Furniture Placement How-to

If you are just moving in to a new apartment or your rooms could use a fresh look, consider furniture placement. In a new place putting down the furniture in the best possible places is important for setting the look and feel of the room. If you are dying to redecorate but funds don’t allow it, rearranging existing items in your home is a surprising but effective way to give your space a whole new look.

First step is imagining the space empty. This may be difficult if you already live there but think back to when you first moved in. Is the room large enough to divide into living zones, so to speak? Does the room need to serve multiple functions? Think about using your sofa as a divider, being careful not to interrupt the natural flow of the room. Also consider screens which are excellent for creating privacy, adding some color or hiding an unsightly corner. If you do put the sofa in the middle of the room, a long table behind it will give it an anchored look and act as a space for books, mementoes, etc. With the extra wall space you’ve created by not sticking your sofa against it, you can line the wall with shelves or a cabinet for storage. Need more seating? Put a couple of chairs on either side of the cabinet or hang the shelves high enough a bench can be placed beneath them. And remember, no one says you have to have a sofa. A grouping of chairs around a round table is perfectly acceptable and might fit your room better. In a small space the scale of chairs often offers a more open feel.

If you are already in your apartment and the space feels cramped, dark or otherwise uncomfortable, consider removing a few items and perhaps changing out the curtains. Taking out a small table or book shelf will open up the space, and lighter curtains will offer more natural light. You always want to keep people flow and movement in mind so you aren’t walking a maze every time you cross the room. If your room is square, look at putting the couch at an angle to break up the space.

If you have a signature piece of furniture, art or other item you want noticed, don’t forget to reserve pride of place for it. Also don’t neglect lighting – does the room get lots of natural light; is the overhead lighting enough and appropriate for the room’s purpose or will you need to include floor or table lamps in your placement plan? Rugs are another way of unifying or defining a space in a large room. They also are great concealers of ugly apartment carpet. Rugs need to be big; in general the front legs of your sofa, table, etc. should be on the rug.

When considering furniture placement, the number one thing to keep in mind is how the room is going to be used. Once that’s been decided you can choose items and place them to boost the space’s functionality.