Living Room Furniture Layout Ideas
The living room is the heart of the home, and that means it deserves some extra design intention. Your living room furniture dictates how you approach the space as a place to relax and entertain, and it contributes to your overall home aesthetic. Depending on the functional needs of your living room space, different furniture layouts and types are going to be suited to your needs. We’re here to give you a rundown of the basics to consider when staging the furniture in your living space.
How To Arrange Living Room Furniture
When you’re walking around a furniture store, you’ll see living rooms set up on display that showcase the best of designer styling. Living room styling includes rugs, home accessories, side tables, and the right use of accents and angles. Every home is unique, so how you arrange your space will depend on what you’re looking to gain from your space and how you plan to use your living room. Is this a room for conversation and entertaining, or is this the room with the TV? Start by exploring living room design styles, and build out your vision from this inspiration.
Find Your Focal Point
It’s common to have a living space that is oriented around a focal point. In most homes, this is the TV. With a television on one wall, you want to arrange your seating so that everyone has a comfortable view. However, there are several ways you can create this focal point. You can have your furniture angled to face it, or you can have a symmetrical space with your focal point at one end. How you choose to frame your focal point will depend on the characteristics of your space and the shape of the room in general.
Demarcate Your Space
Living rooms can get busy quickly. By demarcating your living room space, you can allocate certain parts of the space to certain functions. We need to consider the seating area, focal points, storage and shelving, and any other functional areas you’re including in your living space. One of the best ways to delineate your space is with area rugs. The right rug will help segment a room into manageable chunks, making your space look more cohesive. This is one case where more can sometimes be less. By ordering your furniture into separate segments of a room and adding space dividers like rugs, you can reduce the “busy” look of too many furnishings.
Consider Symmetry
Symmetry in interior design plays a large role in how we experience spaces. Gently angled furnishings can provide an intimate, cozy atmosphere, while mirrored seating or straight lines offer a more formal, put-together living space. This is where your home’s style comes into play: while matching the atmosphere of your home’s style is important, you can still create a living room that feels inviting. A symmetrical space also offers the benefit of a changing focal point. Instead of everyone just facing the TV, you can have a smooth conversation space because the sofas and chairs are facing each other.
Flow
One vital aspect to consider is the walkable space in a room. This is especially important for living rooms, where you’ll need enough space to travel between seating areas and the door. If your living area has more than two entrances, creating a smooth and clear path between them is essential.
By demarcating your space, you can separate the seating area from the path area. This allows you to have full access to both the amenities of the room and the walking area if you’re just passing through. Some seating options can make creating a path difficult, especially in a smaller living room, but with the right styling, you can make the space work for you.
Work With Sectionals Wisely
Sectionals are incredibly versatile sofas that offer comfortable seating for several people. However, they do tend to take up a lot of space. These large furnishings can make a room feel cramped if they’re not styled well. We recommend moving sectionals far away from the corner of a room, and off of any walls ideally. This gives a “floating” effect, often brightening up a room and giving more airiness to a space. Sectionals are furnishings with a lot of visual weight — they take up a lot of space and can look heavy in a room. We can balance this weight by offsetting coffee tables, placing other large furnishings further away, and arranging home accessories.
Bring Your Lighting Down
Lighting truly is what sets the final tone of a space. No matter how you decorate, how a space is lit will make or break the vision you have planned. In living rooms, overhead lighting can come off as harsh. We love taking a softer approach to living space lighting: muted table lamps and standing lamps are key atmospheric players. Even in rooms styled with heavy symmetry and sharp lines, reducing overhead lighting can make a space more inviting and comforting than overhead bulbs.
Custom Designed Furniture Showroom in Boca Raton
Step one in creating your home’s living space is being inspired. We know that seeing is believing, so we invite you to visit our Boca Raton showroom to refine your vision. See luxury, designer furniture up close and browse through style books, fabric swatches, and custom options to see what will best suit your style.
Finding the balance between an under-decorated and an over-decorated living space often requires an interior design-oriented eye, and at Designer’s Mark we are here to help. Our furniture store has the best of the best from local and international designers, giving a source of inspiration for your home renovation.
Contact us today to schedule an appointment with our design team.