furniture spacing Archives - Modern Classic

Form and Function and Floor Planning

Knoll-Style Lounge Chair in Charcoal Gray

Arranging furniture in any room is equally exciting as it is daunting.  While there are infinite possibilities when an empty room is your blank canvas, lack of planning can lead to endless furniture shuffling and that lingering question if there is a better way to have it arranged.

Although there is no magic formula or standard way to arrange your living room furniture, there are a few guidelines to consider:

–Pick a focal point for the room

This will serve as a reference point and everything will be arranged relative to the placement of the focal point you choose.  This can be anything with a significant presence in the room from a window to a sofa or even a piece of art.  It should be the obvious place the eye is immediately drawn to upon entering the room.

–Create a floor plan

You can either map out your floor plan on a blank sheet of paper though there are several apps that have been created for this very task as well as templates you can find online for furniture arrangement planning.  This will cut your time spent moving furniture down significantly.

-Form and Function

Using functional furniture enhances the potential for using a space in different ways.  This is especially important for smaller spaces where there is not room for much ornamentation.  Keep in mind that you should never have to sacrifice style for functional furniture… just look here for a few ideas where form and function work in harmony.

–Flow of Traffic

Just as important as where the furniture is placed is where the furniture is not placed to create a path that is easy navigate.  Direct traffic around the furniture, not through the middle of it and allow 36-48 inches for the obvious paths and about 24 inches for the smaller ones.

Let us know if you have any personal tips when it comes to arranging your home!  Either post it below, or stop by our showroom in Bellingham to also  see and experience the pieces we have to offer.

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!