Whether you are constructing a new home, remodeling an existing living room or just rearranging furniture you already have, laying out your living room is best done with a plan in your mind. It may seem to be a very simple matter of rolling up a chair over here and squishing the couch over there, but even the simplest elements of space planning can get complex quickly. Before you start doing some heavy lifting, consider these professional living room layout tips.
Habitar Design
Planning. Analyze how that you spend time on your living room. Nashville interior designer Kippie Leland suggests writing down everything that you plan to get there. “This can allow you to prioritize when you reach the furniture planning phase,” says Leland.
Then consider traffic and dialogue flow. How can you enter a room? Move between chairs? Get around the corner of a sofa? “You don’t ever want to feel trapped or feel as if you are making laps around an area to get out or in,” states Minneapolis interior designer Lucy Penfield. And “do not locate the back of a sofa by the entry,” says Colorado interior designer Andrea Schumacher. “It should be installed so you could walk in and out of the room easily.”
Don’t leave too much distance between seating, so conversation can flow readily.
The Cross Interior Design
Arranging and rearranging. Everybody has an individual preference when it comes to arranging furniture. Some individuals prefer to take their time and plan out every detail. For those, Leland suggests starting off with a scaled drawing of this room, measuring the existing furniture and making to-scale cutouts of each piece to play with. “It is much easier on your back to rearrange on paper than to transfer the furniture,” she states.
There’s a different route for people who prefer to be spontaneous. “Block out a good hour or so, bring a friend along or your own family, and really move things around,” states Penfield. Move out everything that’s simple to carry first, just to find a new view of this room. Then switch it all up — even take out the carpet to learn what the room looks like without it. “Every time you come up with a fresh configuration, take a little time to sit down and see how it feels,” she states.
A few things to remember, regardless of what arrangement you decide on:Try to maintain 15 to 18 inches involving upholstery and the coffee table. Be certain that you have 2 to 4 feet of walking distance in a most important pathway. If you opt to put your furniture within an angle, know that it’ll take up a lot of extra space. Try symmetry first — that often works well in living rooms.
Meredith Heron Design
Keeping things to scale. All of the designers here highlight the importance of furniture size in a living room. “Properly scaled furniture may make or break a room,” says Austin, Texas, designer Allison Jaffe. “Having too much room or too little room can really throw away the look and feel of this room.”
Just because the scale and size of a bit appears right in a shop doesn’t mean it’ll feel right on your living room. Larger rooms require larger furniture, and bigger rooms require a bigger scale.
But above all else, make sure everything you buy is comfortable too. “Select furniture that fits you,” says Schumacher. “Try out different sized pieces. We’ve found some people prefer larger furniture they could flake out, and some people prefer more miniature furniture”
Terracotta Design Build
Purchasing furniture. A brand new living room usually means some new furniture — at the very least a bit here and there. Jaffe suggests because it will be the piece in the room, picking the sofa first . “When purchasing a sofa, go moderate in proportion, for it may be used at a future home in the library or den,” adds Leland.
Contemplate your entertaining needs and choose furniture which may be used with larger groups if necessary. Slip a bench or locate ottomans which may be used as side tables or seating.
Dana Nichols
Handling the TV. The TV is not necessarily pretty, but for a lot of us, it’s a must-have at the living room. Fortunately, the design issue is lessened by flat-screen televisions. Keep relaxation in mind when putting your TV — make sure not to hang it in a height that will make your throat ache. Above the fireplace may be too large, unless the couch has enough distance so that your neck doesn’t have to strain. But, Jaffe advises to not put the TV over 10 ft or less than 6 ft away from the sofa.
You may not want your TV to become the room’s focal point (regardless of how proud of it you’re). “Do you want a black hole dangling in a significant visual location in the room?” Says Leland. Consider placing it on a bookshelf which flanks the fireplace or on a buffet from the wall.
More about putting your flat-screen TV
Inform us What have you learned while setting out your living room?