Placing Furniture in a Rectangular Room

A rectangle is the most common room shape.  Most any house or apartment includes a rectangular room and it often acommodates multiple functions.  Today we’ll examine furniture placement techniques for a typical rectangular room – without consideration of focal point, windows or doors.  Use the general techniques and tactics provided for this room shape and adjust them to suit the specific traffic flow and focal point(s) of your rectangular room.

If you ever scratch your head, wondering how to place your furniture or improve the usability and traffic in your rectangular shaped room just follow these steps in the order provided:

1.  First consider the size of your rectangular room and the activities your room must accommodate.  If your rectangular room is large enough to house multiple activities, will it be a living/dining room combo (typical of many rectangular rooms in condos and apartments), do you need a conversation area and an office/work space or do you just need a lot of seating area for entertaining and conversation? 

2.  After deciding the activities for the room, place the largest seating piece (usually the sofa in a living or family room – the table in a dining room the table – or  a bed in a bedrom) directly across from the room’s focal point (the fireplace, the window, the TV, the art wall, etc.).  Next place additional seating pieces at a 90 degree angle from the large piece (usually a love seat or two chairs in a living/faminly room).

3.  Now place additional seating diagonally across from your first “L” grouping.

4.  After placing your seating,  fill in open spaces around the room starting with your largest pieces of furniture.  Be sure to consider the size and shape of the open space and the furniture pieces you still need to place.  This is the time to consider television placement if there will be one in the room (unless you’re doing a family room and it is your focal point so furniture is already placed around it.)

5.  Next place smaller pieces of furniture such as end tables, sofa tables, ottomans and such so they relate to the seating areas.  You may find you need to move your furniture closer together to cozy up the conversation area or you may need to move the seating pieces out in order to enlarge the seating area enough to accommodate the tables.

6.  Use area rugs to anchor furniture groupings or extend furniture pieces.

7.  Place any large trees or potted plans so they tie into the furniture arrangement – don’t isolate them by relegating them to empty corners of the room.

8.  Now add table lamps and floor lamps to your room – aim for a 3-point or triangular light placement so you have an even spread of light to anchor each furniture grouping.

9.  Double check your furniture placement – make sure you are not blocking any doorways or passageways.  Can people walk through the room without cutting through the middle of your conversation area?  If not, reassess your placement decisions and alter them as needed.  Make sure your lighting creates a triangular or diamond pattern and that good lighting is available in areas that you expect to read or do things like needlework, knitting or computer work.

Here is what your furniture arrangement might look like for a rectangular living or family room: 

Here is what your furniture arrangement might look like for a rectangular living and dining room combination:

Here is what your furniture arrangement might look like for a rectangular bedroom:

Take It From Here

The illustrations above indicate a starting point or template you can use as a springboard for placing your furniture in a rectangular room.  Your furniture will obviously be a different mix, your activity needs may vary and the focal point and traffic patterns of your room will impact your final furniture placement.  The main things to consider, however, are to balance the length of the room by placing secondary seating diagonally from the largest seating piece grouping, keep furniture away from the walls when possible, keep your lighting in a triangular pattern, don’t dump plants into the corners – integrate them with the furniture arrangement.

Once your furniture is in place move on to the art and accessories – remembering to visually connect them and layer them so they relate to the furniture you have just placed!

Have fun and let me know how it goes.  I’d love to hear about your trials and successes with furniture placement.  Leave a message by clicking on the Comment link at the end of today’s article or send an email (and photos!) to solutions@yourdecoratinghotline.com.

Take It Up A Notch

Learn to build on your accessorizing efforts.  Don’t stop after placing your first accessory - make it better.  While enjoying our “work-cation” earlier this week, Terrie and I played with this idea, shopping my house for accessories in order to create this sample to share with you:

1.  A large urn adds a nice touch to a room – but filling it with a bundle of tall, natural sticks turns it into a dramatic presence.  Place a small trunk filled with greens beside the stick filled vase and it generates more visual interest.

