PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN {HARMONY}

I think it's time to wrap my principles of design series up!  So far, I have covered the topics of balance, proportion, scale, rhythm, and emphasis. My last principle of design is Harmony!

What do you first think of when you here the word harmony? Did you think of music? I assume most people would. Did you know that harmony is also a term in the interior design world? I would assume you did not know this, that is, until after reading this post! 

Harmony is a design principle that deals with a tasteful combination of elements. Harmony relies on the selection of elements that share a common trait or characteristic (shape, colour, texture, material, pattern, etc. ) interior denotes harmony when all its diverse components relate to each other and to the space that contains them in an attractive, tasteful way.

This room above is a great example of harmony.

This room has a great flow, and nothing really pops out as over-powering, or out of scale. Everything in this room is within the same tone of color, and every element is in-sync with scale. This is what you are aiming for in order to achieve harmony. It's that aesthetic balance, where everything in the space "just works".

Notice in this room below how there is a sense of flow I was talking about; where every element within the space relate to each other in one way or another.

If you want to achieve a harmonious interior in a simple way, first you can unify the space choosing a majority of elements that share a common characteristic, then you can add a few, carefully chosen elements that have a variety of unique, individual traits (your accents).

Personally, I love this room!

Notice in this room below how harmony is achieved by simply using the same color throughout the room,in small amounts, unifies the space. The orange really ties everything together, which gives the room flow, and thus this room has great harmony! 

*Don’t overdo unity, though: if you use too many elements of similar traits,  you could end up with a unified interior that lacks interest – a boring composition.

Every interior should have a goal of harmony - enough unity to make sense, but varied enough to be interesting.