Living room furniture moved right up against the walls always makes the room look smaller.

If you have a small room, give your furniture breathing space and move it at least 150mm away from the wall. If you have ample space, bring the furniture in, close together so that you can comfortably reach the coffee table from wherever you are sitting.

Now that you’ve moved your furniture off the walls, if you find there’s space left over around the room, don’t fret. There are lots of exciting and clever ways to utilise the extra space:

• A bench seat, ottomans or a console unit behind the sofa
• A tall plant in the corner of the room

• A round hall/entry table styled with oversized foliage, books and objects makes for a fabulous space divider
• A solo spot with a cosy chair for someone to bunker down and read a book
• A secondary seating area to the main living area – I love doing this, it makes for an exciting and functional space.

Creating a killer furniture layout that caters for your daily needs is essential to creating a home with heart. It makes such a massive difference on how the space functions, flows and looks! For more info on all things furniture layouts:

• My favourite furniture suppliers
• How to create conversation zones
• Solo spots and more

Enter your details below to instantly receive 5 WAYS TO INSTANTLY REFRESH YOUR HOME INTERIOR and every few weeks you’ll be sent my comprehensive HOME INTERIOR GUIDE which includes an entire section on Furniture Layouts.

Contact Auckland Interior Designer Hayley by heading over to the Strategy Session booking page.

AKA LOU