So this might come as a no-brainer to some, but to others the possibilities are endless.  How do I arrange my living room?  Homeowners are becoming more style saavy with the growing popularity of home design networks like HGTV and “Complete Home Makeover” shows and are finding more and more ways to fix the feng shui of your family room.  There are an endless number of ways to arrange your living space to meet the needs and comfort of you (and your family).  We thought who better to help you out than one of the top furniture dealers Chicago has to offer.

More detailed than what you need, but this is a good sketch.

So where do I start?  Well as silly as it may seem, the best way to make sure you’re arranging the room the way you’re imagining it is to grab an old-fashioned pad of paper and pencil (it doesn’t actually have to be old-fashioned, we just use that term because no one uses paper and pencil these days…)  Start out with a rough sketch of the room making sure to take into account doorway access (if the door opens in or out) as well as any other obstructions (fireplace, staircases, light switches, etc.)  You can make your sketch as detailed or as bare as you want, it’s basically just meant to give you an idea of the space to visualize the different elements and how they could fit in the room.  However the more detailed the sketch, the better off you will be when you actually start moving the elements around, so its a good idea to take some time with this.

Next, select a focal point to the room.  Whether it’s a fireplace or a 50″ big screen TV (if you’re not the talking type.)  Once this is selected, make sure that all of the elements open up to the focal point.  This may seem easy but it’s important to make sure the room flows well together (and that you don’t have a bookshelf sitting out the middle of the room because you forgot to give it a place.)  Also, it may seem logical to arrange of the elements in a rectangular shape because that’s naturally the way the room wants to form, but keep in mind that it is generally a good idea to move elements around the room in such a way where you aren’t always creating right angles.  Keeping the couch at an angle is a great way to add some depth to the room while still keeping it open and retaining the space.

Test out some different sketches and see what works best.  The main thing to keep in mind is that you should arrange the room however you feel most comfortable.  Something might look great on TV, but might not be something you want to live with on a day-to-day basis.

Of course, the most important part in making the room your own is getting the right furniture.  Make sure you look online at your Chicago Furniture Dealer to get the furniture set that works best for your space.