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A new living room arrangement can be the perfect answer to a room that seems boring, dated or stale. One of the advantages of rearranging your living room furniture is that you can often create a whole new look without the need to purchase even one new item. It is often possible to increase the efficiency and attractiveness of the living room by simply rearranging the furniture in the room.
Measure First to Save Time and Energy
Measuring the living room and your furniture pieces is one of the most important first steps. This can save you a lot of time and energy, and avoid the problem of moving a heavy piece of furniture, only to find it will not fit where you envisioned. Measure all the walls in the room and make note of them in a notebook for easy reference. Also make note of any other important measurements, such as the distance between a window and the corner of a room, or the height of the wall under a window sill. Make note of the placement of electrical outlets, light switches, heating duct and all doors and windows. Then, measure the dimensions of your existing furniture pieces, as well as any pieces of furniture that you are thinking of purchasing.
Once you have the measurements, use a piece of graph paper to create an "inch to a foot" scale drawing of the living room. Also cut out pieces of paper to represent all your furniture pieces, using your furniture measurements to cut them to size and scale. Once you have your living room and furnishings represented on paper, you will be able to experiment with many different arrangements before you even need to move one piece of heavy living room furniture.
Accentuate the Positive with Your Living Room Arrangements
If you already have a strong focal point in the room such as a fireplace, be sure to accentuate and highlight this area in your room arrangement. For example, make a fireplace more inviting by adding a furniture grouping. A sofa or loveseat placed diagonally facing the fireplace combined with an end table and table lamp can create a comfortable place to sit and read while enjoying the fire. If you have a prominent bay window, French door, or other attractive architectural element, be sure to use these features to their best advantage as a focal point in the room.
Improve the Room's "Flow"
One of the best ways to make a small room seem larger is to improve the flow of traffic through the room. If the front entryway of your home opens up into the living room, be sure there is a clear path from the entryway into the room. There should also be a clear path from the living room into any adjoining rooms.
Create Furniture Groupings
Group your furniture into areas that encourage conversation when creating living room arrangements. For example, place two chairs or loveseats facing each other with a table between them. It can be easier to create these furniture groupings if you pull the furniture away from the walls. Furniture pieces that are at right angles to each other can also provide visual interest as well as a nice arrangement for conversation.
Alyssa Davis is a staff writer and decorating specialist with Metal-Wall-Art.com and she offers stylish suggestions for decorating with abstract metal art and tropical metal art.
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