. Living Large in Your Living and Family Room The days of Formal Living rooms are gone. Most people are utilizing every inch of their home. The Living or Family room has become a hub of activites and functions. Two articles below can help you get started. First, The Floor Plan will help you learn how to layout your space. Second, the sofa selector helps you make a decision on quality, not cost.
The Floor Plan The first and most important issue in our Living & Family rooms, is to determine what are the functions that are going to occur in this room. Watching tv, computer use, conversation, listening to music, reading, playing games, bill paying, homework, crafting, naps, ect. Then take invenotry of all exisitng piece you will reuse. A Floor Plan will help you determine the areas you will create in your Living & Family room to accomadate all of the functions. Creating a floor plan will ensure two things, one that the traffic flow will be suitable and second the size and type of furniture needed. This will be extremely useful when shopping. Due to the size and scale of the showrooms you visit, furniture may seem smaller in that space. It is imperative you get the dimensions of each piece of furniture ,to ensure it will fit in your room. Also, measure the doorway opening of your home and/or the room this furniture will be entering. Making a floor plan can be done on graph paper, found at your local office supply store. Measure your room, overall wall space, space from window to corner, doorway to corner, indicate heights off floor for windows and always include your molding in the dimension with the window and door. Any permanent fixtures such as colums, built-ins , fireplaces or niches should also be indicated on your plan. Then use the graph paper to transfer your dimensions, each square equals one foot. Then create furniture using the same graph paper, one square for each foot. Cut out the furniture pieces and move them around on the floor plan. In no time you will know if the new furniture will fit, how your going to layout the room and what additional items you will need for the room. Take the floor plan with you when shopping. You will be able to confirm if pieces will fit and leave you adequate walking space.
Selecting a Sofa
One of the biggest purchases will be your Sofa & upholstered pieces. It can be a sectional, love seat , chair or sofa. The same principals will apply to all upholstered pieces. How do you know if your purchasing a good quality product? A high price doesn't ensure quality. Here are ten tips for selecting a quality piece
1. Weight- Lift up one end of the sofa, if it is extremely light, more than likley it is not made of quality material
2. Frame- the frame should be kiln-dried hardwood ( oak, maple, ash, poplar, ect) not soft woods like pine. If its not Kiln dried, settle for 11 to 13 layered plywood vs 5-7 layers. This frame should be Screwed and have corner blocks. Sometimes the joints are also doweled. Staples and nails do not last.
3. Feel it- Squeeze the arm, you should not feel the wood frame. It should be well padded.
4. Sit- Comfort comes in many factors, the depth of the seat for the height of the person sitting, loose or fitted back and the cushion. Here I am talking about stablity. When you sit, it should feel stable. If its a single cushion , when you sit down on one end the other end shouldn't pop-up.
5. Cushion- Cushions vary and can add to the cost. Most expensive is an all down cushion. This is a high maintance cushion to keep up. It needs constant fluffing. A more practical cushion is either Foam and down combination or an encased spring system wrapped in foam.
6. Springs- the seat support system should be either Eight-way tied springs or sinous spring. This supports the cushion and creates stablity and comfort over the long haul.
7. Legs- they should be an integral part of the frame, if it is a long sofa, a center leg would represent quality .
8. Fabric- choosing the right fabric will help make the piece look better longer. Synthetics or leather are going to give you the longest well maintained look. Many natural fibers, will absorb moisture, wear quickly and the sun will fade them. A tighly woven fabric will give you the best performance. Polyester or a blend of polyester and natural fibers, will be a strong, cleanable fabric choice and the fabric will with -stand direct sunlight.
9.Details- Check the quality of a ready made piece, look at the seams and welting. Make sure they are tight and straight. Check that the pattern is aligned, the welting is smooth, the skirt is on straight ( if there is one)
10. Care-No matter the price, maintaining your sofa by properly cleaning will ensure a long life. Check the cleaning instructions on the fabric to know how best to care for your piece. You should vaccuum regularly. Rotate cushions and condition your leather. If the information is not on the tag, ask the furniture sale person to pull out the specifictions ( also called specs) on the piece.
Then you can make an informed decision based on where the piece is going in your home, how much use it will get and what your budget is.
Below are some great websites and tools for helping you create and live large in your Living and Family room.
www.planyourroom.com - on line floor plan tool
www.roomandboard.com - website for upholstered pieces
www.stanleyfurniture.com - casegoods
www.westelm.com - contemporary furniture
Minimum of 12" between coffee table and sofa
Minimum of 30" walk way
Table lamps for reading- bottom of shade should be at shoulder height when seated.
Coffee tables should be two-thirds the length of the sofa
Hang a mirror or picture 8 to 10 inches above a sofa. Most people hang their artwork too high. The center of the ArtWork or mirror should be eye level to the average person. This is a general rule for hanging all mirrors or artwork throughout your home.
Hang your panel window treatments as close to the ceiling or molding to create visual height