Thursday, June 02, 2016

The Interiorista: Have a Seat

Is the space in your home utilized wisely? Does it meet the needs of its occupants? To answer these questions, we must first talk about what the words space planning mean.

Decorating your home will entail not only displaying beautiful furniture, fabrics and accessories, but also, and most importantly, to ensure that all of those items coexist together in an interior that is functional and harmonious.

Before placing your furniture, think about what your space preferences and needs are. What do you want to use that particular room for? Reflect also about traffic lines. Are people able to walk comfortably in the space? Does the furniture flow in the room? Is it disrupting conversation areas or passing zones?

Let's break the furniture placement down by the main rooms which require furnishings:

Entry way: your entrance should not be cluttered and should provide an easy flow of traffic. Use storage areas to accommodate coats, shoes and other accesories. Some of the furniture pieces you could include in your entry way are a console or narrow table, a mirror, a coat rack and accesories.

Living room: the living room is one of the rooms in the house where people will spend more time in. Creating an adequate conversation area where occupants can hear and be heard is essential. Make sure the maximum distance in your conversation grouping lays between 6 to 8 feet and doesn't exceed 10 feet.

Here are some basic conversation groupings:

The L-shape grouping: is good for conversation and can be used in small and large areas.


The U-shape grouping: is comfortable and attractive but requires a big space.


The box-shape grouping: is a great option if you have a really large living room.


The parallel grouping: emphasizes an existing focal point like a fireplace or wall feature and provides a great arrangement for conversation.


To help you decide from all of those furniture arrangements, take into consideration the size of the living room, the traffic lines and the focal point in the room. Don't be afraid of moving furniture around! Try different options! The correct furniture location will make the room look bigger and inviting.

If your TV is located in the living room, depending on its size, it should be placed at a distance of 6 to 12". The viewer should be able to look directly at the screen. L and U shape groupings are the most optimal arrangements for TV watching.

If you are looking to provide intimate conversation in your space, refrain from positioning the furniture against the walls. Bring the pieces closer together and define your "conversation area" with a rug.

Place your coffee table at about 15 to 18" from your sofas, depending of the size of your room, for ample legroom. The height of your coffee table should be about the same height of your sofa seat
 ( 16-17").The side tables should never be higher than the sofa arm.

Dining room: in this room you will have to determine how many guests do you wish to accommodate and what type of shape would you like your table to be. As a basic rule, each occupant will require 2' to 2'-6" of space on the table in front of the chair, and about 3'-6" to 4" between the table and the wall.

Take a look at this chart to help you decide how many people you should seat depending on the size and shape of your dining room table.



Family room: the family room will follow pretty much the same rules as the living room. However, it might be more difficult to decorate due to its multiple uses.
Make sure to provide good seating for conversation, additional and flexible seating for extra guests and good TV planning for easy viewing.
You could add small side tables in addition to the coffee table to allow more occupants to place their drinks. You could also incorporate a game table.

Office: add a desk, chair, shelving and filing storage. Place your computer at a 90-degree angle to the window to avoid glare.

Bedroom: in your bedroom, your bed will be the focal point of the room because of its size. Make sure your nightstands are at the same height as the top of your mattress. Leave over one foot between the dresser and the bed to be able to open the drawers. Also, allow at least 3 feet of space between the bed and the wall.

If you are decorating children or teenager's rooms, you would want to incorporate play areas, toy storage and work areas in your plan. The bedroom should grow with the child.

Basically, you should strive for making every room in your home feel airy and comfortable, not crowded and overwhelming. Consider the size of every room your are trying to decorate individually and the size of the furniture pieces (smaller rooms should contain smaller pieces of furniture. Bigger rooms, heavier and larger pieces). Don't put too much stuff in your rooms. Less is always more! If your home is space planned appropriately, a sense of harmony will prevail throughout the entire house.

Was this post helpful to you? Are you unhappy with the way a particular room flows in your house? Then, move things around until you find what works for your space and your needs. Let me know what changes you've made. I'd love to hear from you!


Until next Thursday, keep making your home a lovely place!


       XOXO,

      Angelica



1 comment:

Angelica said...

Jana,
Praying you are able to get in your home soon! Would love for you to send me pictures! Miss you, friend!