Design Tips – Designing a Standard Furniture Layout
Design tips – Designing a standard furniture layout for a large living room
The living room is the place in every house that is noticed every time and by everyone. It is the area where visitors are welcomed and so, needs to be the best. So how can you make the best of a large living room? The arrangement of furniture is important in this sphere and enhance the looks of the living room.
The below tips will help with layout options for a large living room.
Designate zones
Large rooms can function as so much more than just a large sitting area, the best way is to get creative and see how you can break it down to smaller zones. Identify several possible functional areas within the room, such as a conversation zone, a media zone, an area for a writing desk, a console or a game table, a dining area or perhaps a reading area. Use the furniture to create the different areas. People should be able to comfortably talk to each other without being strained or having to shout.
Anchor the room
Great rooms or large living areas can end up feeling cluttered if you put too many small pieces in the room without at a couple of anchoring pieces. An L-shaped, large sofa, large coffee table and even built in bookcases or a piano will help anchor a room so smaller pieces can work as accents if necessary.
Think Scale
Large rooms sometimes come with tall ceilings, so it is important to ensure the room is not out of balance. The solution is to choose taller furniture whenever possible. If your furniture is all short, your ceilings will feel too tall and your furniture will be dwarfed. Consider a taller bookcase, an armoire, taller backs on chairs and sofas and taller accessories.
Pair Up
If you can’t find a coffee table big enough for your space try using two matching square or rectangle ottomans side by side. You can also use two area rugs for two separate conversation areas rather than one large one. Chairs are less visually divisive in a room than a sofa so they can create a pleasing flow and conversation area in large spaces, small rooms or awkward areas with challenging traffic patterns. Anytime you can use several of anything like double footstools, two lamps or sets of chairs, the impact will be greater!
Move from Walls
One thing that often looks strange to me is a large room with the sofa pushed back against one wall and the chairs on the opposite size of the room against the other wall, leaving too much open space in the middle. If you have to shout in order to have a conversation with someone sitting across from you in the room, it is likely your furniture is too far apart.
With a larger room you can pull seating out from the walls to create a much cosier conversation area around a focal point. Don’t fear empty walls, you can use wall space for art, consoles, benches and bookcases or additional conversation areas where the furniture can be pulled closer together.
Repetition
In a large space there tends to be more furniture and accessories, which can feel a bit haphazard. One way to tie a large room of furniture together and unify your style is through repetition. Repeating fabric patterns or colours on chairs or throw pillows will help carry your eye around the room and feel visually more pleasing.
So, go forth and rearrange!