By Platinum Team October 23, 2014

How to Properly Arrange Your Furniture

When moving into a new home, it is easy to stick your couch, some chairs and coffee table in a room and call it a day.  But, there is more to arranging furniture than simply putting it in a room and pointing everything at each other.  When you take the time to arrange your furniture properly, not only will your home look more put together and stylish but you will also maximize your space.  How do you know what is right for your space and your furniture, though?  It may seem confusing but you do not need to hire an interior designer to learn how to properly arrange your furniture.  Follow the tips below to arrange your furniture correctly and make your home look its best.

Use an Online Floor Plan Designer

In today’s virtual world, there is a program or an app for everything.  Furniture layouts are no exception.  There are many free programs and apps available in which you can input your rooms dimensions as well as furniture dimensions and virtually arrange your furniture to see what works best in the space.  It can be a pain to move furniture around so doing it virtually first will save you time and energy.

Aim for Balance

An unbalanced room will look awkward and strange.  A room full of way too small furniture will look smaller and just downright strange while a room full of furniture that is way too big will look cramped and small.  Just because you have a small room does not mean you have to avoid large furniture all together, and the same is true for large rooms and small furniture.  It simply means you need to aim for achieving a balance.  Arrange large pieces with small pieces mixed in so that things look visually interesting without being matchy-matchy and strange.

Determine a Focal Point

Depending on what room you are in, there will be different focal points.  Perhaps in the family room, the focal point is the television.  But, in the living room, the focal point may be a beautiful bay of windows that overlooks the scenery.  Once you determine the focal point of the room, it will help you decide how you want to arrange furniture.

Start with the Largest Piece of Furniture

For a bedroom, the largest piece of furniture is typically the bed.  For the living room, the largest piece of furniture is probably the sofa.  The largest piece of furniture will determine how you will arrange furniture in the room.  Perhaps the sofa only works well in one place in the room, this will subsequently determine where you will place the coffee table.

Use Area Rugs

Area rugs anchor the room and help create specific areas within a room.  It is important to go big with the rug.  A too small rug will make the room look smaller and just look out of place.  A rug that flows underneath furniture but not all the way to the wall looks luxurious and stylish.

Consider Natural Traffic Flow

Even though a sofa may look good in one place, it may impede natural traffic flow and end up being more of a headache than a stylish decor choice.  When arranging furniture, consider how people move through the home and what is most practical.