SCALE

Not THAT kind of scale

It's all about SCALE

Scale is not just what we dread Monday mornings or on January 1. Easily overlooked,  scale is actually a good thing when it comes to the scale of your furniture, artwork and area rugs.  

Cindy Crawford's $13M flip. She knows how to appropriately scale the furniture for the space.

Furniture

If you have a smaller sized home that’s a bit limited on space, then you do NOT want a ginormous sofa dominating your family room space. Big overstuffed pieces are too big for a cozy, smaller sized room. Conversely, if you have a huge space, then a tiny two seat love-seat with delicate little chairs will get lost in a cavernous space with soaring ceilings. See how that works? 

If your family room / great room is a little on the cozy side, then make sure your furniture is a little smaller in scale. By that I mean, the sofa’s back isn’t quite as tall, and the visual weight is in proportion to your room’s size. I was in a friend’s home, and he has a stunning view, and the room was a comfortable size. Question - if  that was your living room – and you have a jaw-dropping, stunning view - what size sectional would you purchase? If you’re tempted to get the overstuffed man-cave like sectional – the sectional on steroids – then think again.  My friend purchased a sectional that’s smaller in scale so the VIEW is what draws your attention. Sofas and sectionals with a lower back actually make the room look even taller.  The Cindy Crawford flip (pictured above) is a great example of exactly what scale furniture my friend purchased. It really works.

Artwork

Whatever art you have above your sofa should be at least 2/3 the width of your sofa. Don’t have artwork? Then enlarge a favorite photo onto canvas.  Another option would be to create your own art by grabbing a large canvas and releasing your inner Jackson Pollock.  Or you could group a number of pieces that have some common denominator, whether it’s the subject matter, the colors or the overall feeling – Frame them in the same type of frame so that too unifies the grouping.  

Where else does SCALE have an impact in your home’s décor?  

Area Rug

When it comes to area rugs, the biggest question in people’s minds is “how big should my rug be”? And again, the answer depends on the scale. Scale of your furniture and the room’s size. My rule of thumb is buy a rug that anchors the entire seating arrangement. When the rug is too small, it’s floating out in the middle of the room. Not only does it look off, but it makes the room seem smaller than it is.  You want your rug to be large enough. Ideally, the entire seating arrangement should be on the rug, but if you can’t do that, at least the front legs of every furniture piece should sit on the rug. This really anchors your seating arrangement, and helps the entire room to feel bigger.
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When the scale is off, the room just does not work. Image source: MLS

Right Scale helps Sell

I love to peruse the real estate listings.  I still love to see what homes are listed and how they’re decorated. I’ve noticed that the furniture’s SCALE also helps determine the home’s appeal. Lately I’ve noticed listings that have been on the market for months and months – and one of the reasons (in my opinion) is that the scale of the furniture is off. Most often I see furniture that’s way too big for the space. Or there are way too many pieces in a room. I found this photo above on the MLS that has that exact issue.  It conveys a subtle message that the home is really too small.  Subconsciously the potential buyers are thinking, "My furniture probably won’t fit here." You can't even walk through without bumping into the ottomans or table.   (Note: Just removing the two ottomans would really help that room!) If you’re getting ready to sell your home, please consider the scale of the furniture pieces in your rooms when staging for sale. 

Find out for yourself

I encourage you to go see some luxurious model homes in your area, such as the Toll Brothers.  Look at the scale of furniture in relation to the size of the space. Educate your eye, so that you can do it yourself at home.

Scale. It's more than the thing we avoid January 1st.

Happy decorating,

~Alana Light