What is the first thing you see when you come home after a busy day at work? Stacked dishes around the sink or an overflowing laundry basket? How about tumbled shoes clumped in the entryway? Would you rather be greeted with a soothing wall color splashed with an eye-catching image? Take a look around your home and get a sense of its hidden messages. Pay attention to what draws you into a sense of calm. If you need to refocus your attention on the inspiring rather than the never-ending household tasks, then help is on its way. Focal points or planned points of interest in your home’s décor can create the space your eyes and mind need to rest.

Designing focal points into your living space helps to gather your attention, create a space to linger on, subtly influence your mood, and gracefully direct your eyes and body through an interior space. Furniture arrangements, paint colors, pictures, architectural features and display items all contribute elements in creating successful points of interest. How you arrange and display your personal belonging in your home directly affects your attention and immediate feelings. An item on display that stands out from a composition may captivate your interest. A contrasting color on the wall shifts your mood by drawing your focus to it. Why not purposefully design fascinating placing throughout your home to create a space that greets you with a smile and relaxes those who spend time there.

Often overlooked in daily living is the personal stuff collected over years. When a house suffers from a lack of focus, inhabitants and visitors often feel confused, overwhelmed or exhausted. By displaying numerous personal belongings or having too many areas washed in similar colors, the home becomes nondescript with a vague interior. The eye no longer has a natural focal resting place. For example, is your refrigerator door lost in a magnet collage of pictures, coupons, shopping lists, homework assignments, etc? Just by simplifying the scenery to one or two pieces, your eyes can adjust, focus and enjoy what is being displayed.

If you are feeling overwhelmed or exhausted in your home, then start simple. First reduce the number of pictures on the walls to just one or two items and refocus their placement. De-clutter the number of items on bookcases and in corners so these spaces feel lighter. Prominently display items you cherish or pictures that make you laugh as you pass by. Simplify the composition so your eye can focus and take in the beauty of the element you are highlighting. Upon entering your house, your eye’s first impression dramatically impacts how you feel.

Create a picture with a purpose in your home. Generate fascinating spaces by enhancing a unique architectural feature, offsetting the kitchen wall with a bold color, or creating a small sitting zone at your front entrance. Simply placing fresh bouquets of flowers on your tables will create a pleasing, visual interest for your eye to follow.

Focal points are powerful tools to use in your home life. Take advantage of their ability to enhance your surroundings and reflect how you want to live. Determine what appeals to your senses and let those symbols capture your attention in your home. Let your first impressions embrace you and make you feel welcome. You will live more abundantly when surrounded by the things you love.

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