Everyone has been in a home that contains beautiful things buried in clutter. Then, there are the homes where there’s a dedicated place to hang up coats and plenty of comfortable seating. In these homes, it’s easy to move from one room to another with no furniture blocking the path, and while you’re sitting on the sofa, there’s a table in easy reach to set a drink upon. Often, cluttered, disorganized homes are simply homes where no one put thought into the layout of the furniture and how people will actually move through and use these spaces.
Room Focal Point and Furniture Balance
Every room needs a focal point, and every room needs balance. A focal point is one defining element that draws the eye when someone enters the room. It’s the star, and all other furniture and accessories are playing supporting roles. In a living room, this might be a fireplace surrounded by beautiful built-ins. Other rooms may be built around a dramatic work of art or one gorgeous piece of furniture. Balance can be tricky for both professional and amateur decorators to master. Balance requires a focal point, furniture scaled to the size of the room, and a mix of colors and heights. Take a picture of the room using a black-and-white filter. Does everything look like it’s the same tone? Or are all of the dark items grouped together and all of the light colors grouped elsewhere in the room? If so, make some changes. Balance means that every element in the room works together to create a pleasing interior.
Different Types of Layouts
The layout of the furniture depends on the layout of the room itself. Where are the doors, windows, architectural elements like fireplaces, outlets, HVAC vents, and pathways people use to enter and exit the room? How large is the room? All of these questions must be answered before a final furniture placement is hit upon. Some large living rooms need different seating areas to make good use of the space. A classic living room furniture layout is basically L-shaped: Either a sectional or a sofa and love seat make up the L. With a sofa and love seat, an end table sits in the space where the two pieces meet. With a sectional, a sofa table may run behind the seats. In front of the furniture is a coffee table. Round or oval tables work best with this layout. Another common living room layout is two sofas facing each other with a long, slim coffee table or upholstered bench in between them. Armchairs could replace one of the sofas. The important thing to remember is that people must walk through these spaces and must then be comfortable once they are seated.
The Importance of Seating and Spacing
Ever had a great dinner at someone’s house, then ended up leaving early because there was nowhere comfortable to sit in the living room afterward? Not having enough seats is definitely a problem, but so is having a room that’s so stuffed with furniture that it’s impossible to move freely through the space. The living room should have enough seating so that everyone in the home can enjoy time together in a comfortable seat, but homeowners can get creative with making that happen. An upholstered ottoman can serve as seating, for example. Younger people might enjoy floor cushions. And if the room has some open space near the door to the kitchen or dining room, it’s perfectly acceptable to bring in dining room chairs for overflow seating.
Helpful Room Design Applications and Tools
Some people can walk into a room and work out a charming, efficient furniture layout in their heads. But others would be likely to buy a sofa that’s much too large for the wall it needs to be set against or a coffee table that is dollhouse-sized compared to the other furniture in the room. Luckily, there are now apps that can help people design and lay out their rooms virtually. Although some of these apps have a bit of a learning curve, they are a great way to experiment without making expensive mistakes!
Choosing the Right Furniture for Your Home
One common mistake when it comes to buying furniture is getting the scale wrong. Think about a ranch house from the 1950s, which would tend to have narrow rooms and low ceilings. Compare that with a newly built house with a double-height family room. The low, long sofas that work great in 1950s homes would get lost in a double-height modern room. But the chunky, high sofa that works so well in that type of modern home is all wrong for a 1950s house. No one is saying that people with small rooms are doomed to a life of tiny furniture, though: The scale of the people using the furniture also matters. For instance, a tall homeowner who likes to nap on the sofa needs a nice, long piece. Furniture also needs to be scaled to all of the other elements in the room. Delicate, small armchairs are going to not look their best paired with a huge, hulking sofa.
