Monday, November 9, 2015

Before You Decorate For Christmas! {A Tip on Furniture Placement}

Stop. Walk away from those boxes marked "Christmas." 

It won't take long, but this tip just may change your life. Okay, maybe not your life... but your home... or maybe not your whole home... but a room. One room. At least. :)

I did this simple trick over the weekend and we've been trying to conceal our giddiness each time we walk into the family room. And we didn't spend a dime.


We simply moved a couch and large rug from our living room to our family room. You've heard people say to, "Shop your house..." Usually, when we say that, we're talking about a lamp or a chair. May I suggest even a couch can be "shopped" from another room?

The tip I would give you is this: Try furniture, by moving it around, in every possible configuration before you rule it out. Don't just "eyeball it." 

The couch below, with the number five pillow, is the new-to-this-room addition. And I never knew that she'd fit in so well! I think we're all guilty of being too judgmental with our friends furniture from time to time. We think we know best and we put limits on people furniture.


We first had the couch against the windows and then moved the sectional every which way and it didn't work at all. There was no natural flow in the room. 

I was ready to haul the couch back to our living room when in desperation, I looked on Pinterest. I saw a family room I loved with a couch that backed to a kitchen counter. 

And it clicked! It wasn't the sectional I needed to move, it was the couch.


There's still enough room to easily walk between the couch and sectional as well as between the counter stools and couch.


Before moving the couch in, we didn't have enough seating in this room to accommodate our family of five, which includes three growing boys who like to lounge. Or when we had company, someone would inevitably end up sitting on the floor or scrunched into the corner of the sectional probably whispering "personal space!" in their head.

It's amazing how the extra seating seems to invite you in to stay. I used to think that by having one whole side of the room open to the kitchen, it made it feel airy and larger. In retrospect, I think it felt a bit unsettled. It's cozier now, and by using large, similar pieces, it doesn't feel cluttered.


Now that the seating configuration works well in this room, I'm excited to start decorating for the holidays!

Have you had any furniture placement breakthroughs lately? 
(That's a real thing. To us.)

Xo

ps - And while we didn't spend a dime changing things up in our family room, our living room is now missing a couch. Hmmm. Stay tuned! ;)

15 comments:

  1. Great idea! We just have to "look outside the box."
    Brenda

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  2. I rearranged furniture yesterday and today, too. ;)

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    Replies
    1. It breathes new life into rooms to change things up! Hope you are enjoying your "new" space. :)

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  3. Breakthroughs? Ummmm, yes! .... I had an old glass door cabinet in the entry but found a hall tree on Craigslist and an old settee that looked so much better and provided so much more function for the space. As I was mulling over getting out the camera to take a picture of the cabinet to try to sell on Craigslist I looked at our breakfast room... there was an empty wall in there.... what if? Yes! You cannot believe how much cozier that room is now with this cabinet in it.... Why didn't I think of it sooner?

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    1. Love that!! I was asking myself the same question. ;)

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  4. It feels fantastic in the photo too! What a nice big room you have. I have always loved the feel of sofas facing each other. Well done!

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  5. I did some furniture moving a few months ago in our family room and love it...yours looks great too!

    Blessings,
    Linda

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  6. I completely agree with you about shopping the house for more than just accessories. I have done that before and found it to be very helpful. I love your new furniture arrangement. I now have more seating in my family room which I will share soon. I will probably never go back to what I had before. There's nothing better for a room to both function well AND look good at the same time.

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  7. I love flipping rooms and have done it several times over the years. I love doing it and it always makes me feel like I am living in a new house! lol I have the back of my sofa to my kitchen counter also-very similar to your set up and I love it.
    Your room looks really great!!! Hope you have a great week! xo Diana

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  8. I have never been an all white home decorator but your home is so lovely...I'm in love with it.
    http://frugaliciouschick.blogspot.com

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  9. My home is a much smaller home that I am in now! And leaves very little room to move it about, so when I want a bit of a fresh feel to its design I borrow from one room and switch out pieces much like you do here.
    I use to have a cabinet on a main wall in my front room and now an armoire is in its place...this will give me room to add a tree in the corner where now a French mirror rest on the floor, it will hopefully reflect a bit of its design back into the space.

    I never knew this room was as big as it is to hold the pieces you have in it, loved seeing your home from the different angles, love the seating capacity it will be great for the holidays when family sit around and enjoy the seasons.

    The book case is a great feature, one I so wish I had, would live to layer and hang a mirror or art from the bookcase.

    Beautiful Farmhouse you have, and so looking forward to the holidays here.

    Xx
    Dore

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  10. I smiled as I read the post because we just did the same thing. We do't have a family room, we live in an old house, but we do have a dungeon! Today we moved all the wicker furniture off the large back porch downstairs to make a family room. It worked really great shopping the house or outside in our case, and now everything I go down to the dungeon she looks at least 6 layers better now. Glad it worked our for you too. Now you have enough seating!

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  11. The sofa underneath, with the amount five cushion, is the new-to-this-room adding. And I never knew that she'd fit in so healthy! I think we're all shamefaced of existence too critical with our furniture from time to time.

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