How To Make A Furniture Plan
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Transcript of How To Make A Furniture Plan
How to Make a Furniture Plan
Deborah Ogden
Why make a plan?
Furniture tends to look small in a huge furniture store,
and then can look enormous in the house when it is delivered!
Why do we need to learn furniture arrangements?
A lot of furniture is not returnable, especially custom items.
Or if returnable, may be inconvenient or expensive to return.
Please, please, measure and plot the furniture, to scale, on a plan, before you buy!
In my experience, here’s what happens if a furniture plan is not made before buying furniture--
A second end table or a dining-room hutch often will not fit comfortably into the intended room
Large sofas or sectional sofas sometimes won’t fit into the room at all
Sometimes there is an “extra” sofa or ottoman, or chair
Some items that “fit” into the room don’t actually fit the scale of the room
Long items, such as a sofa that’s too large, make good room arrangements or conversation groupings impossible--for a decade or two
The items may fit the room, but block a doorway, a walkway, or project into a traffic pattern
And…
What happens if you do plot the furniture first?
Most often, drawing a furniture plan to scale causes the purchase of fewer items, or smaller-scale items (may save money)
Saves money on buying wrong items (such as an expensive end table used for a guest room night-stand)
Many who planned to purchase a sectional sofa change their mind before the purchase
What happens if you plot the furniture first?
You can plan furniture that fits the room and the other furnishings
You know where the items will fit, and that the traffic patterns will be convenient
You will be able to plan ideal conversation groupings and other functional groupings
What generally works out best for a living room or family room?
A loveseat and pair of easy chairs makes a flexible and comfy arrangement
Makes an “L” shaped or parallel arrangement
Or the same items can be a “U” shaped conversation grouping
For a normal home in California:
Unless your home is in the 4000-5000 square-foot range, or larger:
Buy a pair of easy chairs rather than a loveseat
Buy a loveseat instead of a sofa
For a larger home:
For larger homes, a pair of loveseats, or a pair of sofas is a better choice than a sofa and loveseat
Then use that pair with a pair of easy chairs
Larger rooms may need an additional grouping
Start with a conversation grouping
Place furniture at right angles to the other sides of the grouping
Group around a focal point such as a fireplace
The focal point in this room is the fireplace:
This sofa is in a “floating position”
This pair of chairs, plus the loveseat, makes a “U”-shaped arrangement.
This large room has a pair of chairs, a pair of large sofas, and a group of ottomans for the “coffee table”.
IMPORTANT: Conversation
Distance isfrom 4 feet to 10 feet-- The distance between
people’s heads while seated
Not measured at knees or feet
What arrangements tend to help conversation and interaction?
Easier to talk at right angles or across
Harder to talk if on the same sofa—causes neck pain
Guidelines:
Stay within 4-10 feet conversation distance
Avoid “everybody out of the pool” room arrangements
And avoid “Doctors Office” room arrangements
This furniture looks like it is floating away through space…
This arrangement also ignores the fireplace.
Some furniture is just too far apart…
How is this for a warm, friendly room?
Use some square-ish and some rounded shapes
Use some soft edges and some harder edges, some shapes on legs mixed with some all the way to the floor
The sofas are solid and rounder—contrasting with the chairs—which are airy, leggy and angular
What is the benefit of “see-through” chairs?
Balance
Balance items from left to right--around fireplace or other focal point
Could be mirror-image pairs across the room, or a pair on one side and a larger item across from the pair
Balance can be achieved with items that are not identical
Formal or symmetrical balance
Informal or asymmetrical balance
Some rooms need more than one furniture grouping
Here is a smaller grouping in addition to the main grouping
This room has one grouping near the fireplace and another closer to the viewer
This room has one group near the window and one that is closer
This small room looks cozy and takes advantage of the fireplace and architecture
“Secondary” furniture groupings can allow for a separate function (such as reading or homework), or give some solitude and privacy
They are an effective way to use the space in a large room, while preventing overly-giant conversation groups
This corner grouping uses a pair of chairs with a small table and lamp.
Screens can be used as a background against the wall
Screens can also define a space
Or divide a space
Consider the scale of the items placed into the room
Items that are too large make the room seem small
Small accessory items all over a table look like clutter—use a single item, or up to three, of different heights, for more drama
Scale
Scale includes the actual size of the item
It also includes the “visual weight” or apparent size
Legs are part of the “weight” effect
Legs
Legs should be used in a mixture or variety of “weights”:
Some legs should be thin or “leggy”
Some legs should be a blocky or thick shape, or hidden under a blocky item
Objects have an actual footprint size and a “visual weight”. These chairs have different
visual weights.
These tables have different visual weights
Same footprint but different
“visual weight”
This room has several large blocky items, and a couple of airy, visually-lighter chairs
This room is more pleasing because of the contrast between the leggy table and the solid effect of the sofa
Too many legs!
Too hard and leggy looking—
needs a throw and a solid ottoman or
table…
Here is one idea for a room without an architectural focal point
Here is one way to get a cozy conversation group and book storage in a room
Think about the view from room to room…
What if the entry was painted one of the colors in the art work?
Desks are ideal in a “floating” position instead of facing a wall
Are you moving?
FYI: if my clients are planning to change residences in a few years, I recommend against purchasing a sectional sofa:
Most sectionals will not fit another residence, so will need to be replaced in new home (expenses of a new home often don’t allow purchases in first few years)