2.  Try another look by replacing the box of greens with a floor easel and a piece of art.

3.  Replace the tall vertical framed  art with a smaller horizontal piece, revealing the curved top of the easel, and the look of the art /easel combo look changes. 

4.  Add a third accessory to balance the arrangement.  Now this is it – the final arrangement!  Well,  at least until the accessories are rearranged at a later date!

Experiment With The Process 

There are guidelines, there are general rules, and there are some ideas that are better than others – but accessorizing is a process, not a single act.  Stretch yourself when accessorizing a room.  Instead of stopping after placing your first accessory, add another, play with the arrangement until it feels right and then change it one more time after you think you’re satisfied - just to be sure!  You’ll find it fun and sometimes frustrating, but the end result will be better than the single accessory placed with little effort. 

Share your accessorizing efforts with us by emailing before and after photos to solutions@yourdecoratinghotline.com.  We can all learn from each others trials, errors and successes!

Rules of Thumb

1.  When placing furniture in a room the first rule of thumb is to erase your old image of your room.  Forget about where things have “always” gone – forget about how the previous owner had the room arranged – forget about relegating the same furniture to the same room all the time.  Take a new, fresh look at the space and your furniture.

Photo hgtv.com

2.  The first item to place in your room is the largest seating piece -usually a sofa or loveseat in the living room.  In the dining room, the table.  In a bedroom, what else?, the bed!  Place this piece opposite the focal point of the room (the fireplace, the window, the TV, the art wall, etc.).  Placing the largest seating piece across from your focal point ties the architecture of the room and the furnishings together.  In the photo above the sofa is placed directly opposite the fireplace (and TV).

3.  Place your other seating pieces, starting with the next largest piece and working down to the smallest.  Place them in proximity to your sofa so that the pieces are all within a comfortable conversation space – not yards away from one another.

Photo bhg.com

4.  Place your furniture IN the room – not pushed up against the walls all around the room.  Even in small rooms there is usually room to move pieces off the wall and into the room a bit – for example, put a table behind the sofa so it is in the room and off the wall.

5.  Keep pairs of chairs together.  Separating a set reduces their impact – if they are the same size, shape or color, keep them together.

Photo bhg.com

6.  As unusual as it may sound, the pieces of a sectional sofa do NOT have to kept together.   The visual weight of a sectional can “tilt” the room or overpower it.  Sometimes pulling out a piece or two (e.g. center pieces become armless chairs) provides other seating and helps balance the weight of the sectional grouping.

7.  Large multi-piece wall units or bookcase series and also weight one side of a room when placed all together.  If it feels like your room is tipping – separate the pieces and use them somewhere else in the room or somewhere else in the house.

From hgtv.com

8.  Area rugs anchor groupings of furniture – use them in conjunction with your furnishings, not just tossed onto open floor spaces.  Notice in the photo above how the sofa is pulled away from the wall toward the focal point and how the area rug anchors the seating area in the room – creating an intimate conversation area and directing traffic around the seating area instead of through it.

9.  Unless you have a very large screen TV or it is housed in a built-in wall unit, the TV is not the focal point of the room and it should be placed after the seating area has been established.

10.  After the seating area(s) is established, add side tables, sofa tables and coffee tables to the conversation area.  Enabling each seated guest to be able to easily set a drink on a nearby piece of furniture will enhance the comfort and usability of your room.

Next – Placing Furniture in a Rectangular Room

Now that you’ve got the basic rules of thumb for placing furniture, the next step is to begin looking at different room shapes and applying these general rules along with considering some specific needs associated with each room shape.  The first room we’ll discuss is the most common shape – a rectangular room.  Be sure to read it next Thursday!

The Prize Winners Are….

