Did you wonder in high school when anyone ever uses geometry in real life? Few people calculate the mathematics of their furniture arrangements, but geometry is actually what makes the difference between an attractive arrangement that makes sense to the eye and one that doesn’t.

Furniture arrangement often mimics shapes and patterns seen in nature. Symmetry looks balanced to the human eye. For example, the arrangement of petals around the center of a daisy is symmetrical. We also tend to prefer faces that have evenly spaced features.

Interior designers use these same principles when arranging a room.

Symmetry/Asymmetry: Symmetry is an exact correspondence of things on either side of a focal point and asymmetry takes one or more of those objects out of the balance. This adds interest to a room.

Geometric shapes: We use the arrangement of shapes to add to the symmetry or asymmetry of the arrangement. Shapes are particularly important in odd shaped rooms.

Our designer, Theresa, did a consultation in a dome shaped house with curved walls once. Curved walls have less wall space than straight walls and the furniture doesn’t line up squarely. Theresa’s familiarity with the use of geometry in design helped her see where the furniture would look best.

Rule of Thirds: Have you heard of the rule of thirds? It’s often used in photography. A frame is divided into nine equal parts and items of interest are placed on the lines and points of intersection. Of course you don’t see the lines in the finished picture or in a well-arranged room, but since the eye naturally goes to these points, the room looks balanced.

This is not to say that interior designers don’t break and bend the rules when arranging a room. They may use a combination of symmetry, asymmetry and shapes, but the mathematics of the arrangement work together.

Aren’t you impressed? Your interior designer is a kind of mathematician. Geometry and other types of mathematics make things pretty, even if we didn’t pay attention in school.