There is one thing every beautiful room has in common, and that is, cohesion. Cohesion is the word to describe that enviable, pulled-together look that makes a room feel effortless and harmonious. Where everything seems to just hang together perfectly. We see it all the time in beautiful hotels, lovely restaurants and Instagram homes, where furniture, colours, patterns, textures and materials blend together to create a stunning space.
But as with most things that appear ‘effortless’, the opposite is almost certainly true. It’s very unlikely these rooms have been thrown together. If a room feels cohesive, it’s because someone (or a whole team of people) have put in the time and effort to make sure every detail works perfectly.
So how do you do it in your own home? How can you design a cohesive room?
Well, there are no shortcuts I’m afraid, it does take a bit of time. But it’s not as difficult as you may think. Here’s how.
1. PLAN AHEAD
The reason most of us think we’re no good at ‘pulling a look together’ is that we rarely have the opportunity to plan a room from scratch. Most of our rooms evolve over time, buying the furniture over a few years, adding bits here and there, and repainting every once in a while. But this ‘do it as you go along’ approach can result in a room that feels disjointed.
The best way to create cohesion is to plan ahead. Don’t rush in and start buying stuff. Plan your layout, your lighting scheme, your colour palette and your furniture and accessory choices from the very beginning. That way you can see if it all works together before you start buying anything.
2. CHOOSE AN ANCHOR POINT
When designing a room you have to start somewhere. An anchor point is the item that you will build your design around. For me, it’s nearly always the rug. I adore rugs, so will often fall in love with one and then build a scheme around it. For you, it may be a sofa or a piece of artwork or a vase. It doesn’t matter how big or small the item is, what is important is that you love it. So find something you love and let it set the tone for the rest of your room.
3. MOODBOARD
Moodboarding is not just a wanky interior design term. It’s a practical tool every homeowner should use when designing a room. Creating a mood board is easy. Just open up a word or PowerPoint document (or equivalent) and start by cutting and pasting an image of your chosen anchor point onto the document. Then start adding the products you are considering putting into your new room. Or you can use a fancy app if you prefer. Cut and paste the sofa you like the look of, then cut and paste the coffee tables you like. Ta-da. That’s it. You now have the beginnings of a mood board.
Keep building your mood board. Put everything you like the look of onto one document. Add rugs, lamps, cushions, curtains, artwork etc, everything that will go into your room should be on your mood board. You can then see all these items in one space, rather than on twenty different tabs on your laptop.
4. TRUST YOUR INSTINCT
Now you have everything in one place, really look at your moodboard. You’ll start to notice items that are working nicely together. You’ll also notice items that are standing out (probably for the wrong reasons).
The science behind whether items work together or not is often down to proportions, scale, shape, lines, materials, textures etc. But actually, your instinct will tell you much more, and more quickly, than learning about the theory of interior design!
If something is jumping out and looks ‘off’, then it’s probably not the right piece for the room. So try some alternatives.
If you look at your mood board and feel good. Then the items you have chosen are working together, good job!
TIP: If you’ve cut and pasted several of one item, for example, six different rugs, then duplicate your mood board page so you have six of them. Then have just one of the six rugs on each page. You can now scroll through your six mood boards and compare. You’ll soon see which rugs are working better than the others. It’s much easier to consider one item at a time, rather than trying to make a decision by staring at six rugs on one page.
5. CREATE A RHYTHM
You’re nearly there! You now know which items are working together to get that cohesive feel.
The next stage is to make sure these items are arranged in such a way that the room feels balanced.
Say, for example, you have chosen a dark green as an accent colour. Try to create an even rhythm of that colour throughout the space. So it may be on a cushion on a sofa on one wall, then on a piece of artwork on another wall, then in the curtain fabric on another wall, and on a lampshade on another wall. By creating a nice, even rhythm of the colour across the room you will be creating cohesion!
The same applies to any common textures or materials you are using in your space. The room will feel better if they are repeated evenly across the space rather than all of a pattern, or particular colour being at one end of the room.
TIP: Your accent colour doesn’t have to be the exact same shade on every item. In fact, varying tones of one colour will look much more sophisticated and effortless, rather than going down the perfect matchy-matchy route.
So there you have it. 5 steps to creating a cohesive scheme.
I believe anyone can do this for their own home. You absolutely do not need to be a qualified interior designer to ‘pull a room together’. BUT. You do need patience, time and to trust the process. So next time you are redecorating why not give this a go, I think you’ll surprise yourself with the results 🙂
If you would like to work with me on your next decorating or renovation project then check out my services. I offer interior design and colour consultancy across Southampton and Hampshire, book your free discovery meeting here and we can discuss your project.
Happy designing, Sarah x
