Where do we put the furniture when we don’t have walls?
One of my blog followers asked me to address the issue of furniture placement in challenging spaces - typically the difficulty involves lack of solid wall space. This situation occurs in both large rooms and small rooms, and creates problems in different ways. This week I’ll offer solutions for smaller rooms. (Next week, I will address the issue from a larger room perspective.)
FURNITURE PLACEMENT SOLUTIONS FOR SMALLER SPACES
If your room is small and you have too many doors and windows in your room, don’t despair, there are ways to work around these issues - but you may need to find the compromise that works best for you and your family.
1. Scale your furniture properly. I know this is not easy to hear, but that huge sectional with built-in recliners is not helping you create a cohesive furniture plan in your smaller room. The compromise comes in the form of the size and scale of the furniture you choose. Smaller furniture pieces allow for greater flexibility with your seating arrangement and can be angled to help with layout and traffic flow.
2. Multifunctional furniture pieces can help eliminate the problem, too. Sure, it’s great to have enough seating for your extended family when they visit, but sometimes there just isn’t enough space to have this extra seating – or lounging all year round. A perfect example is purchasing a chair and separate ottoman instead of a large recliner that takes up a lot of floor space. An ottoman still allows you to put your feet up AND can provide additional seating when entertaining a large crowd.
“A perfect example is purchasing a chair and separate ottoman instead of a large recliner that takes up a lot of floor space.”
3. You don’t have to follow the rules. Yes, you can put a piece of furniture in front of a window. And, no you don’t have to push furniture right up to the wall either (especially when you are in front of a radiator or heat vent.) If the best layout for your room means that a sofa sits in front of a window, then so be it. But, consider using a lower back style to not block the window totally. Also, think about using a narrow sofa table between the sofa and the window to give the sofa some breathing room.
4. Adjust your window treatments to accommodate placing the furniture in front of the windows. If you have a smaller sized room, then I suggest a more minimal approach to your window treatments. Skip the long drapery panels and go for a sleek upholstered cornice to bring color into your space. This frees up the floor space visually, too.
5. My final suggestion is one that I always follow when designing a space – large or small. Create a scaled floor plan – especially when purchasing new furniture. Or, simply tape out the footprint of the furniture pieces on your floor with painters tape.
Smaller spaces offer opportunities to get creative in your room design and furniture placement. Remain flexible and measure and plan carefully to make the most of all your square footage. Consider multi-functional pieces that convert and expand – but only when you really need it. There is always a solution if you think out of the box!
Next week I will offer solutions for larger rooms that may have wall space issues, too. I love answering questions like this with my blog, so feel free to reach out to me with your own question or idea for a future blog post!
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