This week I was doing a review of an install of an interior styling project I’m working on in Glen Waverley. What this means is I assess the space to know what décor to add. Is the space too masculine or feminine and how to balance a space for a cohesive outcome.
My client’s interior style goal
The style goal my client and I devised for the project was a predominantly Modern style where pieces have interesting shapes or design elements and global influences.
Ultimately my client wanted pieces that would start a conversation. Pieces that had an interesting design element about them to spark curiosity by her guests.
We also talked about colours to establish a colour scheme. The colour scheme we established was grey, red, green with some blue, gold accents and white contrast. Yep, a few colours to add to the mix.

My client also loved striking art and floral patterns. All of these interior style preferences are normal and what I have to factor into the interior design and specification process.
Designing the living dining area
My client wanted grey walls so I specified Grainger for this project. It’s important to apply colour in balance so in this space that was all the grey I wanted. I need to add other colours from the colour scheme.
My client also wanted a tan leather sofa. She like this combo of tan leather from other projects I’ve worked on. It’s a timeless aesthetic.
With these two preferences being non negotiables I had to consider their masculine qualities. Both colour and material being more masculine than feminine.
Adding feminine accents
To balance the masculine, I looked to the interior design brief for ways to add a feminine touch. This included referring to the colour palette and my client’s preference for floral pattern.
Therefore, I decided to add the colours green and red. Especially as the art in the dining zone also featured these colours. Green also featured in other pieces such as the dining chairs and accent chair in the living area.
A simple solution to balance this space was to add velvet cushions with a floral pattern embroidered using the accent colours of green and red.
You can see from these pictures the difference these feminine touches make to the space. Not only do we achieve balance, we also achieve interest, warmth and depth.


Remember my client wanted pieces the sparked a conversation and I think the cushions with the art are striking enough to achieve this goal.
Balance is an important part of interior design. It’s not just about a balance between masculine and feminine but also in textures, materials, colours, light and so on.
There are many interior design elements at our disposal and an interesting space utilises them all but balance is the key to that ultimate interior design goal of cohesion.
Personally I prefer the ultimate goal being the interior design principle of harmony. A harmonious space is seamless.
To balance masculine and feminine in a space for a cohesive outcome for this client required a consideration of colour, material and pattern.