Common Sense Guidelines for Arranging Living Room Furniture

by Mary Olinger Think Lounges Australia

Deciding to purchase living room furniture is just half the job; the other half is deciding how to arrange it. Knowing how you are going to place it in the living room can also be part of deciding which pieces you want to include. For instance, if you have room, you may want an entire set including a sofa, recliners, and a love seat. If space is limited, you may only want a sofa and a recliner or two. Arranging your furniture might be the toughest challenge of all. Here are a few guidelines to help you work through the process and finding the best arrangement for you.

What’s your focal point?

The focal point is a powerful aspect of arranging your living room furniture. A focal point is something in your room which naturally draws your line of sight upon entering the room. It might be a window, a built-in shelf or mantel. But you can also create the focal point yourself by using something like a television or a media unit. No matter what you decide about your focal point, once you find it, arrange your furniture around it.

Keep Furniture Away from the Walls

A room’s specific size will determine how far away from the walls the furniture can be placed. But even if a room is very small, there should still be some space between the walls and the living room furniture. Having the furniture out from the wall can even make the room seem a little bigger. If the living room is rather large, you can arrange your seating areas in the centre of the room and leave quite a bit of space between the furniture and the walls.

Think about Traffic Flow

Living room furniture should be arranged in a way that everyone’s not tripping over it to pass through. Situate the furniture in a way that allows plenty of space for moving about the room. Be sure to leave a couple of feet between the lounge and a coffee table, or between two recliners for ease of access.

Creating Social Areas

Furnishings should be arranged so people can easily converse without straining or craning their necks. Pieces should also be close enough so people don’t feel like they have to yell to be heard across the room. Even though sofas and chairs don’t have to directly face each other straight on, they should be close enough and situated facing one another. If your living room is large, then you can create more than one conversational areas.

Using the Right Sized Accessories

Any accessories you put in the living room should be sized appropriately. Area rugs should fit under your furnishings. It’s okay to expose some flooring along the edges of your living room, but an area rug needs to fit nicely under all the furniture in a seating arrangement to be visually appealing. Accessories like artwork should also be sized appropriately. Photos, mirrors, and artwork that hang on the wall should be in relation to the furnishings. Small photos should not be hung over your sofa for instance. A larger piece is more appropriate for over the sofa but it should be about 2/3 the length of the sofa or love seat.

Use Your Light Sources

One of the most important decorative elements is lighting. The trick to using lighting to its greatest advantage is using a variety of lighting sources. Use some overhead lights, floor or table lamps and natural lighting as well. A floor lamp placed at the end of a sofa or situated right behind an accent chair can be perfect. Table lamps can be attractive features sitting on side tables, mantels or shelves. Lighting should also be placed on different levels and be spaced liberally about the room to achieve the best balance.

These common sense tips can help you determine how to arrange your furnishings in functional and practical ways. Think Lounges has a variety of living room suites and single pieces that can help you design the living room of your dreams. Check out our site today for affordable and stylish options in living room sofas, recliners and sofa beds.