How to arrange furniture in a smaller space
When we downsized to a smaller home, furniture choices became extremely important. Every room had to have a purpose or in some cases more than one purpose. With the main floor being completely open, the goal was to create separate spaces, but still make sure they all flowed together. When faced with less square footage, there are a ton of tricks to visually enlarge an otherwise small space. Below are those tricks and how I applied them to my real-life living room.
Arrange furniture around a focal point
To create a distinguished space, the first rule is to arrange furniture around a focal point. That focal point can be a fireplace or even a large piece of art. In my example, it’s the TV. To be functional, sitting in any of the furniture should give you a view of the TV. You also want to create a cozy conversation space. Although it may seem counter intuitive, pull furniture away from the wall. Angling it keeps the room from feeling boxy. You may lose some physical space doing this, but it creates a more intimate space.
Choose lightweight furniture
The furniture needs to be in a scale appropriate to the size of the room. The “visual weight” of furniture doesn’t always coincide with the literal weight. For example, the same size couch looks a lot lighter if it has legs versus sitting directly on the floor. Don’t be afraid of having a few large pieces versus several light pieces. Having less furniture will simplify a room and make it seem larger. I opted for a sectional couch which anchors the room versus having two loveseats or multiple chairs.
Stick with a neutral palette
Neutral color palettes give the illusion of more space. White, cream, gray, and tan are all great neutral colors. Although the furniture does not need to all be perfectly matched, you do want to continue the same color palette across the room. That applies to walls and any large pieces. Your pop colors (which you should have) can come through in your pillows, and other accent pieces. Also, try to include some texture as well through pillows or even rugs.
How to handle an open floor plan
When several rooms share the same physical space, you really want to find a way to distinguish one from the other. Area rugs can really help with this as well as the way furniture is positioned. In my example, the living room chair is angled AWAY from the kitchen creating a natural boundary. I also clearly define the living room space with a rug. One important thing to remember is to always leave clear paths. You want the rooms to connect to each other with the path but never run the path through the seating space. In my example, a path runs from the kitchen to the stairs. I also have a secondary path behind the couch which runs to the record player. It is impossible to walk through the seating space.
Don’t forget about vertical space
Control where the eye travels by using vertical space. Since the floor space is defined, you want to create an open feel with the vertical space. This can be done with art, lamps, and window treatments. In my example, I created height behind the couch with accent pieces sitting on a couch table. The shelving that holds the record player is higher than the furniture. The floor lamp and window treatments draw the eyes up. Even the TV is mounted to take advantage of the room height.
Light naturally enlarges a room
Take full advantage of all your natural light. Heavy window treatments immediately make a room feel smaller. I opted for very basic light up/down blinds. These filter light through even when they are closed. If you love window treatments, the best option would be to hang panels on the outside edges of the windows and take them all the way to the ceiling. As long as the fabric is not too heavy, this can enlarge a room as well.
dual purpose furniture
In a smaller space, functionality of furniture becomes important. Furniture that functions as storage is key. In my example, the large hutch under the TV contains concealed storage. This is where the games go and gaming consoles that nobody wants to look at. Shelving under the record player stores all the records and CD’s. A large basket behind the couch store extra blankets. A try on the living room table helps corral the drink coaters and TV remotes. Although the couch table has an open feel underneath, there is another tray that holds all the magazines.
The art
Finally, to pull the room together and add interest, don’t forget about art. It takes up zero floor space but can really “up” the style factor This may surprise you, but in a smaller space, larger art pieces work best over a gallery of small pieces. While creating interest and color to the room, it doesn’t make the room feel cluttered. I broke one of my rules and purchased this antique rocking horse. It takes up quite a bit of space without adding any functional value, but sometimes you just must have it!