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I have heard several designer friends talk about "focal point" of a room. Can you tell me what this is all about?
A focal point is the single feature in your room that first draws attention, and plays the starring role. It is important to have a star in every room, and to try to only have one star, so that personality clashes are avoided! It is around the focal point that the room will balance. Without a focal point, rooms tend to appear cluttered or unbalanced.
 Possibilities for focal points include a fireplace, picture window with a view, armoire, or piano. The focal point is usually located on the wall opposite to the common entry point.
Does each of the rooms in your home have a natural or placed focal point? A great exercise is to walk through the house along common traffic paths and write down the focal points, noting contention among fighting focal elements, or lack of focal points altogether. If a room has too many "stars", consider eliminating one of the focal points, possibly placing it in a room that is lacking any features. For rooms without a focal point you can create one easily with a dramatic piece of artwork, or a large and imposing piece of furniture such as a fancy armoire, large sofa, or massive entertainment center.
Each of your rooms should flow around the focal point, and it should naturally become the point around which the majority of furnishings are to be arranged.
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