I see a lot of homes and many times I see rooms where things are not to scale. In design, the principal of scale refers to the relative size of one object compared to another.

As designer Steven Bradley wrote, “A single object has no scale until it’s seen in comparison with something else”.

Let me show by example. There are two common things I see that lack scale in a room. Lamps and Rugs.

I see a lot of lamps that are very small, meant for as an accent light on a counter top or top of a small dresser but most times not meant for an end table in a living room or on a nightstand by a bed.

If you have a large bed, a large headboard or just a large room, you want a lamp next to the bed that fit the scale of all or any of those items. Think big when you are thinking lamps almost anywhere in your home.

Let’s talk about rugs. As a general room you want an area rug to reach the front legs of all your furniture in the room, better yet if it is under the front legs of all the furniture. The rug can go under all the furniture legs however, you want to leave a perimeter of floor to be seen around the room. You don’t want that rug looking like wall to wall carpet.

Not this:

But rather this:

Always look at scale, play with it a bit as sometimes  you just have to try something and then try something else. Having items to scale will bring interest to a room rather than distract from it.

Look at the size of artwork on large walls, above large pieces of furniture. Look at the size and height of your end tables next to your sofa and side chairs, your coffee table in front of the sofa. Are they to scale?

If  you need help with scale, hire a professional to walk you through the process.