Everyone loves to lounge in overstuffed furniture with lots of pillows. Traditional and country styles encourage and welcome visitors with a wealth of soft surfaces and curved lines. This is a great look, but when it’s not balanced with some hard-surface elements, the room can feel almost out of focus.

Balancing that softness with a few hard-surface elements helps a space stay welcoming while allowing people to fully appreciate all of the softer elements. Think about how crystal and silver stand out in contrast to a soft damask tablecloth – one wouldn’t work as well without the other as a balance.

If you want to add a few hard-surface pieces to balance a room, consider accessories with clean lines in metal or glass. A square side table with one glass vase creates an opportunity for the eye to pause in a sea of softness, and provides the contrast that enables a visitor to enjoy all of the surfaces in your space.

To see part 1 in this series, please click here.