Please know that these “mistakes” have nothing to do with your style or personal taste and they have zero to do with how expensive your furnishings are. This is most definitely not a critique of anyone’s personal preferences. I get so many questions around “what is wrong with my living room?” that I thought I would put the 3 most common issues together in one post.
These pointers are not meant to add pressure on you to change anything in your home. But if you don’t like the way your living room currently feels, check these three things first. Here are three common mistakes I see people making in their living rooms.
Improper spacing of furniture
I see this everywhere.
It’s either too close (the coffee table is practically kissing the couch), or its too far apart (all the furniture is against the walls). Here’s some useful info to help you with your furniture arrangement.
- Ideally, the coffee table should be around 18″ from the couch. Enough for decent leg room yet close enough to be able to put down drinks and appetizers. A coffee table that is too far from the couch (or anchor piece of furniture) is a useless piece of furniture.
- Furniture should be placed in the room so that when seated, people are no more than eight feet apart from each other. This is called a conversation arc. When furniture is placed too far apart it discourages conversation and people feel disconnected from one another.
Unless that’s your goal, lol keep the furniture within the conversation arc.
Wrong size area rug
I’ve seen this in million dollar homes and one hundred thousand dollar homes, it seems folks from all economic backgrounds need a little help in this area. Here’s the general rule:
- Your area rug should be big enough so that the front legs of your living room furniture are able to rest on the rug by at least 6-8 inches. Keep in mind the ‘conversation arc’ mentioned above when determining how large your rug should be. Most living rooms need an area rug that’s at least 8’x10′.
- When there is floor space between your furniture and the rug, the room can feel disconnected and uncomfortable. When the front legs of your furniture are resting on the rug it brings a sense of balance and coziness to the room.
The proper size area rug for this room. Photo: Decoholic.org
Artwork hung too high
I have racked my brain trying to figure out why people have a tendancy to hang artwork so high and I cannot figure it out! lol Here is the general rule for hanging artwork in your home:
- The middle of your artwork should be at eye level, around 60″ from the floor.
- If you’re hanging multiple pieces of artwork, i.e. a gallery wall, arrange the artwork on the floor and find the middle point, that middle point should be around 60″ from the floor. That’s it! Super simple.
Now, having said all that, remember, please remember, that your home is your home. Do with it as you please! Rules were made to be broken and your home is a fun place to throw all the rules out the window and do what you want.
If you have any questions or comments about these common mistakes I would love to hear from you!
Blessings on your home,
Catrina
