6 Rules for Arranging Furniture Like a Design Pro

Sometimes, the hardest part of designing and decorating the spaces in your house is figuring out what to put where. And arranging furniture to suit your space can feel a little bit like a very expensive game of Tetris, where you’re looking for just the right way to situate everything to make it look—and feel—like home.

Fortunately, the design pros have a set of rules—everything from how close you should situate your furniture to how big your rug should be—to ensure the rooms in your home look and feel as beautiful and comfortable as possible. So do a little shuffling and rearranging following these rules, and get the stylish space you seek.

Think About How You’ll Use the Space

You’ll want to make your design choices based on how you’ll actually use the space. For example, if you tend to eat in your living room, choose lower side tables around your living room seating to make it easier to drop your drinks and snacks there. And if you want to put your feet up at the end of the day, you’ll want to sneak a stool or coffee table a bit closer to your sofa. Leave Enough Room for People to Move

People shouldn’t have to shimmy past the furniture in your home, so make sure that you leave clear pathways around your furniture.

The amount of space you should leave, however, varies. For high traffic areas, Rosanna Bassford of Memmo Interiors likes to leave three to four feet of space, but a smaller space—like two to three feet, in between furniture and in lower traffic areas. “For example, if your sofa backs up to a major walkway from one room to another, be sure to leave plenty of space,” she says. “I like to plan at least three feet of space around a dining table for the dining chairs to be comfortably pulled out.”

In bedrooms, Helft recommends four feet of clearance around the bed, if possible, to allow for easy movement.

Hang Artwork Lower Than You Think

An across-the-board concern for designers: most people are placing their artwork way too high on their walls. Goldberg advocates for placing it at gallery height, about 57 inches high, while Helft varies art placement. “Artwork is supposed to be eye level, which is usually around 55 inches from the floor,” she says. “Over sofas, it needs to go slightly lower—you need to be able to see it while you’re sitting on the sofa. The bottom of the artwork should be 10 inches above the top of the seat back.”

Break a Large Room Into Smaller Spaces

You don’t want to spread out your furniture too much. So if you’re lucky enough to have a larger open living area, use rugs and furnishings to help break that into smaller spaces. Helft likes to create a separate game space with a small table and a pair of chairs that’s outside of the main conversation area—but you could also transform a cozy corner into a reading nook, crafting space, or a little office.

Size the Rug Right

When you’re choosing area rugs, make sure that you choose one large enough to fit the space appropriately. That means that for a conversation area in the living room, all of the seating and tables should at least have the front two legs on the rug. In a dining area, you want to ensure that everyone can slide their chairs out and still have all of the legs completely on the rug—you don’t want someone accidentally tipping a chair if your rug is too plush and their chair legs end up off the rug.

Remember That Rules Are Made to Be Broken

Yes, it’s a little bit of a cheat, but even the most common interior design rules around furniture arranging are made to be broken, depending on the unique aspects of your own space and how you plan to use it.

“It’s okay to break the rules on occasion to give a space a custom feel and represent the homeowner,” Goldberg says. “It’s dependent on the space and the heights of our clients, as we want everything to function best for those who live there. And if there is a piece you love, find a way to make it work in the space.”