How to arrange living room furniture?

Are you moving into a new space or updating your living space?

You can transform your living space into an elegant haven by arranging your furniture in a certain way. Maybe you want a conversation area to host family and friends for events and during holidays. Or you’re simply looking for a cozy living room feel. Whatever you try to achieve, furniture arrangements can align your home to meet your aesthetic, comfort, and living room preferences.

It may seem straightforward, but considering the differences in living room size, shape, window placements, and floor space, arranging living room furniture is difficult if you don’t have a background in interior design. Perhaps you’ve wondered about the best furniture placement to help you uniquely curate your space. But what about where to start? Here are some guidelines to consider when selecting a living room furniture arrangement that reflects your style and enhances functionality.

6 Steps on how to arrange living room furniture

Look no further if you want more than a general idea about arranging your living room furniture. Here’s a guide with specific steps to help you create your ideal living room layout:

1. Determine your desired living room functionality.

Identifying your living room’s desired functionality can guide your living room furniture arrangement choice. For example, if you want your family room to function as a conversation area, arrange your seats facing each other. This living room layout idea is helpful if you plan to host family members or friends during Thanksgiving. Considering that 74% of Americans plan to celebrate Thanksgiving with their family this year, this may be an idea to save. And, if you or your family has children, consider leaving some open space for them to play around.

Similarly, you can add an area rug for younger ones to crawl around and play on the floor. If you can’t get an area rug large enough to fit the space, ensure that at least two front legs of each piece of furniture can rest on it. Using the open concept living room layout, you can divide the room into zones. You can also split a large living room into seating, gaming, and dining areas. By using your pieces of furniture to partition the space, it acts as a natural boundary for different spaces. For example, a sofa facing away from the dining room can separate it from the conversation area.

Consider sectional sofas with a clear TV view and accent pieces like floor lamps and end tables if your living space is a lounge area. Sectional sofas are couches made up of conjoined sections. You can get different types of sectional sofas, including loveseats and chaises. For readers, an armchair with a table lamp or a built-in sofa by the window makes for a cozy reading nook.

2. Identify a focal point.

Focal points sometimes naturally occur where you have a built-in corner fireplace or large windows. If not, add some eye-catching statement pieces or utilize French doors or a console table as your focal point. Consider using a large floor lamp in the middle of the room in irregular family rooms as a focal point with chairs around it.

3. Select a furniture layout.

Depending on the size of your seating area, identifying a specific furniture layout can narrow down your furniture placement ideas. Furniture layout types include symmetrical, L-shaped, floating, open floor plan, or narrow living room layouts. Symmetrical interior design and living room layouts involve balancing the seating arrangement. You can achieve this by using one or two sofas and other seating options like matching side chairs, chaises, armchairs, or accent chairs facing each other.

The floating layout involves placing the furniture away from walls and suits living spaces with windows or limited wall space. Placing your couch against walls may limit the light entering the room or create an awkward space in the middle of the room that may be difficult to style. Floating layouts can also provide traffic flow room without interrupting the conversation area.

The narrow living room layout is also a good alternative for small spaces. For these layouts, set the sofa against one wall and the TV stand or console table on the opposite side of the room. In small living rooms that wouldn’t fit the typical large sofa, placing an area rug with four accent chairs like love seats or armchairs at each corner also works well.

4. Ensure tables are at arm’s length.

Do you have some magazines or a table lamp to display in your seating area, or do you need a place for remotes or coffee? A coffee table can serve this purpose. Setting your coffee table at arm’s length makes it easy to pick up or place anything on the table without necessarily having to stand up. Consider side tables instead if you have a small living room.

5. Consider the traffic flow.

Have you ever stubbed your toes on living room furniture or had to squeeze yourself uncomfortably to give way for someone to pass? It’s annoying, right? Setting adequate space between your sofas, coffee, and end tables can help you overcome inadequate traffic flow. If you’re working with a small space, consider alternative seating options such as an ottoman work for extra seating and allow traffic flow space.

6. Put it all together.

Moving the furniture around to get a visual picture of your living room layout may be exhausting, especially if you’re alone. Use graph papers, floor plans, home decor, or interior design applications to represent your desired floor space and living room designs visually.

Following the above steps makes creating a comfortable living room furniture arrangement possible for your life and style.