Furniture Placement Mistakes to Avoid

The most crucial social hub in our homes tends to be the living room. Whether we’re hosting a competitive game night with friends or enjoying a snuggly movie night with the family, our furniture arrangement can work for or against us.

 

When considering the placement of living room furniture, the goal is liveable comfort and function. Check out these five mistakes that commonly happen when laying out the living room:

 

 

1. Overlooking the focal wall. When you walk into your living room, where is the first place the eye comes to rest? For example, if you have a fireplace, this tends to be the focal wall. A large window with a view or the TV wall could be your focal point. If your living room lacks a built-in focal wall, it’s easy to make one with art or a well-chosen piece of attention-getting furniture.
2. Too much crammed into the space. You can start by laying out the room around your couch because it’s usually the largest piece of furniture in the room. It also tends to be the first place someone wants to go to relax. Experiment with it in all the places where it fits until it feels right and takes advantage of your focal wall. Everything else you bring in should work in relation to the couch.
3. Placing the couch against the wall. Position your couch away from the wall by about 12 inches. It may surprise you to know that it makes a room feel bigger. It also helps prevent dead space in the middle of the room that takes away from the cozy and intimate feel we all crave in the living room. Do the same with other seating as well.
4. Putting everything on display. Step back and reevaluate what is in your roos. If a piece of furniture is not functional or does not work in your living room design, let it go. Once you’ve established the seating layout, decide which pieces you need for surfaces and storage. Coffee tables, side tables, and desks are examples of surfaces, while cabinets, trunks, and dressers serve as storage. Send it out the door if it doesn’t serve you for comfort or function.
5. Placing furniture around things you don’t use. Essential seating is just that…essential. Give the pieces that get used regularly the greatest priority and make everything else work around it.

 

For more tips on making purposeful design decisions, check out the book Cozy Minimalist Home: More Style, Less Stuff by Myquillyn Smith.