DEAR GAIL: I love watching HGTV and especially enjoy watching how they move the furniture around and give the room a whole new look in just a couple hours. I’ve been having trouble placing the furniture in my living room and would love to rearrange it. Would you share how it’s done? DONNA B.
DEAR DONNA: What you’re watching is called Interior Arranging, Makeovers and One-Day Decorating. It is a great way to completely change the look of a room without buying anything new. In just a couple hours and a little bit of sweat, you can have a new room.
You want to start by completely emptying the room. Remove your accessories first, your lamps, plants and then your artwork. As you are removing them, place them where they will be out of the way. You also want to keep like items grouped together. Set them up so that you can go back and shop for items, as if you were in a retail store. So all of the candlesticks would be together on the table, then frames, bowls, small accessories, etc. Do the same with the lamps by grouping together the table lamps and then floor lamps. Separate the greens and flowers and group like items. For your artwork, place by size and try not to lay them in front of each other.
Now move out your furniture. It’s best if you can get it completely out of the room. If not, move it as far out as you can. Be very careful not to hurt yourself and you should be working with a partner. We use carpet installer’s moving glides, but even the little moving discs are helpful for those heavy items. Now with the room completely emptied, it’s o.k. to take a short break, but remember everything needs to go back in. You can figure spending about 4 – 5 hours for an average sized living room.
Your next step is to stand in the middle of the room and look at each wall from floor to ceiling. Do you have any architectural focal points, like fireplaces, window views, or structural items of interest? If not, do you have a large wall where a focal point can be created with artwork or furniture? This is important because your next step is to place your largest piece of furniture, which is normally your sofa, facing your focal point.
You also want to take notice of the lines in the room. It is easiest to do this by looking down at the floor and baseboards. Do you have any angles from walls, do you have floor tiles set on a diagonal or is where your carpet and tile meet on a diagonal? Always work with any angles in the room versus against them. Don’t be afraid to place your furniture on an angle. It is what will give your room a new look and more interesting than before.
Now continue placing your furniture grouping them together. Then place your lamps. A trick is that if your lighting falls in a diagonal or even better, triangular pattern, you should have a well placed room. Place your trees and floor plants next. If there is a plug nearby, place an uplight on them for extra accent lighting.
Your next step is your artwork. You want your artwork to relate to the items around them. Don’t just have it floating on the wall. It is always best to weight it to the floor with a piece of furniture or floor plant. A very large piece without something under it will give an uneasy feeling. Also look at the wall and follow any angles when hanging the art. Always step artwork up the stairs.
The final and finishing touches are your accessories. Start with the focal areas in your room, normally the coffee table and mantel. The three things to keep in mind are height, texture and color. I also like the rule of odd numbers and asymmetrical arrangements, as they are more interesting and pleasing to the eyes. If you are uncomfortable with accessorizing, look in model homes and magazines for placement ideas to follow.
As with all decorating, it is about balance, proportion and simply how the room feels. When placing your furnishings and accessories, if something just doesn’t feel right, it probably is not properly placed. Follow your instincts and with these simple steps you will surprise and amaze your family with a new room when they come home.