Comment #21 was posted by Joni Weber!   Joni wins a beautiful,unique, handmade pillow from the ETSY store Word Garden.  Sally, the owner of Word Garden, is a “free-spirited creator and loves putting photographs, images, art and beautiful words” onto her pillows.  She’s “infatuated with words and collects meaningful and positive quotations”.  Below are three samples of the gorgeous pillows available at Word Garden:

Elegant Crown pillow from WordGarden, ETSY.com

Love in French from WordGarden

Castle art pillow from WordGarden

Sally’s Word Garden ETSY store is the fulfillment of a life long dream to sell her creations and we’re thrilled to have her join our anniversary celebration by allowing Joni to pick the pillow of her choice from Word Garden, up to a $30 value.   Congratulations, Joni!

Comment #12 was posted by Dianne Bone!   Dianne is the lucky winner of a $50 credit on www.wuslu.com, a decor site specializing in offering one unique decor item per day at a deeply discounted price.  Dianne can apply her $50 credit to any of WUSLU’s great deals, including items like these recently offered pair of lamps, the wine console, or the fun hanging chair.

A pair of WUSLU accent lamps priced at $50.

A console wine table from WUSLU.com $100 including shipping.

Porch swing from WUSLU.com $36

The site’s goal is to help people create a beautiful home through one great deal and/or idea at a time.  WUSLU founder, Yasmin, says, “I’m a firm believer that a “homey” home is a right not a luxury…I’ve done all the haggling and negotiating with these manufacturers on your behalf so I can pass the savings on to you at below retails cost.”   So there you go, Dianne, have fun spending your $50 credit on one of the great values Yasmin has lined up at WUSLU.

Comment #6 was posted by Diane!   Diane wins a beautiful photographic print from ETSY store Autumn Letters.  Store owner Shannon Marie says, “I love to photograph nature and use my macro lens a lot.  I like to experiment and play with bright, bold colors.”  Take a look at a couple of her lovely prints and you’ll see her experiments turn into lovely prints suitable for your home – and lucky Diane gets to pick out one that she loves.

Autumn Letters Photograph

Summer Strawberry Basket from AutumnLetters, ETSY.com

Country Road photo from AutumnLetters, ETSY.com

Selecting the Winners

Congratulations Joni, Dianne and Diane!  Each of you lucky winners will receive an email from Terrie instructing you how to claim your prize. 

Many thanks to all of you for your comments and for reading Your Decorating Hotline.  We hope you all had fun helping us celebrate our One Year Anniversary - we sure enjoyed it.  Now Terrie and I look forward to our decorating adventure with you during our second year!

Decorative Waste Baskets

Little did I know that no matter what your style, color, theme or desired material there is a waste basket just waiting to be discovered!  Who knew there were so many?  And such variety? And in such a broad price range?  I haven’t made my final selection yet but here are a few that caught my eye while shopping. Maybe you’ll find something to inspire you to change out your plain utilitarian basket for something a bit more decorative too.

From comforthouse.com - $89.95.

 

From decorativethings.com - cork $125.00.

From rosenberryrooms.com - $64.00.

 

From touchofclass.com - waste basket $62.95.

 

From touchofclass.com - resin waste basket $45.75.

 

From mycouturebebe.com - $45.00.

 

From bedbathhome.com - $29.95.

From bellacor.com - fabric panels with leather accents $45.95.

From wellappointedhouse.com - wood and decoupage $120.00.

From jatashop.com - $34.95.

 

From themebath.com - resin $46.95.

From amazon.com - $39.00.

From themacbethcollection.com - $52.00.

From salisburyandmanus.com - $104.00.

 

From decorativethings.com - fabric $45.00.

Waste Not Want Not

Looking at the variety of styles, colors and materials available in waste baskets started me thinking about things I already have that might serve as a waste basket:  a  large woven basket, a ceramic pot (a solution I’m leaning toward), a big tin to which I could decoupage fabric or glue sheet cork, an unfinished wooden cube that could be stained or painted. 

