living room furniture
living room furniture

You’ve purchased a country style kit home of your dreams and all your favorite furniture pieces are all placed in your living room. There’s the chic white leather sofa, sleek glass coffee table, and the elegant fireplace. However, even with these interesting elements combined, you still feel that there’s something’s off. You still bump into furniture and the traffic flow feels wrong.

The culprit here, my friend, might be your furniture placement and arrangement.

No matter where you live, whether it’s in a small, studio-type apartment or a multi-room kit home, you can make your home look stunning with smart furniture placement and arrangement tactics. The next time you remodel your living room, here are 8 crucial factors to keep in mind.

1. Create a smooth traffic pattern

You know you have a good furniture placement when the traffic patterns are sensible and accessible. Ideally, people should be able to move seamlessly from the doorway through the room without bumping into walls and knocking into furniture.

Rule of thumb: Maintain at least three feet walking space around the room. Same goes with furniture with doors or drawers which should need about three feet of space to open properly.

Try to maintain about 30 to 48 inches of width for major and high-traffic routes and a minimum of 24 inches for the minor ones. Don’t block the path with large pieces. You may also direct the traffic around a seating group instead of through the middle of it for the best use of space.

2. Check your rug placement

An area rug is a winning addition to every living room, as long as no one trips on it.

If you have an area rug, establish all the seating so the legs are either entirely on or off the rug. Never position the rug wherein its corners and edges touch major walkways to lessen the chance of tripping as people walk around.

If you have an enclosed living room, the standard rule is to maintain approximately 18 inches of bare floor between the wall perimeters and the rug edge for a traditional proportion.

3. Consider your living room’s function

When placing furniture, think about how the room is used and how many people use it.

  • If the living room is likely used for relaxing and socializing, create a cozy seating group, preferably with couches facing one another or in a conversational circle.
  • If the living room is used for TV watching and family entertainment, orient the seating towards the television. Place a table within easy reach of every seating group, like a coffee table or side table. Coffee tables should be located 14 to 18 inches from the couch to provide enough legroom.

4. There should be a focal point

If you have a stunning fixed element you’d like to emphasize, have an arrangement that allows people to take a good look at the gorgeous focal point. It could be a cozy fireplace, a wall-mounted television or a glass window with a scenic view.

For a no-brainer arrangement, place the sofa across the focal point with other pieces angled to face the same direction.

5. Let the furniture pieces float

Don’t hesitate to leave some space between the wall perimeters and the furniture. Pushing all your furniture pieces up against the walls might create a bunch of dead space in the middle of the room. To make your living space seem cozier and more inviting, try to pull your sofa or other seating at least 12 inches from the wall.

If you have a sectional sofa, you may be tempted to push it into the corner of the room. While this may be a widely-accepted solution, the setting can feel claustrophobic, so try to pull it away from the wall to let light and airflow. You may put a slender console table at the back of the sofa to kill the awkward space in a more functional way.

6. Use variety and contrast

Isn’t it nicer to have your eyes moving up and down as you scan the space instead of fixing your gaze upon a flat and dead interior? Taking variety and contrast into consideration will help you break the monotony in your space. Vary the size of the furniture pieces throughout the room and avoid putting two pieces of the same size next to each other.

For contrast, combine straight and curved lines. For instance, you may mix a curvy sofa with an angular table or a sleek and slender couch with a round table.

7. Think about symmetry

Symmetrical arrangements work best in formal rooms while asymmetrical arrangements do well in making a room feel more casual. If you’re opting for symmetry, you can create balance by placing similar pieces across each other.

8. Plan ahead

Ready for your improved furniture placement? It goes without saying that you should plan ahead before breaking your back moving your furniture pieces. Take measurements of the living room’s dimensions including the location of doors, windows, electrical registers, and electrical outlets. Then sketch out your floor plan and arrangement using the tips above.

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