Design Recipes: Furniture arranging mistakes

Furniture layout and placement are often a dilemma for many homeowners. Aspects such as where to place a sofa and where a television should be placed are often visual hurdles. Strategic furniture placement often comes from pre-planning, taking the time to create a floor plan and evaluating where items should be placed in a room.

When laying out a room, here are some common furniture arrangement mistakes.

--Lining furniture along the walls. While the theory may be that this creates an open layout, it often leaves open gaps and furnishings crowded along the walls.

--Using furniture pieces that are part of large sets. Often a set is simply too much furniture, not to mention it is often overwhelming for every single piece of furniture to match.

--Obstructing key entrances and exits. Three feet is the general rule of thumb for circulation and for the human body to be able to maneuver. A common mistake is placing furniture too close together, which often crowds a space.

--Placing furniture in front of a window. People often want to "see a view." Placing furniture in front of a window can often look messy and disjointed.

--Angling furniture. In general, angling furniture is an outdated look that should only be used in rare cases in which there is a true challenge to fit furniture. This dilemma is often solved by choosing furniture of a proper size and scale.

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