necessary. the focal point is what will give your bathroom authenticity and interest. remember to establish what you want your focal point to be. usually, it should be the first thing you see when entering and walking through space. if the first thing you see is the vanity you can add vibrant color tiles with patterns or textures. or you can draw the attention of the eyes with a round mirror illuminated with a led strip. if the top of the shower is the focal point. remember that the key is to include elements that attract your attention to it. it can be using a volatile, wallpaper, interesting factors, or different floor colors. remember to use colors, textures, or shapes that contrast with the other elements of the space. the best way to design a bathroom is to avoid the toilet being seen directly from the door. however, it may be the case that this happens, you can resolve it by selecting your focal point efficiently. the toilet is not an interesting element to look at. therefore, we recommend that you focus on highlighting more interesting things so that your mind leaves the toilet in the background and focuses on the most beautiful part of the space. 

Let's recap the important things to consider when identifying focal points. 

1. First of all, give yourself the task of going through this space to identify the visuals or potential architectural elements such as double heights, windows, arcs, and how the spaces are articulated to establish the focal points. 

2. Studying circulation and how you will use the space can better help you identify areas where your focal point can best be highlighted or emphasized. 

3. It would help if you consider not only what you see in the foreground or background. this is important because if we see something striking on the other side from a corridor or the house entrance, our mind will feel invited to walk there. in these cases, the focal points work to direct the user where you want them to go, from point A to point B. 

4. Contrast is key, the main thing to consider when choosing the elements that make up your focal point is the contrast. consider the elements that will make up the focal point contrast with space's general decoration. for example, in a space with neutral colors, you can attract attention with vibrant colors. in a minimalist room with straight furniture and clean lines, you can create contrast by adding a lamp with a dramatic shape or a classic style mirror. on the dining room back wall, you can have a wallpaper with interesting texture, which adds drama and interest to the dining room. take advantage of the contrast by color, shape, style, texture, or patterns of the elements to highlight what you have identified as a focal point.