How to Arrange Furniture Effectively

There is more to proper furniture placement than just doing what looks good. Your furniture should address both convenience and comfortable living as well. When determining the placement of your furniture, think of all the activities that will take place in the room. Your layout should maximize comfort as well as space for each activity. If you are just sitting and talking, you will not require as much space as those who entertain and play games in the living room.

When placing your furniture, sit for a moment. Is there light shining in from a window? Is a lamp reflecting in your eyes? Walk around the furniture to assure that you will have ease of movement and will not be running into things or find that two people can not pass in the space. A good rule of thumb is to leave at least two feet of walking space in traffic areas as well as three to four feet around doorways. If you will have a coffee table place it no closer to your sofa than 18 inches for comfortable leg room.

Size

Consider the size of the furnishings as well. If you have great windows, do not hide them behind big furniture. Aim for balance in a room. Do not place all of your large pieces of furniture on one wall, in any room. This will in effect, weigh that side of the room and make it look very heavy and small.

The smaller the size of your room, the fewer pieces of furniture you will want to place in the room. For smaller rooms, stay away from heavy furniture. You will also not want to place a small piece of furniture, such as a small chair beside a large table or desk, or a large chair beside a very small table. This will look very disproportionate. If your room is very small, consider smaller pieces of furniture. Use a loveseat rather than a sofa or one small table between two chairs.

Balance

Balancing your furniture colors and fabrics is equally important. It is best to stay with one color family and use your contrast color for pop, scattering it sparingly around the room. Fewer pieces will have more impact. If the room is overflowing with the accent color, it loses that look at me punch. Scatter your accent color evenly around the room so the eye travels everywhere in the room.

Focus

If your room has a central focus built in, such as a fireplace or built in shelving, use that as the main focus of the room; building around it, not in front of it. Dress up a window rather than hide it with furniture.

Enjoyment

If your room is large, pair seating into groups to maximize the space, as well as give it a sense of coziness within each grouping. Enjoy your room and don't hesitate to move things around if they don't feel comfortable the first time.