Tuesday, July 4, 2017

What do you do when you can't fix architectural mistakes


Designing the interiors of a house with great architecture is a true pleasure; all you need to do is emphasize the beautiful "bones" of the house, and it will look great!
But what do you do when you can't fix architectural mistakes like imbalance, asymmetry, or wrong scale?
You use the same trick you used when your 2 year-old had a tempter tantrum - distraction!
Here's an example:
Take a look at the photo below. Can you find an architectural element the designer tried to distract our eyes from?


studio McGee
Have you figured it out?  If it took you a while, that means the designer did a good job! Here's how it might have looked like before the designer fixed the architectural imbalance:

Without the built in shelves, it's easy to notice that the tiny windows on either side of the fireplace are completely off-scale relative to both the fireplace and the room!
So why is this so hard to notice right off the bat? The answer lies in the shelves that sit below the windows. They not only balance the fireplace nicely, but also repeat the gray color of the fireplace interior, so your eye moves from the built-ins to the fireplace and across, glossing over this architectural fault. 
Design is a lot about solving challenges, which is one of the reasons I love it so much!
Thanks for reading!
Vered