It’s so great when small things can have a big impact on the look of your holiday let/serviced accommodation, and understanding scale and proportion in interior design is one of those things. Its a fundamental concept in design, and one which (with a little bit of knowledge, thought and, some would say ‘bravery’), can really boost your property into the ‘professional’-looking category, as lots of designers use this trick to add impact to a space.

Often used interchangeably, the two terms Scale and Proportion refer to slightly different things:

SCALE is the understanding of the size of an object in relation to other objects around it, including the size of the room. Scale is usually used in reference to the human body, so items are designed to human-scale.
PROPORTION is the understanding of scale within elements of the object itself, e.g. its size, shape, colour or texture. These can be varied to add interest/drama, or kept similar to create flow and coherence.

Large scale floral mural in front of green velvet sofa — TOP TIPS FOR USING SCALE & PROPORTION TO GET THE PROFESSIONAL LOOK

First of all, look at the room itself, in person (not just on plan) - think about its size: How high are the ceilings? Is it large or small? Generally speaking, larger rooms can take larger-scale furniture, and smaller rooms would suit smaller items. Logical right? Yes, but of course I am always open to a spot of rule-breaking, but read on before breaking too many! You want to have a solid basis for your design, so stick to the rules of scale initially to ensure you have that.
Factor in the 40/60 ratio (this is a basic version of ‘The Golden Ratio’ which I’m sure you’ve heard of, and appears in nature so often, as well as many famous works of art). Focus on using 60% of your floorspace for furniture, leaving the remaining 40% open. This ratio is so used so often in the world around us because it just works! It’s looks pleasing to the eye, effortless and creates the perfect flow to a space. So easy to implement, yet can have such a massive impact.
Ensure furniture is in proportion to each other. This might go without saying, buts its still worth mentioning as it’s such a simple thing to fix if you’ve got it wrong. For example, a large sofa would need a fairly large coffee table (usually about 2/3rds the length of the sofa) - a tiny coffee table would just look silly! A large high-ceiling needs a large-scale light fitting - a small shade would just get lost visually. They are obvious things really, but I see so many cases where this hasn’t been considered, and it can make such a difference when it is!
Think about repeating shapes. This links to proportion, and the common elements within the objects in a room. If you have beautiful curved windows, think about bringing curves into your accessories or furniture to reflect the features of the windows. Or perhaps you have very definite angles in your exposed roof joists - could this be reflected in the kind of artwork you put on the walls, or the way that artwork is arranged? These are things that may slide into the subconscious of your guests, but it will be FELT by them - they will feel at ease in the space, with everything flowing and nothing jarring visually. [A word of warning though: don’t ‘over do it’ and make everything too ‘matchy-matchy’, that would be overkill and would ruin the design asethetic. A little goes a long way in this case. Subtle but effective is the ultimate aim!]
Surprise with the unexpected! NOW ITS PLAYTIME! While considering all the above, it’s also fun to play with scale and proportion in ways that perhaps don’t stick to the rule book. That is how you stand out from the crowd and create the ultimate WOW-factor. Put a huge mirror in a tiny bathroom; put a large scale floral print wallpaper on every wall of a modest-sized dining room; mix up small intricate patterns with bold ones in your accessories; create a large-scale dramatic floral display in a hallway. There are many ways this ‘surprise’ can be achieved in your interior design, and it will noticed and remembered by your guests for the impact it has within the space.
One thing to finally consider, and this is something I’ve said before in relation to most of my interior design tips and tricks, and that is: DON’T FORGET THE SPACES INBETWEEN! Its very easy when someone offers a tip that is easily implementable, to rush off in eagerness to get started, but the danger is that it will be over-done and not have the desired effect. Negative space (as the professionals call it) is a vital element when designing interiors - people need space for their eyes to rest, and that impactful scaled-up item needs space around it in order to shine! You don’t want to detract from one ‘WOW’ with another right next to it - both would lose their impact. Bear this in mind when considering scale and proportion, and all of the above, and you’ll be sure to create that professional look in no time! Go on, try it now…

Here’s a few examples of scaled-to-perfection design…