The Art of Eyeballing: Visual Balance Training with Magic Flip Cards
Dear readers, I have a confession: I pretty much never measure anything when it comes to home decorating. From hanging paintings to arranging furniture, I’m a fan of the very unscientific art of eyeballing. And I believe it’s an art that can be taught.
Today’s eyeballing lesson is all aboutvisual balance—a design principle we’ve talked about before on Apartment Therapy.
→ Living Room Geometry: The Basics of a Well-Balanced Room
→ Designer Secrets to Great Rooms: It’s All About Balance
The basic idea is that a lot of times, a room is beautiful thanks in part to successful balance—where each side of the room visually “weighs” the same as the other side. Sure, you can achieve that through perfect design symmetry. But you don’t have to choose the exact decor pieces on either side of an imaginary line to achieve visual balance.You can eyeball it.
Though you can’t physically measure visual balance, you can train your eyes to know when it’s happening. Check out the four examples below. The before photo is visually “lopsided,” but the after (and original, non-manipulated) photo is visually balanced—it “weighs” the same on both sides of the room. Can you see it?