The Common Mistake That's Making Your Home Decor Look Imbalanced (And It's Easy To Fix)
Do you ever look at a room in your home and think something is off balance? The art of properly scaling decor items is crucial, yet many people overlook the fact that they're grouping pieces of the wrong size, which detracts from the overall finish of their space. Everything from pairing items of varying sizes and heights to the color palette you use can contribute to your design aesthetic, and if you have too many small pieces dotted around the room, the results can look more cluttered than curated. One of the simplest tricks is to avoid the imbalance of too many small accents on a surface. Make sure you complement them with one or two larger or oversized decorative elements to create a fluid and stylishly scaled finish.
Think oversized vases paired with smaller candles and pots, or larger framed pieces surrounded by medium- to small-sized plants and knick-knacks. Add longer stems to your vases to build height, and stack large, medium, and small books to create a pedestal on which you can add more decor. The size and shape of your table or surface make a big difference, of course. If you're working with a longer coffee table, entryway table, or a longer shelf, then you'll want to add a variety of heights and sizes to create an engaging and stylish layout. Even Bobby Berk has shared this trick in his take on how to style any surface in just four easy steps (via TikTok), meaning it's widely known and simple to execute as long as you know where to place items.
Vary your sizes and heights
When working with a mantle or elongated table, use a large vase or planter at one end and add a few smaller trinkets both in front and to the sides of it. Groups of three can create a triangle effect, which draws the eye and makes a space feel more defined. You need larger pieces to fill a vast, empty space, lest the empty areas appear more noticeable and leave a sparse impression. On the other end of the table, try adding a stack of books from oversized to medium, and then place a candlestick or small lamp on top. Between the focal points, you can add a small dish or tray on which to hold smaller items that you still want on display.
Using an oversized coffee table book as your base to bring height to other smaller pieces is a great way to add scale and increase visual interest. A larger book at the bottom creates an anchoring effect and helps fill out the negative space along the surface of your table that holds everything within one space, so it doesn't feel scattered. This is why you often see trays and cutting boards on kitchen counters with items on top of them; otherwise, they just tend to float, which creates visual clutter. Keep in mind that while you want to evenly fill a surface with large and small items, you also don't want to weigh them down.
Layer your decor
While it's ideal to have larger pieces that frame and balance your smaller items, you don't need to overload a table or shelf just to ensure you have all sizes represented. You can also use frames as your bigger decor, since these can be slimmer than vases. Candelabras are another option, as they are oversized but also slimmer in design compared to a single large pot or piece of art. Because candelabras have negative space between them, they can make a smaller or more cluttered space appear airier and lighter. In the same vein, if you have a large planter that's bulky, try using thinner foliage inside to bring back that balance.
Prop your artwork up against a wall for a casual design that you can then place other items in front of. Bowls, shorter candles, clocks, or any other pieces you want to keep out will be framed by the larger print, so there's no worry of empty or awkward spaces. If you find a surface in your home that just seems a little under-designed or off, try adding in medium- and bigger-sized decor to really fill it out and make it pop with style. Layering is key, so don't make everything cookie-cutter — instead, layer pieces over one another to create a neat collage effect. Whether you're using this trick to balance a living room, elevate an entryway, or style the top of your dresser, it will really make your home feel like the finished aesthetic you envisioned when buying all that decor.