Where to Position Your Sofa

August 19, 2024

If you want to breathe fresh life into your living room, we invite you to look through our selection of stylish and comfortable sofas. As you’ll quickly see, our family-owned and operated gallery in Fort Wayne, IN is where you’ll find sofas in many styles. The inherent variety in our sofa inventory ensures we have a sofa that will complement your aesthetic perfectly.

In many cases, the sofa is the largest piece of furniture in the room where it’s placed, with sofas in bedrooms being possible exceptions. Given that most other pieces will be dwarfed by the size of a sofa, it’s likely that you’ll want to position your sofa before you place your other furniture.

As a general rule, sofas are often positioned so that they face the focal point of the room they’re in. When a room doesn’t have a main point of focus, it can be a challenge to determine the best position for your sofa. Keeping a few things in mind can make the task of positioning your sofa much easier, however.

Visual Balance

With most sofas being on the large side, it’s important that you avoid putting the piece in a place that will make a room look unbalanced. You can ensure your room will remain visually balanced by placing furniture of equal weight across from your sofa. For example, you may want to position two sizable chairs or a large coffee table across from your sofa.

Traffic Flow

Whenever you’re arranging furniture, it’s vital to keep traffic flow in mind. You don’t want to make your living room a space that’s akin to an obstacle course so position your sofa and other pieces of furniture in a manner that allows people to travel through and around the room easily. A rule of thumb is to leave at least three feet of space between pieces so that your guests can navigate the space without worrying about bumping into anything.

Floor Plan

If your home has an open floor plan, it may be difficult to determine where one space ends and another begins. The proper positioning of a sofa can help define where your living area starts and make the space distinct from other areas such as your kitchen. Simply position your sofa so that its back faces the adjoining area and its front is in the direction of your living area.

Spatial Illusions

Too often, people make the mistake of placing their furniture along the walls of a room. While you may not have any other choice if your living room is small, you have the chance to create the illusion of a space that looks and feels larger and airier if you can pull your sofa just 12 inches or so away from the wall.

Amenities

Does your living room have amenities like a fireplace, a large window with a view or a television? If so, positioning your sofa may be as easy as putting it across from or close to one of them.

Discuss Options With Design Experts

If you need help figuring out where you should put your sofa, contact Fairfield Galleries to schedule a complimentary consultation with our design team today!