How to Select Furniture for Small Spaces
Selecting furniture for small spaces requires as much preparation as shopping time -- if you do it right. Despite your eagerness to hit the showrooms, don't skip the advance work. You'll spend more time on the front end, but you'll save shopping time and the angst of indecision. You'll also save the money you might otherwise waste on pieces that won't work in your home. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Before You Shop
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Measure the width and length of your rooms. Measure doorways, windows and other fixed elements, including their actual size and their location in the room.
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Convert your measurements into floor plans on 1/4-inch grid paper, where each box on the grid equals 1 square foot. Draw a floor plan for each room you need to furnish.
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List your needs for each room. Write down the must haves before you list the wishes. Must haves for a small living room might include the following: seating for four, book storage, television console. On your wish list, you might add extra seating for parties, bar and a chair with ottoman.
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Sketch the items from your list onto your floor plan, starting with the must-have items. Work with the space you have. If the rooms works best with a sofa and two chairs, don't try to squeeze in an L-shaped sectional. Allow 36 inches of space for major traffic patterns and at least 28 inches for minor ones.
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Measure the furniture you've sketched for the maximum size of each piece. Count the number of grid blocks and estimate partial blocks, or use an architect's ruler for more accuracy. Draw a faint pencil line inside the outline of each furniture piece to represent the minimum size that works without ruining the arrangement. Note the acceptable size range -- minimum and maximum sizes -- for each furniture item on your list.
While You Shop
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Take your list, floor plans and measuring tape with you to furniture stores. Keep them handy if you're shopping via Internet or catalog. Browse and consider only the furniture items you've listed, and make sure the pieces fit within your acceptable size ranges.
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Look for pieces where most of the size is taken up by functional space, not design elements. Avoid upholstery with huge rolled arms in favor of narrow track or English arms. Skip curved sleigh beds that add depth. Opt instead for beds with slim profiles, such as those wrap-around frames instead of footboards.
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Eliminate single-purpose pieces from consideration when double-duty or storage pieces are available. Use two small ottomans at the foot of the bed instead of a bench, for example, and then move them into the living room for extra seating when you entertain. Choose end and bedside tables with storage drawers or shelves.
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Look for storage pieces -- entertainment pieces, bookshelves, china cabinets and clothing chests -- that utilize vertical instead of horizontal space. A highboy holds as much as a triple dresser, but takes up far less visual and actual space.
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Create the illusion of larger rooms by selecting light-reflecting furniture finishes. Consider lacquered, mirrored, glass-topped or high-sheen wood pieces. Use glass-topped dining or coffee tables for their transparency as well; see-through pieces don't stop the eye like their solid counterparts.
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Order your largest upholstered pieces in solid colors, which take up less space visually. Save the prints for chairs and accent pillows. Keep the color scheme monochromatic or analogous, which means using adjacent colors on the color wheel. Contrasting color schemes visually break up the space, making it appear even smaller.
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References
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