Dear ,
It has been a while since I've written a design newsletter, hasn't it? My apologies - I will try to do better!
This a subject that I think a lot of people can relate to - what's the best way to arrange living room furniture?
By the way, this will be from a design perspective to live with, and may vary if you are staging a home for sale.
The first thing to consider is: FOCAL POINT. Where do you want people to look when they first walk into your room (or where will you mostly be looking)? Common focal points are:
Fireplace
Television
Outdoor View
Sofa/artwork
You may have a primary and a secondary focal point - which is what makes arranging furniture so difficult.
Ideally, you want your main seating area to point toward the focal point(s).
If at all possible - put these two focal points close together. The most common scenario is that this room is used for television viewing, but there is a fireplace as well. Unless the room is large enough to have two separate seating areas, try to place the television above or to one side of the fireplace.
The second main thing to consider is: Do you want this room to be used for conversation? A frequent mistake is to have the furniture pointed in one direction (i.e. the TV), or to place the furniture so far apart that you have to speak loudly for another to hear you. That rather defeats the purpose of having a living or family room, doesn't it? So we need to have some furniture facing each other.
Since the sofa is generally the largest piece, find that placement first. It typically is placed on the longest wall opposite the focal point. That works well sometimes. However, it is often even better to bring it forward and allow for a walking space behind it (if you have 2-4 feet of space). This may prevent people from walking through the conversation area when conversation is being had!
"Anchor" the sofa in the room with an area rug if you can - it brings in color and helps to define the space. A loveseat or chair may be placed at a 90 degree angle (hopefully with a lamp in between - either floor lamp or an end table with lamp). If you have two chairs, you may place them opposite one another, as I did in this room redesign.
In this case, we brought in a rug from the dining room, moved the piece in the corner from upstairs & pulled accessories from around the house. It makes a good conversation area, and smaller chairs can be brought over when company comes.
Here is an example of putting the TV over the fireplace (although it's fake in this case).
Next time I'll talk about adding secondary seating areas and show you a picture of my new living room (I have to clean it up first!).
It also helps to "draw" your plan on paper. Here is a free website to use - Better Homes and Gardens. If this link doesn't work, go to www.bhg.com, "Decorating" and Arrange-a-Room.
You may see my archived newsletters on my website at www.hsdca.com.
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Please email any questions you have. You can send me pictures, and I'll try to help you virtually!
Until next time,
Beth
www.hsdca.com
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Beth Lester
Home Staging Designs of California (310) 809-7467 P.S. I greatly appreciate my clients & will treat your referrals with great care.
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