Roman houses for wealthy people around the time of St. Paul were a marvel of balance. This we know from the houses unearthed in Pompeii, a bustling Roman city buried in volcanic debris by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and preserved intact for 1,500 years. The Roman poor, who comprised the overwhelming majority, lived in one-room affairs called insulae in "high-rises" up to eight floors high. As there was only one room, everything the family had to do they did there, including cooking.



Not so with the rich. Their homes were magnificent, sprawling mansions of up to fifty rooms with the de rigueur colonnaded courtyard called the peristillio (at least one) and the atrium (at least one too). In the back of the courtyard was usually the parents' bedroom or the tablinum, On the sides were the other bedrooms, or the cubicula. Near the bedrooms was usually the dining room or the triclinium. The rest were rooms for the numerous slaves, storage areas, hot baths (of which there are many), even vineyards. The kitchen is a small affair tucked out of sight.

Balance in these ancient Roman villas were provided by focal points all over. This may consist of murals, sculptures, and mosaics. The outdoors, "brought inside" the house through the use of atria and courtyards, contribute to the balanced effect.

Modern houses, while considerable, pale in comparison with the villas of wealthy Romans, but where balance is concerned, well, that's another thing. It's remarkable how Americans seem to have a natural knack for balance and scale, arranging, for instance, pieces on the mantel in ways that can only be described as pleasing. Here are a few reminders which could be handy in checking for balance. Note, however, that there's no single arrangement that's the only correct one. If an arrangement's balanced to you, then it's balanced.

Reality 1 An arrangement need not always be symmetrical to be balanced.

It can be asymmetrical, casual, or even helter-skelter, and yet remain balanced.

Reality 2 Balance is achieved when every angle, every seat in the house has a focal point.

To check, stand at different points in your house or sit in every chair, sit on the sofa. Where does your eye tend to go? That's your focal point. You should see it without turning your head. Otherwise you'd be better off moving the focal point, or rearranging the chair.

Reality 3 A "focal point" can be many things.

It can be your metal wall art work or the musical wall hangings your kids are so fond of. It can be the epee and fencing uniform ensemble embellishing one wall. Or the meandering river framed by your window that's clearly visible from your hillside loft. Why, it can even be your 14-foot sofa in zebra stripes.

Reality 5 The trick is to rearrange your furniture so that every focal point is where the eye rests wherever you may be. For instance, you shouldn't place your sofa against that window with the river view; that fabulous view of the river would go to waste otherwise. You should position your sofa to afford a view of that river, while, at the same time, making itself the focal point of anyone crossing the living room on the way to the dining room.