Furniture Layout Solutions for Large Rooms
Mirroring and duplicating the furniture layout helps simplify the vision.
We have a large room, but not a lot of wall space. How do we layout the furniture?
In my last blog I responded to a reader’s request to answer one of the age-old questions about furniture placement, “What if we don’t have walls?” There’s a lot of ideas to cover, so I have broken the answer into two parts; small space solutions and large space ideas. Of course I am referring to a general question- but this pertains to all sorts of situations.
For example: you may have walls, but the space is too large for you to place the furniture against them and still feel like you have a cohesive layout.
OR, you may have walls, but they are mostly windows, doorways and doors.
Or, you may have an open floor plan, with great sight lines, but don’t know where or how to separate your space into functional areas. All these situations, and more, raise the question. “Where do we put the furniture? Here’s my suggestions:
Figure out the function of your space first, then consider individual seating options.
First things first; what is the function of your room? Make a list of all the things that have to happen here and how many people will be doing each function at a time. This simple approach will help you conceptualize different options and how to attack the furniture layout.
Work from the ground up. I tell all my clients that a floor plan is crucial no matter what size home you have and whether your rooms are large or small. Conceptualizing is hard if your brain doesn’t work 3-dimensionally. It’s hard to “see” in your mind what will work, or won’t. So make a scaled drawing (a simple 1/4” graph paper pad is my go-to for on-the-spot layouts. 1 block is equal to 1’) and leave at least 30” wide path of travel in your plans.
Next step, work from the floor up by creating conversation groups with your furniture, and then connect these various furniture pieces with an over-sized area rug. I like to have at least 2 of the 4 legs of each furniture piece sit on the rug. This will not only keep the furniture level, but keep them connected. If your space is really large think about multiple seating areas. Perhaps just 2 chairs at the fireplace and another larger area for more guests. One intimate space, and one for entertaining. Allow these furniture groupings to designate the various functionalities of each area.
Factor in your path of travel. You can create the path you want your family and friends to use. Leave minimum of 30” wide open floor space as a walkway around your groupings.
Multi-functional furniture pieces are great. A see-thru open shelving bookcase that also acts as a room divider is a perfect way to break up large spaces.
If you are planning a renovation and or have access to the floor below, consider adding a floor outlet at this stage for any lighting/electrical needs, for lamps, charging stations and electronics.
Consider the height of the back of your sofa(s), especially if you plan on putting a sofa table or console behind it - better to have them be the same approximate height or have the sofa back higher that your console table.
Think out of the square or rectangular box. Round, oval and curved shapes are a great solution for tight traffic areas, especially around cocktail tables.
Use area rugs to help ground your conversational furniture groupings.
Creating a perfect furniture layout without walls can be challenging, but careful planning, giving yourself the tools to visualize, and most importantly the space to work around leads to fewer mistakes. Final tip: invest in some furniture glides, invite over some big strong friends and go to it – make sure your plan is functional and user-friendly.
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