Playing with proportions is one of my favorite tasks of design. Students in design school are often taught to stick within certain parameters when scheming and sourcing for their design concepts. This is a pet peeve of mine. Yes, proportions are important, but every space calls for something different: different ceiling heights, different area space – you name it! So how do we break the barriers? Let’s refer to this as an Interior Design Artistic License.
As a designer, I take pride in letting a room speak to me. This can include what I believe it may need and what I believe it can handle. This may be a huge lamp statement piece, such as a dainty, tall orskinny candle holder in the corner, or maybe an exaggerated chandelier over a round table where the diameter is almost the same. Whatever it may be, you should never be afraid to play with proportion. If you feel in your gut that you want to try something, do it!
There are no rules: design is essentially a feeling. This feeling is a physical representation of an emotion that you want to be seen. These feelings can reflect designs with a big impact, simple elegance, a blast from the past or a look into the future. There are no rules, just listening to what the room wants. For example, I’ll put an oversized painting over a skinny table because I want the art to set the mood. The skinny table is beautiful and it anchors the wall, but after all, it’s a family piece that I was gifted with.
