Creating a focal point in a room without a fireplace can be difficult. Fireplaces are a natural starting point for the layout of a room. They also help to provide character to a space.
But what do you do when a room has no fireplace? Your home may be a new build with no features, or the features may have been removed through renovations over the years. Don’t worry. There are lots of ways to create a focal point in a space without a fireplace to make sure your home reflects your style.
Creating a focal point without a fireplace
What is a focal point?
To start, let’s take a second to talk about focal points in Interior Design. A focal point is something that will draw the idea when you first walk into a room. This can be a fireplace, but it could also be a piece of artwork, a window or a media wall. Whatever you decide to use as your focal point, you want it to help anchor the rest of the room and help you with your furniture layout.
Here are 7 ideas for creating a focal point without a fireplace.
Use artwork to make a statement
Creating a focal point with artwork will make a statement while also making sure your space reflects your style.
Adding one big piece of art will create a point in the room that could be used as the focal point, similar to a fireplace. By choosing a piece of art carefully, you can help to create a whole scheme for the room; the colours used in the art can be a starting point for the colours of the room. It could also be that the artwork is the colour in the room, with the walls painted a neutral colour. This would make the artwork even more of a focal point.
If you cannot decide on one piece of art or have a lot of photos you would like to display, then a gallery wall is the way to go. For this, you can be creative with the sizes and frames you use.
Add interest to your walls
Adding interest to the walls of a room is an easy way to create a focal point. This could be through a bold paint colour or a patterned wallpaper.
Painting a whole room in one bold colour will instantly add some drama; adding the right furniture can make a big statement. You could also similarly use wallpaper, although if that feels too much for you. Wallpapering the upper half and adding a dado rail will make it feel as though the wallpaper is manageable in the room.
Adding panelling to the room is also a good way of creating a focal point. Although this is usually used to create a more traditional look, there are lots of ways to create contemporary panelling. Using slatted panels or pre-cut square panelling will add texture and a focal point to the room.
Display books and ornaments
In place of a fireplace, a floor-to-ceiling shelving unit will create some interest and fill a blank wall, ensuring there is something for your eye to land on when you first walk into the room.
Floor-to-ceiling shelving doesn’t have to be expensive. You can easily achieve the built-in look by using flatpack bookcases and adding a cornice and skirting to the top and bottom. Once you have your shelves, you can add personality with how you style them. Including your favourite books or ornaments will make the space feel like yours. You can also add artwork to the shelves, making a feature of it within the shelving unit. A shelving unit can also be a great place to hide the TV if you do not want it on show.
Related Post: 5 Secrets to styling a bookcase
Be bold with your ceiling
Adding interest to your ceiling is a creative way of creating a focal point.
Adding a ceiling rose and a detailed cornice or coffer will instantly draw people’s attention to the ceiling, creating a focal point. The focal point could be a feature lighting piece. This would be a great way to reflect the style you want to use within the space, be it a traditional chandelier or a more contemporary lighting fixture.
Painting or wallpapering your ceiling can also create a focal point. It is similar to using a bold colour or print on the wall, as we spoke about before, but using it on the ceiling is much more daring and is not for the faint-hearted.
Show off the view
When there isn’t a focal point inside the room, using the view outside is an excellent way of creating a focal point.
This is always easier if you have a stunning view to look out on, but if you can’t control the view, you can control the window dressings on the window or glass doors. Adding floor-to-ceiling curtains to your windows allows you to create the grandeur a fireplace would. Choosing a luxurious fabric will only add to the grand feeling. Still, if you want something more relaxed, a neutral-toned linen would give a pulled-together but laid-back look.
Make your TV the focal point
As much as we may not want it, sometimes our TV does become the focal point of the room, so why not lean in and create a media wall around it.
By building a media wall, you not only add in extra storage, but you can hide your TV within it so it is not so eye-catching. Combining it with storage shelves will allow you to display books and ornaments, as discussed before. Using luxurious finishes and bold paint colours will allow the eye to pass over the TV more easily.
Another way to hide your TV is to include it in a gallery art wall. This works incredibly well if you add a frame to the TV that will blend with the other frames in the gallery wall.
Create a faux fireplace
If your heart is set on a fireplace, even though your space doesn’t have one, don’t let that stop you. Adding in a faux fireplace is always an option.
A faux chimney breast will add a focal point and interest to a blank space. The advantage of a faux fireplace is that you do not need the same depth as a traditional fireplace. 30 cm will be enough to create the look of a fireplace without taking up too much space in the room. By creating a chimney breast, you can also add shelving on either side to add more storage.
This post has been all about creating a focal point without a fireplace.
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