Furniture Staging

Furniture staging is an important part of interior design and home decorating. Understanding the best placement of your furniture will help you make a room comfortable and cozy, or spacious and open, depending on what you are looking for in that room. Furniture staging involves placing all the correct furniture in a room for the best effect, and this can be done with brand new furniture or the furniture you already own. The location of the furniture is critical, because every room in your home should feel balanced and in tune with all of its components. Furniture should be easy to navigate around, without clutter that may be a trip hazard. If your living room is filled with large heavy wooden pieces, and they are all grouped together or put on one side of the room, there is no balance and the room will not look or feel right. Throwing furniture into a room haphazardly, with no thought to design or the whole look and feel of the room, can make a room seem unappealing and overcrowded with too much clutter.

The first step in arranging the furniture in a room is to set one piece as an anchor. This may be your couch against the wall, or an entertainment center or big screen television against the corner. This anchor will act as a focal point for the room, and help to keep it balanced. If there is a television or entertainment center, group the couches and chairs around it loosely. If your anchor point is the couch, use end tables and chairs to finish off the look and feel of a cozy conversation place. If your couch is a modular, or one of those that may have five or six components, don’t be afraid to break up the pieces and scatter them around the room.

Realistically determine how many pieces of furniture, and what types, you can comfortably fit into the room without cluttering it up. Imagine the pieces in place, and determine if it is easy to navigate around them. No one wants to have to squeeze between articles of furniture, or whack their knee on the coffee table every time they try to get to and from the couch or chair. If you have a living room that is very large, divide it informally into two separate areas. Maybe you can group seating and tables in one area for a social area, while using the other area as an entertainment area with an entertainment center and television.

The first furniture that should go into a room is the largest piece. This will allow you to move down in size, ensuring that it is easiest to move the furniture into the room. After bringing in the large items, like couches, beds and dressers, desks, and other items, it is time to arrange the smaller pieces, like small tables, chairs, and other furniture that is not big and bulky. When bringing in these items, try to balance them by placing them across from other smaller items. Pay close attention to light and shadow. A dark wooden desk may not look as good in a darker room, but will look perfect in a brightly lit room. Floor lamps can add illumination in dark corners and shadowy areas of the room.

Furniture staging is an important feature of your home interior design. Rooms that have furniture should be examined carefully, to ensure that all the desired pieces will fit without looking cluttered or overdone. Remember to leave spaces for walking and getting through the room. Another nice touch when staging furniture is to balance out the soft and hard surfaces. After all the furniture is situated the way you want it, use rugs, pictures, lamps, and other decorations to finish off the room and add appeal.

Furniture staging does not have to be difficult or complex, and there are no formulas or lists that you can follow. We are all different and have our own unique tastes and personalities, and the furniture in our homes will reflect this. We have all been in homes that did not feel lived in, even though the furniture was perfectly placed, because it was not warm and inviting. Your home is where you spend a lot of your time, and the furniture you have and how it is staged in your home should reflect you. Some people hire an interior decorator to take care of furniture staging as well as all the other details, but this can be costly and you may end up with a look you don’t like or want to live with. Instead, use your idea of how the room should look, and follow these simple tips on staging your furniture.

home-inspection