Furniture Placement Dilemmas
Question:
Dear Ballard,
I dearly love your catalog and designs. We recently moved into our new home and decorating has been more of a challenge than I ever anticipated. We have an open concept design with our family room opening into our kitchen with a big u-shaped bar separating the space. We have struggled with the best furniture placement in our family room. It is a 15′ x 18′ room. Any of the furniture can be changed. Our goal is to have a comfortable, inviting space with the maximum amount of seating. I would really appreciate any advice you may have for me.
Thanks in advance,
Bobbie
Answer:
Dear Bobbie,
Thank you for your recent Design Dilemma. We know how difficult open spaces are when it comes to furniture placement. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. We are providing you with a floor plan that should solve your problem.
Yes, we did place a sofa a few feet from the arched opening. As long as there is a walk space from the back of the sofa to the arch, you are okay. We suggest two Baldwin Sofas in Celery Twill Piped Slipcovers. Our Baldwin Slips are great because we have many colors that are custom designed so you can change them as often as you like.
In between the sofas we selected a 30” Terrific Trio Table covered in our Nomad fabric for a touch of drama. Lighting is essential, so we selected the Gevaudan Balustrade Table Lamp to set between the two sofas. On the far back wall, we chose our Morgan Double Wide Low Shelf in Rubbed Black to place under the mirrors. If you need additional lighting in that area, the Bronze Chartres Buffet Lamps will work well. In front of the sofas, the Morgan Coffee Table not only looks great but will provide great storage for reading materials and remotes. We love your rug and your leather chair - they provide great texture and style. We did add a small Dunstan 3 Shelf Side Table in Distressed Black to finish off the look.
We do hope that our suggestions will help you close the gap on that open space, creating a warm and inviting environment. Please let us know your thoughts; feedback is important to us. Send some pictures of your completed project.
Sincerely,
The Style Studio Team
Posted 2/3/09
I am looking for advice on how to place furniture in an oblong TV room. My husband has an oversized recliner near one end of the room and a 56″ TV at the other end of the room. I have a large drop-leaf table beside his chair. A 3 cushioned sofa lines the outside glass wall, with end tables on either end, and a spinet piano on the inside wall across from the sofa. I have a large curio cabinet on one side of the piano, and french doors on the other side of the piano (an entry to the main part of the house). The room is approximately 12′wide by 24′long. It used to be a screened back porch and we had it glassed in and use it as a sun room - but really is a TV room/den.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Joy: Sounds like everything is lined up against the walls. Try dividing the room into two areas and don’t be afraid to pull the sofa into the room with a sofa table behind it. Maybe you can create a tv area and then have an area for reading and music. Try thinking outside the box.
The Style Studio Team
I would love to know how you are placing the table lamps away from walls. Are these battery operated lamps? I would love to do this look but the lamps have wire and that would be dangerous.
Dear Linda: Safety always comes first. We agree using extension cords across the floor can be dangerous. You can however, have a plug installed into the floor - away from the walls. With so many opened-concept spaces, a lot of furniture is now sitting in the middle of a room - so the floor plugs have become more common place. We hope that this answers your question. Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.
Sincerely,
The Style Studio Team
I have a long room with a fireplace on one wall along with two window seats.
The width is about 12 feet,length about 15 feet.There is one wall that opens onto a hall, with the other (one facing fireplace) is broken up with a bar that opens on both sides (in this room and the formal dinning room) with short 3/4wall. This all opens on to a kitchen. So the problem where to place setting? The depth is to short to put a sofa in front of fireplace because that is a flow/walk way to hall and the bedrooms.
Too many openings to know where to place furnitures.
This probably doesn’t give a good picture but could you help?
Thank you
Betty Hinely
Dear Betty: Try thinking outside the box. Sometimes when there are multiple openings in a room, placement of furniture becomes a chore. Have you tried placing the furniture away from the walls? Sometimes you can seperate the areas in a room - reading area - tv area. Why not try making paper templates of your larger furniture and move it around until you are happy with the arrangement. You are certainly welcome to send us a floorplan with the dimensions of your furniture and we will be happy to work with you on the placement.
Sincerely,
The Style Studio