How To Create A Decorative Focal Point

by Derrick Mayabi

Oct 15, 2020

Chandeliers

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Knowing how to create a decorative focal point can take your interior design from looking nice to amazing.

They are the perfect way to craft a guest’s experience of your home. There are several ways to create this type of focus in a room.

In this post, we’ll look at how you can use furniture, ceiling decor, lighting, art installations, and more to create amazing decorative focal points.

What Is a Decorative Focal Point?

Let’s start off by defining this term. A decorative focal point is a design element that has been put in place specifically to draw one’s attention.

Decorative focal points are often built into the architecture of your home. Examples of this are a grand staircase, a cathedral ceiling, and large, ornate fireplace chimneys to name a few.

However, you do not have to have architectural elements built into your home to create a decorative focal point.

In a moment, we’ll talk about several ways you can create decorative focal points using home accents.

Why Should I Create a Decorative Focal Point?

You may be wondering, do I really need a decorative focal point in my room? The answer to this is, no, not really but it’s nice to have one.

Designing with a focal element in mind helps direct and encourage your visitor’s attention as they experience your space.

This is done most often in event planning. The buffet table, for instance, is usually a decorative focal point. It is designed to encourage people to come over, take look, grab a drink grab, etc.

In your home, for everyday use, a decorative focal point can be a really great way to detract attention from something else. Like that scuff on your wall or the faded coffee stain on your carpet that you can’t seem to get out.

Trust me, no one will notice that small coffee stain on your rug when you have an amazing 36 in x 48 in canvas wall painting installed on the wall above it.

How To Create a Decorative Focal Point With Furniture

Statement Sofas

The first type of furniture that you can use to create a decorative focal point is a statement sofa. This is a sofa that immediately draws the eye because of either its silhouette or its upholstery.

You could choose a bright, vibrant color or pattern for your statement sofa. Or something with a classic, bold, silhouette like a Chesterfield sofa.

However, if you have an eclectic interior where you are borrowing from a few different types of home decor styles, it may be hard to make a statement sofa stand out.

That being said, this type of decorative focal point will work for many people. It is also easy to access and may be less expensive than you think.

I’ve written all about statement sofas in the post, “Are You Brave Enough for a Statement Sofa?”

Sculptural Furniture

The second type of furniture that can be used to create a decorative focal point is sculptural furniture. These pieces are more often seen in the modern decor style, but they can also be found in modern industrial, art deco, and eclectic decor styles.

This type of furniture, whether it be a sofa, chair, or bed frame draws the eye because of its unique construction and silhouette.

Its shape is what creates interest over all other pieces in the room. Thus, making it a focus for anyone experiencing your space.

decorative focal point sculptural furniture — Photo Credit: Medhat Ayad

Statement Ceiling

Statement ceilings are another thing that I have talked about in a prior post. Decorating your ceiling is a missed opportunity for many people.

Most of us just settle on a pretty chandelier or fan or fandelier (yes it’s a thing, check them out on Wayfair). But, there’s so much more that you can do with a ceiling beyond the light fixtures.

You can wallpaper a ceiling, add additional accent molding, paint your ceiling, and more.

Having a bold ceiling will create a conversation piece within your room and your home.

Using Decorative Accents to Create a Decorative Focal Point

If you’d like to create a decorative focal point on a smaller scale, the use of decorative accents is the best way to go.

Mantels

The first thing you can do is to style your mantle in a way that draws the eye. You don’t necessarily have to have a fireplace in order to have a mantle be a decorative focal point.

There are many examples of mantels installed on living room walls that do not have fireplaces accompanying them.

Another option is to install a faux fireplace. There are a lot of electric options built into entertainment centers that are incredible.

mantel no fireplace — Source: shadesofblueinteirors.com

Built-Ins

Built-in shelving is another way to make a bold statement in a room and attract attention.

Allow your built-in to occupy one entire wall in your living room, home office, or bedroom. Then use creative shelf decorating techniques to style the built-in.

If you don’t have a built-in, there are a lot of ways to fake the look by adding some molding to the top of bookshelves.

Here’s a link to a gorgeous DIY faux built-in bookshelf project for reference.

Indoor Plants

Indoor plants in water features are yet another decorative accent that you can use to create a focal point within your room.

Some plants have an amazing presence unto themselves just by the way they grow.

You may have creeping vines that cling and wrap onto different things. Or, you may have something with huge sculptural leaves like the fiddle leaf fig that became so popular just a few years ago.

Having a large indoor plant, or a small collection of indoor plants that look beautiful together is a great way to accent your interior.

That being said, if you don’t have a green thumb you may want to opt for an artificial plant. The last thing you want is for your plants to be a focal point because they look like you haven’t watered them in weeks.

Lighting

Now, let’s talk about lighting as a decorative focal point. The number one thing that comes to mind is chandeliers. In a dining room, living room, or even a bedroom, a beautiful chandelier will make you stop and stare.

If you’re in the market to buy a chandelier or are just curious about your options, check out the post 20 Incredible Chandeliers Under $200.

Other types of lighting that you can use to draw the eye are picture lights and wall sconces. Picture lighting is a great way to highlight artwork on your wall or a gallery wall of photos.

Windows

Another way to create a decorative focal point is to frame a view outside of your window.

This is something that isn’t talked about often, as we tend to leave interior design at the door. However, your outdoor landscape plays a big part in the way you experience a room. Especially if you have oversized windows like a bay window, floor-to-ceiling windows, or french doors.

Oftentimes these windows are left without window treatments aside from blinds for privacy. This means that when a guest enters the room, you see directly past the window itself and focus on what’s happening outside.

That may be a gorgeous willow tree, a pool, a birdbath, or some other type of outdoor decor.

So, if you have big windows with little or no window treatments, make sure you curate the view outside of the window. Keep your hedges trimmed, your pool skimmed, and your flower beds mulched.

The flip side of this is instead of trying to frame a view, and some dramatic window treatments to keep the focus on the inside of your home.

There are a lot of different types to experiment with including shades, drapes, blinds, sheers, and more.

To read about your window treatment options in the post “Going Beyond Curtains: Window Treatments 101”.

How To Create A Decorative Focal Point — Photo Credit: Vecislavas Popa

Walls

Earlier I talked about picture lighting on your walls and how it can be used to enhance your artwork. But, artwork on its own is a very easy way to create a decorative focal point in a room.

Opting for a large, oversized piece of wall art is always a conversation starter. However, it can be pricey.

If you’re decorating on a budget you can always create the illusion of a large-scale installation by grouping together smaller pieces of artwork.

This is why people like gallery walls so much. You can fill an entire wall with anywhere from 6 to 12 picture frames that you’ve purchased at an affordable price.

When arranged together they make for a lovely, large-scale installation.

Wallpaper and wall decals can also be used to command attention in a room.

large scale wall art — Photo Credit: Julie Aagaard

Conclusion

I hope you found this post on creating decorative focal points helpful. If you did please share it with a friend and follow Dianne Decor on Bloglovin’.

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