Too much or just right? We saw this room by interior design team to the stars, Michael and Alexandra Misczynski, and were struck by all the symmetry going on...
It definitely makes the room feel very pulled together, but it could also come off as kind of rigid. What do you think? Is there such a thing as too much symmetry in a room, or does it give off a nice, finished look?
Read more about the Misczynski's in this article from Vogue.
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Comments (32)
Perfection!
Just a bit too much, I think
This view is a bit bland IMO, but I don't think it's because of the symmetry.
"Struck" is right, like a baseball bat to the head. It feels kind of like half a room and like the Mad Hatter should be waiting for you in the other half. Way too much symmetry.
Zzzzzz...right down to the matching stuff on the consoles. Agree with amed studio, blandness not entirely due to the symmetry.
Boring!
looks like a store display, not a place anyone (at least with any character/personality) would live in...
if I'm not mistaken, that photo was part of an editorial in Vogue this month. The pieces of the house have a lot of history. its definitely a neutral palate, but once you know the backstory, the look makes a little more sense.
It's upsetting to me that this room is nearly perfectly symmetrical. I can't explain why it bothers me so much, but it does.
I think what's disturbing about this is the lack of something to *look at* over the fireplace. You expect something centered to catch your eye, to give the symmetry something to expand around.... and there's nothing there. It's just a blankish expanse, so your eye instead gets pulled both left and right (farther than is comfortable) by the dark mirror frames and console tables. It's like some optical illusion eye exercise, where you're supposed to look cross-eyes for a minute and then suddenly shoot your eyeballs leftward and rightward as hard as you can, from
( *) (* )
to
(* ) ( *)
Bill Blass's house had the most gorgeous use of symmetry I've ever seen. It was symmetrical, but with one-of-a-kind objects of the same height or visual wight, not with matched pairs everywhere.
The room itself is really boring and so is the symmetry. But I prefer more personal touches and putting things I love throughout my room. This is apparently just a showpiece. Blah.
Too much -- looks like a model instead of a home.
too much for me, too ... i cannot see why one would want a room to be symmetrical, it is so lifeless.
When I first saw it, I thought it was pretty. But after studying it for a moment, I think it's a bit off. I would keep the basic design, but have a couple of bold elements that break the rigid symmetry.
The problem isn't the symmetry per se, it's the matching pairs. If you had symmetrical but DIFFERENT tables, and DIFFERENT mirrors/pictures, and DIFFERENT chairs, the same floorplan might work fine.
i really like it - although it does not have a warm feeling, it is very soothing somehow.........
tooooooo much.
*yawn*
I keep thinking of the Marx Brothers shtick done by Harpo and Lucy.
do spooky evil twins live here??
I like it, but I personally find myself craving visual order at the moment. I have reached my hodge podge, mismatched chairs and frames, bric a brac, knick knack threshold.
I love symmetry but this feels stiff. I completely agree with Lisa Hunter, balance is welcome but a mirror image? Not so much.
I would rather go with visual weight than symmetry - like if there is a loveseat or couch on one side of the room, at least match it with a pair of chairs to the same scale on the other side.
If you cover half the picture with your hand, the room is suddenly much more interesting!
If it were a little less symmetrical and matchy, I'd say I love it!
Symmetry is for people who aren't creative. It's much more challenging to make an asymmetrical composition work - especially in a living space.
nazrd - agreed
modfan - that's quite a generalization.........i disagree
Well symmetry is easy, icedesign. Symmetry to a certain extent is fine - but take the room above, I'd never sit in it become it doesn't feel welcoming at all. It looks like a doctor's office or something.
"symmetry is for people who aren't creative" - no...........
I do have to agree with several of the commenters... there is a major problem here, and it ain't the symmetry.
It's the total absence of personality.
Not as much sterile as studied. The camera angle definitely kills what little charm it has.