Space Planning Your Modern Living Room
Space Planning with the Exhibition Chair and Ottoman
In the words of one my most memorable high school teachers “failure to plan is a plan to fail.” As it turns out, there is universal truth to this classic saying, particularly when it comes to furnishing your modern living room and proper space planning.
Space planning in your modern living room is an incredibly personal venture (not private, just personal) and will differ from household to household based on a variety of factors from kids, no kids, television watchers, avid entertainers, etc. That being said, these are mere guidelines to get you started in the right direction:
Functionality: When John and I were furnishing our first place, he would remind me on several occasions “our home is not a showroom” and, admittedly, point taken. As much as I love a pristinely furnished modern living room, it is useless if not a sustainably comfortable and livable space. Whether the main use is entertaining guests or a place to chill at the end of the day, establish the main function of your living room first and everything that follows will fall into place to create the best living room for you.
Focal Point: This could be anything, from a novel piece of art or furniture, a new Barcelona Chair Reproduction, or simply the television. The focal point’s main role is where in the room the eye is immediately drawn, and is usually the first significant addition and the central point of reference to furnish the surrounding area.
Traffic Flow: I’m not one to make a thing of it when I’m right and John is wrong, but when it came to our way-too-big-sofa, well… Me: 1 and John:0. Take special note of which size your furniture should be before you even begin shopping so you know what to look for to allow adequate space to create a path instead of jumping over the back of your sofa to sit (anyone who lives with an open floor plan can relate). There are entire textbooks written on spacing rules and for every possible type of furniture and decor, so to get you started (and for the sake of brevity) here are a few living room rules for spacing that everyone will use:
-30-36 inches between walls and furniture
-14-18 inches between coffee table and sofa and other seating
-At least 3.5 feet between seating furniture which will allow easy conversation flow in the room without feeling crowded
As I said, these are only meant to serve as guidelines to get you started in the right direction. You can take it wherever you like from there and we always welcome comments and pictures of your space planning genius. You can also visit us at our factory showroom location in Bellingham!