Most people will put at least a little bit of thought into where they put their furniture. Once their furniture is arranged, few think about rearranging it. However, rearranging your furniture might be a good idea, especially if it’s been a while since you initially set up your furniture the first time around. If it’s time to rearrange the furniture in your Denver home, use these seven of the best practices to get a fresh look.
Why Rearrange Your Furniture?
Before getting into the best furniture rearranging practices, it helps to understand why rearranging your furniture is worth your time and effort. Two of the primary reasons why you should consider shuffling your furniture around offer some insight:
Your Interior Design Has Grown Stale
If your home’s interior design has remained the same for years on end, then you may just need a change. Changing your environment can help if you feel the need to shake things up a little. Maybe it’s been so long that your interior design is a bit outdated, and it’s time to revisit not just the furniture and decor you’re using but the entire layout of each room.
You Want To Improve The Function Of A Space
If you didn’t pay much attention to how you furnished each room to start with, then the room’s function may have been diminished. Maybe you weren’t even sure what the room’s primary purpose would be when you first furnished it. Or perhaps you’ve slowly added new decorative items and furniture over the years and have found that individual spaces have become less cohesive and functional. Whatever the reason might be, it’s probably time to improve the space’s function by rearranging your furniture.
1. Always Keep The Function Of A Room In Mind
It can be easy to lose focus when it comes to furniture arranging. For instance, if you have an exceptionally spacious dining room, you might be tempted to add additional seating to complement your main dining table. However, is it a good idea to add a couch to your dining room even if you have the space to do so? A couch takes away from the primary function of the dining room. The interior design balance in that space could be completely thrown off and create a cluttered, dysfunctional appearance.
Another example: when furnishing your living with various seating options (such as a couch and several sofa chairs), remember that the living room’s primary function is to create a relaxing social space. If the couch and sofa chairs are too far apart, it will make conversation difficult. When arranging or rearranging furniture, always keep the room’s primary function in mind and try not to deviate from that function.
2. Determine The Focal Point Of The Room
The focal point acts as a visual anchor to the room, helping create balance. The focal point draws the eye and gives you something to design the room around. For example, if you have a fireplace in your living room, it will likely be the focal point. Unless you have an abnormally large space, you should stick to a single focal point. Two focal points will clash for attention. Some focal points, like fireplaces, are naturally focal points. Even in an empty room, they will draw the eye. Identify these points and design your space around them.
Some rooms may not have natural focal points. Bedrooms often lack focal points, which means that you need to create them yourself. In areas with no natural focal points, the largest piece of furniture (and the one that supports the room’s primary function) will become your focal point. In the bedroom, that will, without a doubt, be your bed. It should be the dining table in the dining room. In the living room (one without natural focal points), it will likely be your main couch.
3. Position The Largest Furniture First
If the room is without a natural focal point, then the largest piece of furniture will likely be it. Start by deciding where this piece of furniture will go. Doing so is arguably the most critical step since it will anchor the room’s aesthetic as the focal point. When positioning your largest piece of furniture, keep the following in mind:
Make Sure The Furniture Is Appropriate For The Space
A table that’s too big for your dining room will make the space feel small and cramped, while a table that’s too small can make the room feel too large or can hurt the function. The same goes for any piece of furniture in any room. When choosing what furniture to use in each room, consider whether its size and purpose are appropriate to the room’s function.
Float Furniture Away From The Walls
There’s a temptation to set furniture flush against your walls to make the center of a room look bigger. However, it does the opposite — it makes it feel like the walls are closing in. By leaving some space between the walls and your furniture, you’ll make the room feel more open.
4. Consider The Flow Of Foot Traffic Through Each Space
Furniture should not be positioned so that it’s blocking the flow of foot traffic. If a room has two doorways to two different rooms, don’t block the way from one door to the other with furniture. If the apparent path for foot traffic is blocked or there is very little space for foot traffic at all (such as around the coffee table in the living room, for example), the area will feel cluttered. On top of that, the room will be less functional.
Don’t Be Afraid To Get Rid Of Furniture Or Move It To Another Room
If you notice that you’re having issues arranging your furniture in a way that promotes the flow of foot traffic, it could be because you have too much furniture. Removing a piece of furniture can help open up space and make it easier to move around in. Just because a room has enough space to add extra furniture doesn’t mean that you should.
5. Create Visual Balance
Arranging your furniture around a focal point will undoubtedly help when it comes to creating visual balance. Visual balance means that everything looks like it goes together. There’s nothing that feels “off” about the way a space was furnished and decorated. The furniture in any given room should contribute to a cohesive whole. Besides designing a room around a focal point, consider these ideas:
Use Visual Elements To Tie Space Together
First, the style of each piece of furniture should complement one another. Your furniture doesn’t necessarily have to match, but it should work together. It’s why people with “eclectic” styles can still manage to create an interior design that works. Whatever furniture you’re using, you’ll still need visual elements that will tie everything together. For instance, in the living room, a large area rug can tie your couch, sofa chairs, and coffee table together into a cohesive design.
Use A Balance Of Small And Large Furniture
Just because the size of the furniture you’re using is appropriate for the space doesn’t mean that you should just stick to that size. Two large couches that fit in your spacious living room will still look out of place if you don’t add balance to the room. In this example, you can create balance by adding a few smaller pieces of furniture to the room, such as a few smaller chairs or end tables.
6. Use Mirrors To Open Up The Space
Mirrors are handy due to several reasons. They’re a decorative item that can add a touch of detail and elegance to any given room without taking away from your focal point. They are also useful to reflect light (more importantly, natural light) throughout the room, opening it up and making it feel more inviting. Lastly, mirrors help increase the perception of space, making them incredibly useful in smaller rooms.
7. Consider Implementing The Art Of Feng Shui
If you believe that the idea of “energy” is a load of nonsense, that’s fine. Feng Shui may not be for you. But if you think that every room in your house gives off vibes of some sort of energy that affects things like mood and comfort, you might want to consider arranging your furniture according to the principles of Feng Shui. Feng Shui is the practice of creating balance within an environment through the arrangement of furniture. The idea is to harness the energy in a room to create harmony between you and your environment. Here are the three main steps to practice Feng Shui:
Identify The Commanding Position
The commanding position is the spot in the room that’s furthest away from the door. It should place you at a diagonal from the door. The commanding position is where you’ll want to position primary pieces of furniture. For instance, you would put the bed in your bedroom’s commanding position or your desk in your home office’s commanding position.
Planning Around The Eight Areas
There are eight areas (known as Bagua) that relate to different aspects of your life. These include wealth, reputation, partnership, family, children, knowledge, career, and helpful people. At the center of these eight areas is the ninth area, which represents your health and wellness. Each one of these areas corresponds to various colors and elements. The idea is to choose which Bagua best represents a given room and to implement the components that the Bagua corresponds to. For instance, if you have a home office, then the Bagua you may want to focus on could include wealth and career.
Implementing The Five Elements
The five elements include metal, earth, water, wood, and fire. Each of these elements is associated with specific colors, shapes, and qualities. Once you determine which Bagua you want to focus on for any given room, you should consider focusing on the element associated with that Bagua.
Rearranging Furniture Can Help Spruce Up Your Interior Design
If your Denver home’s interior design is lacking a bit, whether it’s not as functional as you’d like or you’re simply in need of a change, then consider rearranging your furniture. Rearranging your furniture is a great way to enhance any given room’s function and aesthetic, as long as you follow these seven best practices.
