Design Tip 101: How to Honor your Negative Space

The design tip we will focus on today is Negative space and how to honor it in our homes and spaces. Our brains derive emotional pleasure from symmetry, according to physicist Alan Lightman, author of The Accidental Universe. In design, objects mirrored along a central axis represent order, stability and calm. But disrupting the formality of a symmetrical room. Negative space isn’t a space that’s got “bad vibes, man”. Negative space is a good thing and every room needs it in order to function, to offer visual balance and to zone spaces.

Positive space = the space that’s taken up with actual “stuff”; furniture, lighting, artwork, accessories….

Negative space = the “empty” space around and in between everything else, more often than not highlighting and showcasing everything next to it.

Top Tip 1 – Choose furniture that’s right for your home and room’s proportions. Don’t choose a piece based on how it looks online or on a shop floor. Visually place that piece in your room. Where is it going to go? What view will you have of it? Will you get to see the design you’re paying for? Is it scaleable to everything else

Many of us find it hard to resist a blank portion of wall. When every space contains something to look at, sensory overload occurs and the eye drifts aimlessly without noticing individual objects. Leaving negative space above this beautifully done dining area lets the eye fall on the lovely luxurious textures and calming color palette.

Top Tip 2. DO NOT choose artwork or accessories until the very end of a project. Wait until everything is in the space, stand back and see where you need to break up the negative space. The number of times I get asked at the beginning of a project, what piece of art will hang here? **waves at wall** is bonkers. My answer? I dunno know yet. I need to see the room comes together.   Maybe none. Let’s see…

This is one of the biggest mistakes I see in design is hanging artwork before a project is complete, or hung incorrectly. Which throws the scale of the room off. You can read more about how to properly hang art in my previous blog post

Top Tip 3. Choose your materials wisely. Solid, boxy furniture can be great for anchoring  and punctuating spaces, where as lightweight frames and transparent surfaces can often make a room feel larger and lighter. If you are leaning towards furniture that allows light to pass, make sure what you can see on the other side is worthy of being seen.

Lastly, negative space is paramount to any great design. It’s not just utilized in minimalism which incorporates ample negative space. One of the main advantages of negative space is its ability to eliminate distractions from an outstanding feature and to enhance its effect. When used correctly it helps minimize a weak point in architecture by making the visual aesthetics in that room more visually prominent and in return viewers focus on what’s in the positive space.

That’s it, on negative and positive space. I hope you enjoyed 🙂