THE LAYOUT OF YOUR HOME CAN HAVE A HUGE IMPACT
It might sound trivial but the way you've laid out your furniture really can change the way you feel and live in the space. Of course, it's a no-brainer that a different layout will impact the look of a room. But not everyone considers the functionality and homeliness of the furniture layout. In today's blog post, we're going to run you through our top tips for arranging a room. We've always got a few tips up our sleeves so hopefully, this will help some of you out there! Perhaps you've just moved into a new house and you've got a blank canvas to work with. Maybe you've been living somewhere for years and you feel like it needs a reset. Either way, there are always easy ways of changing up the look and feel of your home. Just make sure you've got a helping hand for shifting heavy furniture - we don't want any injuries!
HERE'S HOW TO ARRANGE YOUR FURNITURE WELL
Obviously, interior design is a very personal thing. We can all follow trends and styles but ultimately, it's got to be down to your personal preference. After all, you've got to live in your home every day! All we can do is give you some tips and advice on arranging your furniture in a way that makes sense. We want to maximize space, keep things homely and overall, improve the functionality of your home. Here are our top tips...
CHOOSE A CENTRE POINT OR MAIN FOCUS
Every room of your house will have a natural focal point and if they don't, you have to choose one. For example, in the bathroom, your bath tends to be the main point of focus. In the living room, your large corner sofa will probably act like this. This is where the most action takes place, where the eye is drawn to and ultimately, where you will work from. Working outwards from the focal point means the rest of the room will flow properly. For example, if your sofa is covered in soft furnishings like blankets and cushions, you might choose to contrast this with hard edges. Likewise, if it's a pretty large piece of furniture, the rest of your furniture might need to be on the smaller side. Plus, it's simply more logistic.
START WITH A BLANK CANVAS IF YOU'RE STRUGGLING
It can be hard to visualize how you're going to design your room's layout if it's full of stuff. If at all possible, empty your room so that you can begin with a fresh mind. Move the larger pieces of furniture in first so that you can place them properly, then work up to the smaller stuff.
WORK WITH THE FLOW OF THE ROOM
How do people enter and exit the room? Where do people walk when they pass through? Is there a specific place people like to sit or stand? Think about the general routes through a room and areas for sitting when putting your large furniture back. Don't block doors so much that it's hard to squeeze past! A room should be flowing and make sense. Likewise, don't block windows if you're all about that natural light. This is probably a no-brainer but if you're rearranging at night, you might not appreciate how much a larger piece of furniture can alter the light in a room.
OPTIMISE SPACE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
It's easy to say 'maximize space'. But if you've got a huge room that doesn't feel cosy, you'll want to draw it in. The places you arrange furniture can have a big impact on the cosiness or open space of a room. In smaller rooms, placing furniture up against walls creates more floor space. On the other hand, larger rooms can benefit from bringing furniture slightly outwards and creating gaps between pieces and walls. If you need to section off parts of a room, use larger furniture to define zones. For example, a sofa in the middle of the living room can separate the entrance area from the TV-watching zone. Of course, you can do this in a smaller room if you want to reduce the feeling of being cramped. However, we recommend in this case you keep furniture to a minimum for the best effect.
PUT FUNCTION OVER STYLE
We could say this is the same for clothes: comfort should always come first. However, we understand that style and form is often extremely tempting. When you want to arrange furniture in rooms like the living room and the bedroom, you'll want them to be functional for the way you live your life. For example, your sofa might look cool in a certain spot but if it's too far away from the TV or it's covering the air conditioner, you're going to be straining your eyes and feeling the cold. Put function first, then add any extra touches to make things feel a little stylish. It's essentially a balancing act.
WHAT ARE YOUR BEST TIPS?
If you like to arrange furniture in your home (and who doesn't?), do you have any tips? As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic and get a different insight into creating perfect layouts for rooms around the home.