Comments about Furniture Placement

I've worked on organizing every room in a house, but I find time and time again the following, mostly in living areas: 1) placing furniture around the edges, 2) hanging art too high, out of proportion, and/or separate, and 3) surrendering to what's been done/they've gotten used to instead of aiming higher towards what they'd ideally like.

Try to organize by function, and place furniture and accessories accordingly. Here's an observation followed by a suggestion: people tend to furnish around the perimeter of the room, leaving lots of floor space. Unless you are hosting aerobic classes, do you need all that empty floor? You need walking space and get-around space and possibly space-for-kids-to-play space, but try to think a different way.

Put furniture based on zones or into sections in large rooms so that it becomes obvious what the purpose of the items is. For ex., a couch, chair and TV form one area; a bookcase, reading chair and lamp form a sitting area; a storage unit of toys and some kids' furniture form a children's play area -- all within ONE living room. It can be done, and is done all the time in new, large homes as well as older, smaller homes (mine!).

Interior designing your artwork: large stuff can stand alone; smaller stuff can get grouped with other pieces giving the appearance of a larger impact. Hang artwork around eye-level and try to have it connect to (or be centered with) other furniture or items in the room. If you are re-organizing a room, do the artwork and decorative pieces LAST after everything is set with the foundation of furniture and lighting.

Try new placement options: a sofa or cabinet at an angle; using the backside of a couch or desk to create a virtual wall or room divider; shifting around furniture to see if a new layout would work. Start with what you'd love it to be, then work backwards in what realistically you can do. Have fun!