The function of your room is defined more by the arrangement of the furniture than by any other aspect of the design and as such is one of the first indicators of whether a space will actually work. If your room isn’t working, you can bet your layout is to blame. See if any of these scenarios sound familiar:
- “Ring around the rosie” … or, in this case, room. You have smashed furniture on every available wall, with a huge arena in the center, as if a circus act is going to perform at any moment. This look comes straight to you from the 50s, although it didn’t work out well back then either. The feel is austere and unappealing, and while you can create a sense of space by separating the pieces, a useless void remains that I refer to as “the pool.” Unless you are planning to host a dance or cocktail party, remove your pieces from the walls and place them in the room! Group them according to the function you want to take place: reading, conversation, television, food, games, etc …
- At the other end of the spectrum, you sometimes find all the furniture crammed together at one end of the room, giving you the feeling of being uncomfortably off balance. It still has the “pool” effect, but now to the side, rather than in the center. This is a common problem in offices and bedrooms in particular. You paid for your home based on square footage, right? So if your room has 200 square feet of space, your goal should be to use all of that space effectively. If you have most of your large, heavy pieces in one area, try to place at least one sizeable item in front of the main group. In a bedroom, try a large dresser or sitting area in front of the bed. In an office, a bookcase or loveseat can work well to balance the workspace.
- Poor location for function: Is furniture spaced so it’s easy to carry on a conversation? You should be able to easily make eye contact and hear everyone in the group. No one should crawl their neck to see who is speaking, or have to raise their voice to be heard. The same principle applies to every other possible function. If the purpose of an arrangement is to see something (ie television, a view, or the fireplace), everyone’s view should be as free as possible.
- Poor location for movement and use: How is the traffic flow in the space? Are there areas that are crowded or where the traffic pattern doesn’t really make sense? You need approximately 18 “to move comfortably around furniture and 36” for main hallways. Tables should be placed close enough that you can comfortably reach them from a seated position, not floating in no man’s land. If you have to stretch, they are too far away.
As you can imagine, or have experienced yourself, this is not always as easy as said! Awkward placement of doors, windows and accessories, having multiple focal points or multiple functions in one space can complicate things considerably, but there is always an answer. If you have a difficult room, you may feel like you’ve tried the furniture in every possible arrangement (and maybe you did), without success. This is where professional inspiration is exactly what is needed.
We get very used to seeing things a certain way in our homes, and change can be difficult to visualize, especially when that is not your ability! When you purchase a room design on OnlineHomeDecorating.com, your plan will include 2-3 sample floor plans, allowing you to visualize layout options that you can try in your own home.