They say that the kitchen is the heart of every home. Well, then the living room is the foundation of the home. This is generally the first part of a home that most people see or walk into. A family get together here and chat, watch TV, play games and perhaps enjoy the fireplace on a cold, winter’s day.

Visitors come in and are made to feel welcome in the living room. It’s probably the one place that families spend the majority of their time. You want to have an attractive, inviting and comfortable living room, so you want a nice layout, and the living room furniture can play a big part.

1. Ask A Furniture Company

If you just bought your living room furniture, you may want to ask the furniture company for some ideas to get you started. Some furniture companies will offer a free design consultation and advice, so it is a good way to get you started in decorating and arranging your living room.

If the room is slightly larger and spacious, this can be helpful. You can create little sections; one for playing board games, one slightly away from all activity for the voracious reader in the family and another for gathering at the TV for evening entertainment.

2. Furniture Placement For Functionality

If you really want to enjoy and appreciate your living room, it has to be functional, so good placement of your living room furniture plays a huge role. You don’t always have to line up your furniture up against a wall. Consider what the focal point of the living room is. It can be a window with a stunning view, it could be your beautiful new fireplace, but in general, it always tends to be the TV. There’s nothing wrong in that, but if there is another focal point, be creative and arrange the furniture accordingly. If there’s more than one focal point, then arrange it so that more than one focal point can be enjoyed. Make sure that there is enough space to walk between the furniture groups you’ve set up. Can people enter or leave the room easily? Make sure to place a small table at each group you’ve set up so that people can place a drink or a coffee on it.

3. Symmetry

Good balance in the living room is important. You could try arranging furniture so that they are face to face. You could have 2 sofas facing each other, a sofa and 2 chairs facing each other or a sofa and a love seat facing each other. It’s simple but effective. The focal point will be at one end. You can even add another chair directly across the focal point. This is a good arrangement for conversation.

4. Traffic

When arranging your furniture, keep the traffic in mind. For example, you don’t mind traffic behind the furniture. However, it’s not a good idea to have traffic between the seats and the TV as this can get pretty annoying!

5. Mixing Sizes

If possible, have a nice mix of furniture with varying sizes to give a perception of height, width and depth. Everything being the same size has no variety and looks boring. Make use of different physical qualities to give it an interesting look.