Practical, Chic Decor: When Family Matters More than Fancy

OUR DESIGN ASSESSMENT When we first saw this photo of a dining-room sideboard in a Portland, Ore., home, what struck us was how thoughtfully orchestrated the décor scheme was. Local designer Max Humphrey, it seemed, had expertly played with (and against) symmetry. The Asian sideboard occupies center stage, with a Moroccan rug obediently framing it, while two matching mushroom table lamps and a near-identical duo of chairs spread out equidistantly. Even the painting consists of two pure squares. On the other hand, the cluster of Jonathan Adler pottery is defiantly asymmetric, the seats’ colors diverge and the two halves...