Things to Consider When Setting Up Your Lounge

You may use your living room for many different purposes. While many people use their living rooms as the main gathering area for family, others prefer for them to be more of a showroom that is only used when entertaining guests. Regardless of how you use your living space, the possibilities of how to arrange your lounge’s designer furniture are endless.

We often find people making some very minor mistakes that may make their living rooms more cramped, cluttered or just may not be serving their true purpose. Ideally, your living space should be spacious enough to allow people to move around without bumping into furniture or each other, allow natural light to filter in and have enough space to add a TV and someplace for guests and family to sit. Let’s take a look at some things you should keep in mind when setting up your living room.

It’s all in the planning

As we always say, before setting out to buy any piece of furniture, thoroughly plan how your living space is going to be used. Take your measurements and chalk out where everything will go even before you start browsing for furniture. This will help keep you on track and you’ll have a better idea of exactly what will fit in the lounge and what won’t. Also think about all the spaces the furniture is likely to move through before making it to your living room, such as hallways and doorways. You wouldn’t want to return a sofa because it didn’t fit through your door!

Think about how you’ll use the space

Your furniture options will depend largely upon how you’re planning to use the space. More formal spaces can get away with using more luxurious fabrics and materials like pure leather and velvet, but for living spaces that are likely to be frequented by children and pets, materials that can be easily cleaned are the better choice. Think about where the TV will go (if there’s only one powerpoint in the room, you may not have much choice in the matter), how the sofas will be placed and how much seating you require based on the average footfall of the room. Every piece in the room should serve a function (yes, even the decor!)

Invest in the couch

The couch is likely going to be the one piece of furniture in your living room that is going to be used the most. In fact, studies have found that Australians spend an average of 50 days a year sitting on the sofa; that’s roughly 3.3 hours each day! Once you have determined how your space is going to be used and taken the appropriate measurements, it’s time to start looking for furniture, and the first piece you should be buying is the sofa. This is likely to be the focal point of your entire living room, and needs to be something that is going to stand the test of time. Take a look at our range of luxury yet practical designer lounge furniture and use our live chat feature to select the right option for you.

The right lighting changes the game

The biggest mistake people make when laying out the furniture in their living room is placing sofas right in front of a window. This can block a source of natural light, something that can help make your room look more open and spacious and simultaneously cozy and inviting. If your living room has a great view, why not make it the focal point of the room instead of facing the sofas away from it?

Don’t get much natural light in your living room? Consider adding some artificial lighting in the place, such as floor lamps, wall fixtures or even a chandelier. Place mirrors opposite any windows in the room where light can bounce off to make it appear brighter.

Area rugs shouldn’t be an afterthought

An area rug will not only help you define your seating areas and bring cohesion into the room, but will also protect your floors from scuff marks due to moving furniture. A major mistake many people make is choosing a rug that is too small for the space. If there’s one piece of advice we can give you regarding rugs, it’s “go big or go home”.

Ideally, all pieces of furniture should be on the rug. If this is not possible due to space constraints, at least the front legs of each piece of furniture should be placed on the rug. Small rugs can actually end up making a small room look even smaller. The style, shape and material of the rug is best left upto your own individual preferences and lifestyle. When choosing your lounge’s designer furniture, turn to Gainsville for an extensive collection of couches and sofas, occasional tables and rugs. Don’t have much of the interior decorator’s eye? Bring your floor plan into one of our Melbourne stores and let our experts help. Take a look at our carefully selected and curated collections for a more cohesive look to your living