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Avoid lining furniture up around the walls.  Try to lay out your furniture arrangement in a “U” shape.  This will create a conversation friendly atmosphere as everyone can face each other when seated.  It is a good idea to use an area rug to anchor the conversation area. You can also try angling your furniture.  This can make your room feel more spacious.

Scale is also very important.  Scale refers to the size of one piece of furniture to another.   If you were to place a tiny coffee table next to a huge couch this would look unbalanced.

A sofa should ideally be placed on the longest wall in the room.

I hope these tips help you as it can be very overwhelming trying to plan the best furniture arrangement for a room.

Are you planning on updating your space with new furniture but are unsure of the best way to arrange it?  Here are some guidelines to help you to plan before you make that big purchase.

• First determine your focal point or centre of attention in the room.  The furniture looks best when arranged so that they focus on the centre of attention.

• Place the visually “heaviest” furniture pieces first.   This refers to the objects that appear most heavy in your room.  The colour of the furniture can greatly influence how heavy an item appears.  Light coloured furniture has a lot less visual appearance then dark pieces. Remember that the taller pieces should be placed under the highest point in the ceiling.  After you have placed the largest pieces, the small items will be easier to arrange.

• Divide the room into 4 sections.  Each section has to have the same visual weight.  If all of the heaviest pieces are on one side the room will not look balanced. Remember that doors and windows also  contribute to visual weight in a room.

• Watch out for traffic flow.  You don’t want to walk around furniture to get through the room. In general traffic lanes should be at least 18 inches wide.

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The coffee table should generally be about 14 to 18 inches from the couch.  This will leave lots of leg room and you will be able to reach the table easily.