Imagine you are visiting someone’s home for the first time. You walk into the foyer, exchanging pleasantries, and follow your host into the living room where you’ll sit down, enjoy a casual drink, and have a chat. Suddenly, you’re stopped in your tracks. Amidst the modern decor is the most beautiful vintage Persian rug you’ve ever laid eyes on. The design is breathtaking, featuring masterful curves and expert attention to detail. A lovely patina has given it a luster that lights up the room. You can’t help but interrupt the conversation to remark on its beauty, but you also can’t help but notice that it’s been placed in a living room next to contemporary sofas, modern fixtures, brand new furniture– yet it works so well! Antiques as a Focal Point What you’ve experienced is an example of an expertly-implemented focal point. An otherwise everyday room, complete with the furnishings you’d find at just about any furniture store in the nation, has been elevated by the inclusion of one specialty item. The vintage Persian rug essentially becomes the room, adding undeniable character and personality to the space. Whereas you’d otherwise sit down and take little or no notice of the decor, you’ve now recognized something that’s worked very well for the room’s design. Antiques, when incorporated properly, will do this for every and any room in your home. How to Create a Focal Point One of the biggest things when placing your conversation piece is to exercise subtlety and restraint. For example, a gold-plated antique mirror might shimmer, glimmer, and shine on its own. If you mount it in a room that has other shining, shimmering items like display cases, display items, chandeliers, other metal furniture, your focal point gets lost. Now you and your guests don’t know where to look, and the result is overwhelming. Give your best pieces room to breathe. Not only will the room look more cohesive as a result, the space will become more comfortable and inviting. Your antiques will be a welcome breath of fresh air instead of being simply too much. Size Matters Pay close attention to proportions as you work your focal point into the room. Antiques were created for homes that had different proportions than homes built more recently. People had different lifestyles back then. In this regard, an oversized armoire might’ve boded well for a bedroom, but it may not look the part amidst IKEA and a flat screen TV. Make sure the antiques you select for a room are sized appropriately. You want to make sure they’re small enough to fit and allow the design to breathe while not getting completely lost amidst other decor. Exercise balance, and take proportion into account when choosing your pieces. Judy’s Jewelry For more tips like these, as well as a great collection of antique items, stop by Judy’s Jewelry in Fort Myers. They’re your one-stop shop destination for all things antique and estate jewelry. Stop by today and see what’s waiting for you!