There are lots of options to fill the simple need for a waste basket.  What’s your solution?

Winners Announced Tomorrow

Terrie and I had so much fun reading the comments you left on yesterday’s Anniversary Post.  Thank you all for sharing your thoughts about Your Decorating Hotline, how you found us, what you like best about the blog and all your other kind comments.  It takes a lot of time to build the content for this site and it’s so gratifying when we push the “publish” button and low and behold we get a comment back from someone out in cyberspace who is reading us!  It’s a bit of a magical moment for us every time we receive a comment.  Thank you – and let’s keep up the dialogue!

The winners of Your Decorating Hotline’s Anniversary Celebration prizes will be announced in tomorrow’s post.  If you left a comment yesterday on our One Year Anniversary post, you are eligible to win.  Be sure to log in tomorrow to see if you can claim one the great prizes: A photographic print from ETSY store AutumnLetters valued to $40;  one of ETSY store WordGarden’s handmade pillows valued to $30.  (Plus they’ll pay the shipping!);  and finally www.WUSLU.com is providing a $50 credit to be used on her site - your choice.  It’s our anniversary but you get the gifts! 

Using Area Rugs

Area rugs pull their weight in when it comes to protecting flooring and enhancing your decorating.  Use an area rug to help:

• Protect hardwood, tile or stone floors
• Define a seating area

Photo floorguide.com

• Create separate functional areas in a large space.

Photo remodelingcenter.com

• Add color and/or pattern to a room as well as texture.

Photo homedecorcenter.com

Photo homedecorcenter.com

• Tie the elements of a room together.
• Link rooms together.  As you see below, the two spaces are bridged with matching area rugs over hardwood floors.

Photo remodelingcenter.com

• Softena room’s hardscape
• Reduce noise

Selecting an Area Rug

Area rugs come in all shapes, sizes, colors and a wide variety of materials.  Select one that fits your space, enhances the decor and can withstand the type of traffic and use to which it it will be subjected.

• Room size rugs should leave a border of 18” to 24” on all sides.  You can see the dark hardwood floor so you know it’s a purposeful area rug – not wall-to-wall carpeting that doesn’t fit!

Photo via TraditionalHome.com

• Seating area rugs look best if all of the chairs, sofas and/or loveseats sit on the rug or at least have their front legs on the rug.

Photo coastalliving.com

• Dining room rug rule of thumb is to have the rug  at least 3’ longer and wider than the dining room table.  I’ve broken this rule because I’m using a rug I had in another room before we moved – but if you’re buying a dining room rug make certain the rug extends enough away from the table that chairs remain on  the rug when pushed back from the table.

Photo TheFurniture.com

 The area rug above looks lovely with the dining set but it barely contains the chairs – make sure the area rug is large enough so the dining chairs do not fall off the edge of the rug when pulled back for seating.  The rug below is generous enough that chairs have plenty of room to push back from the table and stay on the rug.

Photo potterybarn.com

• Hallway rugs should be at least 2” to 4” narrower and 18” to 24” shorter than the hallway.

Photo rugsmart.com

• Other area rugs vary in size according to the specific need of your furniture and decor.  The small room below has very little space between the built in bed and a desk but the themed hooked rug adds a great visual to tie the room together.

Photo coastalliving.com

What’s Underfoot in Your Home?

Anniversary Input

A pair of WUSLU accent lamps priced at $50.

One of the prizes you might win is a $50 credit on www.wuslu.com, a decor site specializing in offering one unique decor item per day at a deeply discounted price.  The winner of the $50 credit can apply it to any of WUSLU’s great deals, including items such as this recently offered a pair of lamps (above). The site’s goal is to help people create a beautiful home through one great deal and/or idea at a time.

WUSLU founder, Yasmin, says, “I’m a firm believer that a “homey” home is a right not a luxury…I’ve done all the haggling and negotiating with these manufacturers on your behalf so I can pass the savings on to you at below retails cost.”