Moving into your first home can be an exciting time, but it’s also full of stressors. However, arranging your furniture doesn’t have to be one of them. The way your furniture is arranged is important and it can make or break a home.
If you don’t have any experience with arranging furniture and you’re worried that you’ll get it wrong, we’re here to help. Take a look at these great tips on how to arrange furniture in your first home.
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Start with a Blank Canvas
It can be difficult to visualize where things should go if the room is already half full. One of the best ways you can envision how you want your home to look is to start with an empty room.
Move everything out and spend some time in the room, thinking about the possibilities of where your furniture could go and what would look best where.
Determine Your Focal Point
Before you start arranging your furniture, you need to decide what your focal point is. For example, in many living rooms, the focal point is a fireplace. In other rooms it could be a work of art or a bespoke piece of furniture.
Once you’ve figured out what your focal point is, the rest becomes easier. Your other furniture pieces will point towards your focal point, in the same way that sofas often point to a TV.
Largest First
It’s easy to make mistakes in arranging furniture because it’s easy to underestimate the size of certain pieces. For instance, you may think you can fit your bed into a certain space, only to find it’s a few inches too large.
Bring in the largest pieces of furniture first and slot them into place before you furnish around them. It’ll save you a lot of hassle if you find that large pieces don’t fit where you wanted them to go.
Enhance the Space
When it comes to filling the rest of your space with smaller pieces of furniture, you need to find pieces that will enhance the space you’ve already created. If a piece doesn’t fit in the spaces available or it doesn’t work with what you’ve already got, it doesn’t belong there.
Smaller pieces of furniture are often easier to find once you’ve moved in and you know the space well. You can find some great pieces at a furniture warehouse and get everything you need in one visit.
Think About Traffic
The last thing you want is people continuously bumping into smaller pieces of furniture as they walk through your home. You need to think about how people will walk through your home in order to find the best places to put furniture.
For example, if your rooms are connected and you need to walk through the dining room to the kitchen, you don’t want to have to navigate around a large table to get there.
Scale and Proportion
You need to think about the scale and proportion of the furnishings you buy. For instance, a small picture is going to get lost on a large wall. Similarly, a small chair isn’t going to make an impact in a large room.
The small furnishings you choose should complement the room and the large furnishings you already have. If you have any doubts about the size of the furnishings you need, always choose bigger rather than smaller ones.
Choosing Your Rug
Did you know that a small rug can make your room appear smaller than it is? Adding a small rug into any space can make it feel awkward and it can make it difficult to arrange other furniture around it.
Choosing a larger rug has the opposite effect. It can make the space feel and look bigger than it is and it’s easier to pair pieces of furniture with it. Even if the furniture is placed on top of the rug, it will still look more comfortable.
Get Creative
Many people think that arranging furniture means getting matching pieces that look alike and slot into place. However, you can get creative with your furniture and build a space that’s unique and great to come home to.
Look for pieces with different heights, different depths, and different materials. Furniture doesn’t have to be matching to look good. You could even make your own shabby chic furniture by recycling old pieces from second-hand stores.
What Are You Using the Room for?
When you know what you’re using the room for it will be easier to arrange your furniture. For example, if the room will be used for entertaining, putting furniture against the wall will give you more space.
However, if the room is for your own use, you don’t have to cramp furniture against the wall. Bringing furniture off the wall will give a cozier feel to any room. You can also accessorize your own rooms for more comfort.
How to Arrange Furniture Without Stress
With these simple tips, you don’t have to worry about how to arrange furniture in your new home. The truth is, you’ll probably move your furniture pieces several times before you’re completely happy, but the more you can get right the first time, the better.
Take a look at some more fantastic tips for setting up your first home exactly how you want it. From lighting to colors and everything in between, turning your house into a home is one of the most rewarding feats you can undertake.
