| A popular building trend in many of today's homes | | | | then repeating them several times up the wall. By |
| is to incorporate a vaulted ceiling or a cathedral | | | | doing this you extend the fireplace, up the wall, |
| ceiling in the great room. While this style can | | | | and reflect a lot of light back into the room |
| make a room feel quite spacious, all of the | | | | illuminating your dramatic focal point. Adding a tall |
| vertical space can present some decorating | | | | vase with a large flower arrangement is another |
| challenges. Many people have problems taking a | | | | way to add interest to a tall wall. |
| vacuous room with a cathedral ceiling and making | | | | Window Solutions |
| it feel cozy and homey. However, there are | | | | Frequently newer homes with cathedral ceilings |
| some decorating techniques that will help meet | | | | also have a wall of stacked windows. By treating |
| these challenges to produce a beautifully balanced | | | | each window separately the wall feels broken and |
| room. | | | | chaotic. Instead if you hang a simple curtain from |
| Coordinate Patterns | | | | ceiling to floor, you will add a huge "wow" factor |
| Tall vertical spaces tend to dwarf all of the other | | | | to the room. Classically elegant a single curtain |
| elements of the room, and it is extremely | | | | unifies all of the small windows visually into a single |
| important to find a way to pull the room together | | | | grand window. If you need to control the light in |
| visually. By adding elements throughout the room | | | | the room you can add shades, blinds or shutters |
| that relate to each other and by repeating | | | | to each individual window, or you can simply close |
| patterns, you can pull all of these spaces together | | | | the curtains. |
| into a single cohesive unit. One way to do this is | | | | Furniture that Fits |
| to select wallpaper that compliments your | | | | A large space needs large-scale furniture, |
| furniture and décor, and then finish it with | | | | otherwise smaller pieces are just swimming |
| a border that also blends with the wallpaper and | | | | around the room. In a very large space, you can |
| furniture. By repeating colors, textures and | | | | create several rooms within the room by |
| patterns, you can visually unify a room in a very | | | | arranging your furniture in smaller functional |
| subtle way. | | | | settings. For example, a sofa, loveseat and a |
| Wall Art and Mirrors | | | | couple of chairs may make a cozy conversational |
| When selecting art pieces for the walls of a room | | | | grouping by the fireplace. A desk, a bookshelf and |
| with a large expanse of vertical space it is | | | | a comfortable recliner may mark a library corner. |
| important to match the scale of the space to the | | | | And a couple of comfortable couches set up a |
| artwork. Smaller pieces would just get lost in the | | | | theater area for watching television. By angling |
| room and would not be effective as design | | | | each grouping so that it connects or relates to |
| elements. Placing a large plasma screen TV on a | | | | another grouping in the room, you can maintain a |
| wall and then repeating the screen shape with | | | | cohesive look within your room. |
| large photos or paintings hung on the wall could ad | | | | By using the proper scale in your great room and |
| visual interest to an otherwise plain space. If a tall | | | | creating a couple of large focal points, you can |
| wall is the focal point around a fireplace, you can | | | | connect all of the elements in your room by |
| add drama, balance and interest to the wall by | | | | repeating colors and patterns to create a |
| flanking the fireplace with oversized mirrors and | | | | comfortable homey feeling in this huge room. |