From Coral Nafie,
Your Guide to Interior Decorating.
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When you walk into a room or interior space, you'll feel more comfortable if your eye can rest on a main feature. That main feature is called the "focal point" of the room.

If your room has a beautiful picture window looking out to a lovely garden, that's it. If you have a fireplace, large or small, that will be the focal point in that room.

Sometimes a room has no distinguishing feature built in and you have to create one. Some ideas of focal points that you can add to a room are here:

• An armoire or other tall, large cabinet
• A beautiful oriental or patterned rug
• A table with a collection of interesting pieces on it
• A dramatic mirror or fabric panel
• A collection hung on the wall, such as musical instruments, family photos, umbrellas, or decorative hats
• A large open storage shelf with collectibles interspersed with books and plants

The point of creating a focal point is to select something to draw the eye and invite the visitor to linger and enjoy.

Read more Quick Tips in our Directory of Quick Tips.