When you are staging your home for a sale or you’re moving into a new home, decorating each room is an artistic endeavor. The walls and floor are the blank canvas and your furnishings and accessories serve as the "paint." While some individuals are graced with the natural talent for bringing it all together, the rest of us get the job done by trial and error or mimicking what we’ve seen somewhere.
Begin by drawing a floor plan to scale and measuring the furniture. Then determine your focal point, around which you will anchor your room arrangement. Some rooms have an architectural feature that could serve as a captivating focal point, such as a fireplace or a large window with a breathtaking view. A sculpture, piano, or other interesting element might also serve as the main attraction.
Once you’ve determined your starting point or main attraction, it’s particularly important that your floor plan takes into account how traffic flows into the room. To ensure that a room functions well, don’t crowd furniture together and be sure you have ample space around each piece. For the room’s main route, allow a path that’s a minimum of 36 inches wide.
When arranging furniture, think in terms of conversation. Keep furniture close enough so that people can hear each other. Also, if space allows, arrange your furniture at an angle to the walls. This will keep your room from looking too "boxy". In general, try placing your chairs and sofa away from the walls.
If you have no choice but to place your sofa along a wall, try positioning a narrow sofa table with a floral arrangement or area lamp behind it for more definition. Want a more casual effect? Try using an asymmetrical design concept. For example, mix and match the shape of artwork on your walls. Combine both fitted upholstery and relaxed contemporary slipcovers. Add a couple of unexpected accessories into the mix as well.
If your style is more formal, balance furnishings and accessories symmetrically. For example, place identical end tables and lamps on both sides of the couch. Create linear wall art groupings. Frame your focal point with matching bookcases, plants or picture ledges.
If you have a spare corner or a small tabletop, lend elegence and warmth to the space with a small sculpture or a unique lamp. Likewise, if you have spare wall space, hang a large mirror or group several mirrors together. This will visually enlarge the area and add depth.
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