Rearranging furniture is a great way to add variety and interest in your home. In this post, I share the living room furniture arrangements I have designed for our cottage. 

 

Even as a little girl, I enjoyed rearranging my bedroom furniture to give the space a fresh look.

When Craig and I got married, this was an even more exciting adventure as I began to develop my decorating style. I must have come up with about 8 different living room furniture arrangements in our first house.

 

It is no surprise then, that while designing Arrow Hill Cottage I have had the idea of furniture placement in the back of my mind. With our original main floor layout, there wasn’t much wiggle room in terms of where the pieces could be situated. This sort of bummed me out, but I figured that if I could come up with one great placement I could learn to live with it long term.

I was excited though, once I made the major plan breakthrough that opened up the main level. Not only does the layout have a more relaxed and spacious feeling, it also allows for multiple furniture arrangements!

 

 

FURNITURE PIECES FOR THE LIVING ROOM

We have not yet selected our furniture, but I have in mind a few key pieces to search for.

 

Couch: I would like to find a sleek, tailored back couch – perhaps around 7 feet long. Nothing too stuffed or with a high back. Since this will be the largest piece on the main level, besides our long harvest dining table, I want to be sure that it isn’t overpowering.

A Pair of Side Chairs: Again, preferably not overstuffed. I will be looking for simple chairs with a basic and classic shape.

Coffee Table: This piece may have a bit more visual weight to it. I haven’t decided yet if it will include storage or not. In my mind right now, I envision it with black metal legs and a wooden top.

Small Side Table: To coordinate with the coffee table. A simple place to set a book or a drink.

Area Rug: In the following images, the area rug is an 8′ x 10′ size. Potentially, we could purchase a larger 10′ x 12′ size. I envision this to be a semi colorful or patterned piece.

 

 

 

ARRANGING THE FURNITURE

I love the ease of planning furniture placement through computer drafting. Obviously, it is much easier to move the pieces around and come up with a variety of ideas quickly. I was able to determine four living room furniture arrangements that I think would work well for our cottage.

 

 

Arrangement 1

This layout is very fireplace focused. From the front entry, a person can easily see the fireplace and the furniture is arranged to make it a focal point as well. Even though the side chairs are positioned in front of the large wall of windows, I believe there will still be a very open feel and a great view to the woods and pond.

The couch serves as a bit of a visual divider between the living room and the kitchen/dining space.

 

 

In the 3D images, you can see that the view from the windows is not greatly compromised by the chairs. One note for this arrangement is that I might want to consider adding a sofa table into the furniture mix, so that there isn’t so much couch back exposed.

 

 

Arrangement 2

For this next layout, I used the exact same furniture placement but rotated it 90 degrees. The fireplace is flanked by the chairs, which makes the living room more intimate and cozy.

The flow between living and kitchen/dining is open, with plenty of space to walk.

 

 

The couch back is one of the first things a person entering the house from the front door would see with this furniture layout. Again, this might be a good opportunity for a sofa table. It is also one of the reasons that a lower profile couch will be a priority when making the furniture selection.

 

Arrangement 3

This living room set up gives off a more formal vibe. The couch is placed with it’s back to the large wall of windows and the chairs directly across, with the coffee table in between. The benefit of this layout is that the room feels open from both the entry and the dining space, since the couch isn’t visually dividing the passage from either direction.

 

 

Again, a low profile couch will be important so that it does not block any of the wonderful natural light that is sure to spill through the living room windows.

 

Arrangement 4

This combination is what I am calling the ‘Holiday Furniture Placement’. This layout might be my go-to when we have company. In the living room, the chairs and couch are set up for maximum conversation in a U-shape facing the fireplace. Additional chairs could be brought for more seating.

There is also a bit of a configuration change that could happen in the kitchen/dining space. By rotating the table, the counter space overlooking the windows could be opened up for seating as well.

 

I can see that there would be plenty of space for a Christmas tree in the corner closest to the entry. This would allow it to be visible, yet out of the way.

 

I will need to work through my ideas for this a bit more to determine if setting the cabinets a bit might be worth the compromise of less storage. The very valuable aspect of this furniture placement, and why it would work so well for large gatherings, is that it would allow us to seat 14 for a meal. For a house that has a small main floor, that is a big deal!

 

BENEFITS OF ARRANGING FURNITURE

Rearranging furniture is worthwhile, and not just because it provides a good cardio workout! There are many other benefits that make re-arranging furniture a good idea.

 

Deep Cleaning: It’s amazing the amount of toys and cracker crumbs that can be found when furniture is moved. By arranging furniture more frequently, those dust bunnies will have no place to hide.

Furniture Wearing Evenly: People have a tendency to find their favorite spot and stick with it. By moving furniture, you just might make someone give another place to sit a try.

Sunlight also has a tendency to fade certain types of fabric. By rotating which furniture has a place in front of the windows, the sun fading will be less noticeable over time.

Appreciating the Space: When a room is always set up in the exact same way, it has a tendency to become visually stagnant. By changing furniture pieces around you can invoke new life into the space. This fresh perspective can allow you to appreciate the room again.

 

GIVE YOUR SPACE A FRESH LOOK

If you’d like to try out some new living room furniture arrangements without sweating, check out this link from Better Homes & Gardens!

Better Homes & Gardens Furniture Arrangement Tool

 

Do you have tips on how often you like to re-arrange furniture? Which of the four living room furniture arrangements of the four shown above is your favorite? I would love to hear from you!

 

PIN THESE FURNITURE LAYOUT IDEAS FOR LATER