Furniture arrangement for a room sometimes is a challenge, especially if you are moving into a new house and all you have are vacant rooms. But arranging the furniture can be easy if you follow a few basic rules.
Find Your Focal Point
A focal point can be a view from a window, or fireplace, it can even be a piece of furniture such as in a bedroom the bed can become the focal point. You want it to be something where the attention is drawn to when you walk into the room. Then begin to place furniture and consider the key components that make up a beautiful room.
Arrange the furniture
Balance
Flow
Size
Let’s consider these.
The arrangement of the furniture should sit proportionally in the room and be balanced. Balance is pleasing to the eye. So when you have a bed as a focal point, it looks best with two bedside tables on either side. Think of a fireplace, if you can place the furniture on either side, it will create balance and frame the focal point, your fireplace. Not every room has an easy shape or focal item placed in the ideal spot. Adjusting the furniture by either adding or removing or moving furniture can make such a difference in the look of a room.
Flow is important, being how people can move through the room. If you have a chair, table, or something in the way of the traffic flow it can be terribly annoying. Also, small spaces can be troublesome to move through, so keep the furniture in proportion to the room.
This brings me to size. It is important to keep in mind the proportions of a room when you are arranging furniture. Although the room may feel large when it is empty, measure it, lay it out on paper if needed so you have a good idea of the furniture in proportion to the room, and allow enough space so that it is easy to move around the room. Likewise, you do not want the proportion of furniture to overwhelm the space, meaning adding a big overstuffed sofa to a room just because it is comfortable.
Lighting, Rugs, Art
Consider Light and lighting. Many times people are not satisfied with their rooms because of the above reasons but also because of the lighting. We love brighter spaces. Think about not only ceiling lighting, but also accent lighting that will brighten up your rooms. The mix of natural light and accent lighting is important to balance the brightness of a room. How do you determine what is best for a room, consider the use of the room, and add lighting to brighten it up!
Size of Rugs. Make sure they are the right size for the room. A rug is an anchor in a room for a conversation area. When placing furniture in your room on a rug try to get the legs of all the large pieces under the rug. The size of the rug should not be too small. Also, it should not be so large that it does not fit into the room. A little like the Goldilocks and The Three Bears, it needs to be just right. Rugs are a great way to begin designing a room also.
Art and its position: Sometimes a wall is so expansive that you hang a piece and it does not look right. If you are hanging a piece behind a sofa make sure it is about two-thirds the length of the sofa, similar to a bed. Sometimes creating a gallery wall with art pieces might do the trick because one piece may be too small. In this case, create a wall that has similar elements to make the pieces work together. I suggest to clients either think of a color, theme, or even the same frameworks.
The key to arranging furniture is to measure the room and play with the above suggestions of balance and proportion. Keep in mind the traffic flow through the room. Try and keep some of the pieces away from the walls too. By rearranging some of the pieces you already have can make a room look completely new again! Send me some pictures of your “new” rooms after you give this a try!
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