Transitions Make Magic Happen
Its the moments between the moments, the transitions, where the real magic happens.
Every dance is made up of a series of moves, but how a dancer goes from one move to the next shows what they are made of and creates the flow of the whole performance.
What happens in that space between the moves? I bet you never thought of that.
Is it like watching a slide show, where you see one picture, and then the next and the next? Or is it like a film or video where the transition between moves is seamless so you do not notice any break in the action?
And is it truly a work of art, where each transition is just as beautiful as the move that came before and what comes next?
The most amazing dancers put their hearts and souls into the transitions! Take a photo during any part of it and it will be a beautiful moment.
The transition leads the audience from one part of the dance to the next, telling the story in such a way that nothing breaks the magic.
Even in moments where there seems to be a pause, the energy continues to flow and move, pointing o what is coming next.
Interior Design Lessons from Dance
What does it have to do with Interior Design? Transitions are one of the things that help create the magic in the dance and in a room. This is Part 9 in my revelations from dancing on how to create your perfect space.
The older I get, the more I realize the connections between all things artistic. The same principles apply to making the magic happen in Interior Design or any other art form. You just need to open your eyes, listen, and feel it to notice.
It always seems to come back to the alignment between art (creativity), science (color), and energy (connection) that makes the magic happen. I use this alignment to create both beautiful dance pieces and interiors.
Learn more in my other seven articles:
I Learned To Solve All My Interior Design Problems by Dancing : Surprise Me.
I Learned To Solve All My Interior Design Problems by Dancing and Learning to Tell a Great Story.
I Learned To Solve All My Interior Design Problems by Dancing- Bring on the Bling.
I Learned to Solve all My Interior Design Problems by Dancing- There Can Only Be One Star.
I Learned to Solve all My Interior Design Problems by Dancing- Be Brave.
I Learned to Solve all My Interior Design Problems by Dancing- Create Drama with Shapes.
I Learned to Solve all My Interior Design Problems by Dancing- Create Drama with a Focal Point.
I Learned to Solve all My Interior Design Problems by Dancing.
How Do Transitions Relate to Interior Design?
Have you ever noticed how some houses feel so harmonious, and you feel a sense of ease and peace as you enter and go from one room to the next?
At the same time, other houses may feel a little chaotic as you go through them, but you don’t know why? It is likely the transitions.
Transitions are those areas between defined spaces where either you can often see both spaces at the same time. They are usually entryways, hallways, stairways, and at the doorways to different rooms.
Transitions can also occur where you are looking through a window and can experience the outdoors and indoors at the same time.
Transitions can even occur within a room between seating areas or open spaces within defined for different purposes.
Transitions, as in the dance, happen throughout your space.
There is harmony when there is something either similar or complementary between the spaces in relation to color, shapes, textures, or some other design aspect.
Creating Beautiful Transitions
Using color is one of the easiest ways to create beautiful transitions.
A simple trick is to have one color that occurs in every room, even if it is just an accent in some rooms while more prominent in others. It creates a common element.
Or try using different shades of the same color, or a monotone color scheme throughout the home.
Or, pick a color as the basis for your interior color scheme, and the other rooms work with that color palette. Together, they are all harmonious, as if they were in the same room in a complimentary, triad, diad, or other color scheme.
Transitions from Outdoors to Indoors
The entryway of your home is one of the most important transition areas. Especially if your home is also your place of business.
You receive an overall impression about the home and the owner from what you see on the outside, the colors, landscaping, setting, neighborhood, and the front door color and decor.
For this Bed and Breakfast, the transition is not working.
The exterior was recently painted a rich dark teal blue with a hot pink door. The interior paint remained the same.
Then you enter and experience the transition to the interior. Do they go together? How does it feel?
The entry is blue which is OK as it is in the same hue family as the exterior. Then you look through the yellow living room with various accents of rust and blue into the red kitchen.
The yellow walls are not a problem because yellow is the opposite of blue or its complement on the color wheel. The red, however, clashes with the teal.
The simplest way to solve this is to paint the kitchen. It could be painted a neutral white, a similar yellow, or even a shade of blue or green that will be harmonious with the outside color. The whole area should be updated anyway to remove the 1990’s faux painting.
Imagine how it would feel then when you came in the entrance.
Transitions Between Rooms
Transitions occur in every room where you have entrances and can see into the next room, even where the areas are not an open concept as in the previous example.
In the example below, you see similarities in the color palettes between the two rooms. They have the same wall color. The bed, rug, and pillow have similar colors to the pillow in the living room.
I could change the wall color or the bedroom to an off white or gray, which still ties in to colors in the living room and the transition is still beautiful.
Or, I could pick a clashing color that may look nice in the bedroom, but in the context of the transition between rooms does not work as with this green.
Transitions between the Outside and Inside
Another important transition is between the outside and inside. Wherever you have windows with views you want to highlight, the transition is important and can often be the focal point of the room. Find similarity in colors and patterns you see outside and bring them into your interior in your art, decor or wall colors.
For example, in the bedroom below, the whole design is based on the view and the colors of ocean and sky. To create the smooth transition from outdoors to indoors, and make the room feel one with the outdoors, the color of the wall, bed, bedding, furnishings and even my custom designed fractal art all were harmonious with the colors and patters of the outdoors.
In the design below, the colors of the forest, sky,
and trees were used in the furnishings, pillows and rug.
Get the Look
Do you like the look of some of these Edesigns? Here are some of the products I used to put the designs together. Some contain affiliate links, mmeaing I may make a small commission for sharing at no additional cost to you.
Arctic Evening and Icefield Fractal Art by Northern Lights Home Staging and Design.
Are You Ready to Create Beautiful Transitions in Your Home?
Now that you know some of the elements that work together to create your perfect space, are you ready to take action to make it happen in your home? If you knew absolutely for certain that creating a perfect space would create a better life for you, you would do it, wouldn’t you?
Let’s tell your unique story and find the alignment of art, science, and energy that makes you happy. Let me help you take that trip to your perfect space in a Ferrari instead of a stagecoach. Try my Aligned Design consultation and let’s get started.
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Such a great series! And transitions are the unsung heroes…they can, as you point out, make all the difference in how you experience moving through the space!
I love that, the “unsung heroes”. So true!! They make such a difference and most people probably are unaware they exist! Thanks!
Oh wow Mary Ann! So many great tips. I know when we created our new backyard oasis last year, the transition between our back, 3 floor to ceiling windows, was important to me. We ended up choosing a composite deck material that is the same tone as our hardwood throughout our home. Since we now have beautiful floor both inside and out, we rarely close the blinds! It makes such a difference.
Great tips!
Thank you! That sounds perfect, creating that wonderful transition from inside and out using color in your flooring/deck. I am sure it made a huge difference in connecting them rather than separating them visually. I bet it is gorgeous.
Thanks for the tips! Transitions in interior design are so important and many people never consider it. So interesting to see the parallels between dance and design!
Such great advice! Transitions are so important in interior design and many people never consider it. So interesting to see the parallels between dance and design.
Thank you! I think transitions are so overlooked but they make such a big difference in how things look and feel.