Smooth out your interior plan with curvaceous elements.

Curved surfaces can round out your home environment.

Most interior design elements have lots of straight lines and square (or almost square) corners. Hint: consider the shape of your tables, countertops, chairs, artwork, rugs and more. Instead, why not think outside the box and add some curvy home elements to round out your interior design plan?

Contoured edges can take away a feeling of severity or stiffness in your home environment, although straight edges do make a room seem more organized and orderly. Consider shapes like circles, ovals, arcs, bows, ellipses, half moons and even helixes and amoeba profiles. These softer shapes will add sense of flexibility, grace, joyfulness and luxury. And they add a natural feel since many elements in nature have rounded edges.

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Research even shows that we appreciate the look of curved surfaces. According to fastcodesign.com, people are far more likely to call a room beautiful when its design is round instead of square. Apparently, it’s hard-wired into our brains! And part of the reason we prefer curves is because they signal a feeling of safety.

Since most of our houses already have straight walls, floors and ceilings, mixing your existing straight surfaces with new curved elements is probably the best option. Lots of elements in your home lend themselves to a curved surface, including:

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• Tables
• Chairs
• Sofas and ottomans
• Mirrors and other wall art
• Rugs
• Tile patterns
• Outdoor decks, porches and walkways
• Stenciled patterns on walls and ceilings
• Even curved walls, vaulted ceilings and arched doorways

Take a swerve this season and add some curvaceous elements to your home.

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