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Where and how you situate your furniture in your living room – be it formal or informal – should be flexible enough to leave space where you can perform a variety of activities. If you also use your living room as a family room or den, then chances are you expect more from the space, perhaps more entertainment or seating space. If your home has a family room as well as a formal living room, chances are you leave the latter for formal occasions.
Evaluate Living Room Usage
Start by listing all the activities that might take place in the room in the future. Do not leave any activities out of this list no matter how insignificant they may seem. Once you are done with that, list all the electrical equipment and furniture needed to make each of these functions possible.
Furniture arrangement is an art form that involves establishing working relations among different pieces of furniture within the context of a space. While you might think there is only one way to arrange your furniture because that is the only way you have been organizing it for years, but there are so many unexplored options when it comes to arranging furnishings. However, it can still be a bit complicated when it comes to arranging furniture since there are tons of arrangement options available to choose from.
Take Note of Your Space
In some spaces, because of where architectural elements like doors and windows are located, finding the perfect arrangement does not come easy. Complications arise when an area has more than one focal point as they attract attention. For instance, trying to position seating in rooms with an ethanol fireplace, read this ethanol fireplace guide, and a television or picture window can be frustrating. It is difficult to focus on two different points. While you might find a way to take advantage of the various focal points, there comes a time when you have to choose one focal point to focus on.
Arranging Living Room Furniture
Here are several general guidelines to help you narrow down on all the furniture arrangement possibilities. Before you choose an arrangement pattern for your room, keep the following suggestions in mind:
When arranging furniture, position it in a way that traffic does not pass between your TV and people.
To give the space a sense of unity, consider placing furniture, so the lines are all parallel to your walls. Placing furniture on the diagonal, also known as dynamic diagonal, creates contrast and excitement.
Try leaving one wall free of any furniture, especially if it flanks a walkway.
Keep dialogues going by assembling chairs in groups, 3-4 feet apart. A fool-proof and very comfortable seating arrangement is incorporating a love seat or sofa flanked by two upholstered chairs.
Take advantage of unusual spaces by building shelves, consoles, and so forth in the rooms. The only potentially-negative aspect of such built-in furniture is that you cannot take them with you when moving. But, come to think about, that is not necessarily bad.
Place a small table or stool near each chair for holding a book, reading glasses, refreshments, and such.
Shield the living room for more privacy by setting up standing, folding screens at right angles to your walls if your front door opens directly into the living room.
Larger rooms can be a bit estranging. To cut a huge room and make it smaller, treat it like it is several smaller spaces by creating several intimate activities and seating areas.
