How to Arrange the Family Room

The family room is usually one of the busiest rooms in the house. To set up the furniture so that the room is both comfortable and efficient, check out the suggestions below.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring Tapes
• Scissors
• Graph Papers
• Pencils And Erasers
• Rulers

Instructions

1. Draw the outlines of the family room to scale (1/4 inch equals 1 foot) on graph paper. On the room layout, mark anything that would affect your arrangement: outlets for electricity, telephone and cable; light switches; windows; doors that open into the room; space between windows; sill height and so forth.

2. Make paper cutouts of the furniture to your scale and shift them as needed until a likely arrangement emerges.

3. Select a focal point and subtly orient other furnishings and some lighting toward it. If there's a fireplace, it will nearly always be the focal point; other focal points might be bookcases or built-in shelving that house lovely collectibles.

4. Arrange the furniture in such a way that pieces viewed as a unit don't show dramatic shifts in height and mass as the eye sweeps the room. When a high-back chair is next to a low table, boost the visual height of the table by hanging a piece of art above it or place a lamp on it.

5. Set up seating in conversation areas so that people don't have to stand to chat easily. Examples include two chairs separated by a low table or two love seats facing each other.

6. Pull furniture away from the walls. A sofa can make a great boundary that backs up to and separates the living area from the breakfast room or eat-in kitchen.

7. Angle the sofa so it's diagonal to any walls. To heighten the drama, run an area rug and coffee table parallel to the sofa.

8. Allow a minimum of 18 inches (24 is better) for traffic lanes through the room.

9. Place the television so that a busy traffic lane doesn't run in front of it.

10. Try to arrange the room so that all of the electronic equipment will remain accessible even when you entertain.

11. Freshen the room periodically by shifting the furniture and accessories. Switch tabletop bric-a-brac around from time to time, add fresh flowers, change out potpourri, move pictures and so forth.