Are you committing any of the following home design crimes:
You’ve got a large living room but your furniture is hugging each and every wall?
Do you have a smaller space that feels claustrophobic because you have to squeeze by furniture to navigate your way around?
Is your lighting garish so guests feel like they must stand at attention, or is it too sparse or faint so they must squint to see you?
If you answered yes to any of these design crimes, continue on. If you answered no, still continue on for some space-planning tips that will serve all well!
Best Practices for Livening Up Your Living Room
The living room should be a place to relax with family and friends. Regardless of your taste in décor, be it contemporary, traditional or eclectic, your living room should be a comfortable place that stimulates conversation.
Shoving furniture up against every available wall is a big no-no, as is placing chairs too far away from one another so your guests need to shout to carry on a conversation. It is true that space planning may be more difficult if you don’t have a giant space to work with, but with some forethought and by taking some handy measurements you’ll be well on your way to creating a space that gives you the most design bang for your buck, whether your space is big or small.
First, think of one distinct place of visual interest in the room. It could be the television, a fireplace or a large window. Whatever it is, this will become the focal point around which you will place most of your furniture. It will also serve as your main conversation area.
Next, consider the traffic pattern for the room. How many doorways are there in and out of the room? Does the room serve as a pass through to another room? If so—and if possible given the size of your space—you’ll want to position furniture in a way that allows the traffic to flow freely around it without disrupting the main conversation area.
Add additional conversation/task-oriented areas as needed and warranted. Having a main focal point is, of course, key, but your design planning doesn’t necessarily stop there. Think about all of the activities that take place in your living room and consider how adding additional conversation areas or task-oriented areas will breathe much needed life into your space. After all, what’s more cozy and inviting than a space where one group can gather around the coffee table to play a board game or to watch TV while others can sip on wine or read books in a cozy nook in the corner of the room?
Once you’ve got your list, it’s tape-measure time. Allowing ample space to move around will ensure the room’s aesthetic beauty and you and your guests’ comfort. As a rule of thumb, there should be 18 inches of space between a sofa or a chair and a table. You may be able to get away with 15 inches—we won’t tell if you cheat a little. But please, don’t go any less, this will only create a space that’s cramped in feel, and that’s the last thing anyone wants.
Remember: The size of your furniture is integral to the success of your space plan. Oversized couches and sectionals are best reserved for great rooms (those are generally 20-feet long by 25-feet wide give-or-take a few feet depending on design plans). Compact, modular furniture is a smart alternative for smaller spaces. Check out Ikea or Jennifer Convertibles for some sleek-looking, space-saving ideas.
Also, rather than investing in a large sofa and a loveseat, consider purchasing just the sofa and a couple of lightweight ottomans and club chairs for the space instead. The ottomans serve double duty: operating as trays or additional seating when you need to accommodate a fair number of guests. The club chairs can also be easily moved around to fit your needs a lot easier than an oversized couch. Smart space planning is all about flexibility and versatility!
In addition, consider placing the furniture in the main conversation area in an L or U shape around your focal point. If you aren’t happy with either of these options, consider angling furniture to give the space more visual interest.
End tables will make your conversation areas sing. Giving your guests a nice place to settle into with their cocktails and a thoughtfully placed side table where they can rest those drinks translates into a cozy, stay-awhile feeling.
If you only have space for one conversation area, make it all about a roundtable formation, with your coffee table (again we recommend an ottoman-style furnishing for this) in the middle and your coach on one wall and a nice comfy club chair situated diagonally from the couch. Place one compact sling-back chair between the club chair and the coach and another opposite the club chair for a seating arrangement that can comfortably seat six. Don’t think you’ve got the space for all those chairs? Then, nix the sling-backs, purchase two slim club chairs and place them opposite the sofa for comfortable seating for five.
Let There Be Light
“Cheerfulness keeps up with a kind of daylight in mind and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity,” said Joseph Addison, a 17th century English essayist. If cheerfulness conjures images of light and feelings of calm, than what pre-tell does darkness conjure? You guessed it: melancholy and depression—not emotions we necessarily want our living rooms to evoke.
The answer: light, of course, but not bright white light in abundance, necessarily. It’s best to infuse strategic lighting tricks into your space-planning design.
Consider adding uplighting. Think decorative, sleek wall sconces to give the walls character and an all-important effervescent glow.
Also, invest in table lamps with bases or shades that suit your style, and make sure there are enough lamps to support each of the seating groups you outlined in your list. Most living rooms can handle a lamp that’s up to 34 inches tall. The trick: You don’t want to be able to see the hardware of the lamp when you’re seated; if you can, chances are the lamp is too tall. Also, when seated ask yourself: Is the bottom of the shade higher than eye level? If it is, it may be too tall.
Add pendant lighting. This is a great idea for any task-driven areas you’ve outlined on your list, like a children’s play table or a home office that’s nestled in the corner of the living room.
Want some expert lighting inspiration? Check out a place like Light Lab, located at 209 Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, which specializes in residential, commercial, indoor, exterior, antique, and modern lighting.
Call In The Pros
If your living room space-planning overhaul isn’t turning out the way you’d like it to on paper or in practice, check out an online design planning tool, such as floorplanner.com (free sign-up required) for some assistance.
Also, if you’ve decided that you just need more space to accommodate your lifestyle and your family’s needs, consider hiring an expert design+build team that can bring your vision to life. For instance, a place like Worcester-based GoodFellas Construction LLC, a City Living Magazine best-of winner in the home improvement category, uses 3-D technology to bring conceptual design plans to life. Whether you hire a team like this to bring your space plan to life or you do it yourself, remember: Identify your focal point, list the needs for your space, and select furniture and lighting to make the space thrive.
By Laura Starczewski
