When decorating a home, many people like to have a room that feels symmetrical or balanced.
The surfaces should be balanced with items that are identical (such as a matching pair of candlesticks) or have the same visual weight.
photo courtesy of TheSharpTeam flickr.com/photos/sharpteam/2808317381So, what is visual weight?
Visual weight pertains to how heavy the item feels, not how much it weighs on a scale.
Usually, the more attention grabbing a decorative item is, the more visual weight it has.
Visual weight is affected by color, size, transparency/reflectivity, contrast, and pattern.
Color
A decorative item that is a darker color, a warmer color, or a more intense color will have a greater visual weight than the same object in a lighter color, cooler color, or less intense color.
Red is typically known to have the greatest visual weight with yellow having the least visual weight and blue is in the middle.
If you decorate a bedroom using bed coverings in a dark color, the dark color makes a bed's visual weight feel heavy.
If you decorate the same bed using a white bed covering, the entire bed will feel lighter.
A room with a dark ceiling in a warm color will have a heavy visual weight, but if you decorate the same ceiling in a cool color it will feel lighter.
A bedroom with a bed that has a dark stained wood will have a greater visual weight than the same bed painted white or another light color.
If you accessorize a room using a large glass jar filled with light colored items, you can have a similar visual weight using a smaller glass jar filled with dark colored items.
photo courtesy of LoveMaegan flickr.com/photos/lovemaegan/5143949504/in/set-72157625335313784Size
Even though a small decorative item may weight more on a scale, a larger item will appear to have a greater visual weight.
If you decorate using a small book, it will have less visual weight than a large Styrofoam sculpture, even though the book might weigh twice as much.
Items that are different shapes but seem to be about the same size will appear to have equal visual weight.
If you are trying to balance a larger item with a smaller item when decorating your home, you can group two or more smaller items together to get a similar visual weight as one larger item.
Transparency and Reflectivity
A clear transparent, translucent, or reflective item will seem to have less visual weight than the same item that is a solid color.
The exact same clear vase will appear visually heavier if painted a solid color, even though the actual weight on a scale has not changed.
If you decorate using bottles, a larger clear bottle will seem to have similar visual weight to an opaque smaller bottle, therefor they can be used to create balance.
A reflective decorative item will have a similar visual weight as a translucent item of a similar size.
photo courtesy of Marcelle Guibeau flickr.com/photos/53433983@N08/8044868639/Contrast
Items that have colors of great contrast or two adjacent items that have great contrast will have more visual weight than items with low contrast.
A simple black and white room can be interesting because the black and white is attention grabbing due to the contrast.
If you decorate a white room that has a fireplace with a black tile surround, it will have more visual weight than a fireplace with a light gray tile surround due to the contrast.
Pattern
Patterns are attention grabbing, thus they have more visual weight.
If you decorate using an item that is a solid color without a pattern, it will seem to have less visual weight than the same item with an intricate pattern.
A floor cushion upholstered in a patterned fabric will seem more visually heavy than the same cushion upholstered in a solid fabric since a patterned fabric demands more attention.
A rug with an intricate pattern will seem more visually heavy than a sofa in a solid pattern.
