FURNITURE ARRANGEMENT IN DIFFERENT ROOMS

FURNITURE ARRANGEMENT IN DIFFERENT ROOMS

The foremost rule in furniture arrangement is that the furniture should be bought keeping in mind the size and shape of the guestroom in which it will be used. The floor plan of the rooms should indicate where doors and windows are let into the walls. In guestrooms that do not have any architectural features, a focal point of interest can be created and the furniture grouped around it. Consider convenience as well as aesthetics. Whenever possible, the furniture planning in a room should accommodate more than one use. Making allowances for traffic patterns is also crucial to furniture arrangement. This can be easily achieved by studying the floor plan. Determine the traffic paths that cross it, that is, the ways in which people are apt to enter and leave the room.

While placing furniture, arrange the larger pieces first and then distribute the smaller ones in stages. Do not place any piece of furniture in such a way as to touch the wall; else it may leave lines of dirt or stains on the wall. On the other hand, it is unwise to let a piece of furniture too far out into the room, unless it is being used as a space divider.

Bedroom furniture is usually easier to arrange since the size of the bed usually dictates where it must be placed and everything must defer to it. Certain fundamental points to consider in furniture arrangement are given below.

·         Keep accessories in proportion to the furniture. For instance, a lampshade too big for a bedside table may not only look out of place, but may also topple off the table.

·         Keep furniture in proportion to the space. For instance, placing a three-seater sofa between two closely placed doors is not advisable aesthetically or functionally.

·         Use a blend of symmetrical and asymmetrical arrangements.

·         Place furniture with due regard for keeping ‘traffic spaces’ free. Consider placing larger pieces against a wall rather than in the middle of the open space in a room. One can also place furniture around a focal point of interest, perhaps a good painting or a fireplace.

Principles and Elements of design

In achieving an aesthetic arrangement of furniture, the following principles and elements of design need to be heeded:

·         Balance

·         Scale and proportion

·         Line

·         Colour

·         Texture

·         Rhythm

Furniture arrangement in Guestroom areas

Some points relating to the placement of furniture are given below, area by area:

·         ENTRANCE OR VERANDAH – This area should have a furniture arrangement that expresses warmth, cheer, and pleasantness. The furniture here may include a chair or two and a low table. Attention should be paid to the kind of material used, as not all materials will be suitable for verandas and entrances. These are ideal places to use cane, wicker, or painted wrought – iron furniture. These types of furniture have a lightweight feel in visual terms.

·         LIVING ROOM – The living room in larger guestrooms usually contains upholstered furniture to seat the maximum number of people who may occupy the room and one or more to accommodate guests. Each large chair should be within easy reach of a table on which an ashtray or refreshments may be placed, and should, if possible, face the door so that those entering the room can be seen and welcomed. Tall pieces of furniture should be placed parallel to a wall. Small chairs may be placed diagonally. Other furniture to be placed in this area are a television cabinet and sometimes a chest of drawers.

·         DINING AREA – In the rooms without a separate dining area, a large coffee table and a few chairs suffice for any meal served in the guestroom. Hotels can experiment with the furniture of bright cheerful colours for this grouping, in harmony with the colour scheme of the room.

·         BEDROOM – The usual set of furniture in a guest bedroom is a bed, two bedside tables, a dressing table, a chest of drawers, a coffee table, chairs, a luggage rack, and a writing table. Most economy guestrooms are primarily bedrooms with regard to their function. All furniture except the coffee table with its chairs and perhaps the bed are best placed against the wall.

·         KITCHEN – Some hotel guestrooms have a small kitchen, where usually modular cabinets are utilized as furniture. It is mainly storage furniture that is found in the kitchen, in the form of cabinets and basket drawers.

EXAMPLE:

HOW TO ARRANGE FURNITURE Position your furniture in a way that’s fun, functional, and fetching. You Will Need- A focal point And traffic paths Determine what purpose the space the furniture occupies has and the purpose of each piece of furniture. This will have an effect on how space might be divided up and furniture arranged. Some furniture may not belong in a given space. Measure the room and write down its dimensions. Do the same for your furniture. Make a flat scale drawing of the room using graph paper as if seen from above. (For example: 1 little square represents one quarter of a square foot [3"] and four of those equal one square foot.) You may want to shade the floor close to what is already there (beige if the carpet is beige) if there is a need to coordinate colors just make sure you can see the lines on your graph paper. Draw flat scale drawings of your furniture as if seen from above. Don't get too detailed. At the very least you need the size and shape in relation to the room; Color the piece if you think it's important and then label it. Take your scale drawing of the room's floor plan and rearrange the scale drawn pieces of furniture on it until you see a configuration you like and think works best for the space and furniture's purposes and traffic flow. Tape the pieces down with small pieces of tape (so that you can easily move them if you change your mind) and begin preparing to move your furniture into that configuration. 1. Place the Largest Pieces First The article notes: “The major piece for the primary activity of the room must be considered first — the sofa in the living room, the bed in the bedroom, the desk in the office. This piece in most cases should face the focal point of the room.”  2. Know the Focal Point of the Room Since the furniture should be arranged in light of the focal point of the room, this means that (a) every room should have a focal point and (b) you need to decide what that is. There can also be secondary and tertiary focal points. The furniture should be arranged to focus on the primary focal point, however. 3. Then, Place Pieces Relating to the Main Piece This gives a helpful ordering of priorities: Place the main piece(s) first, then the pieces relating to it. Note that it relates to purchasing furniture as well as placing it. You identify and purchase the main piece of furniture (say, the couch) first because that gives guidance to the rest of what you do. Often times there are many different directions which you can take when it comes to the secondary pieces. You are going to feel scattered — and the room will probably lack unity — if you try to obtain those pieces before knowing the color and style of the main piece. When placing the secondary pieces, remember whenever possible you should “keep pieces of similar scale together” and “try to balance pieces of furniture opposite one another.” For example, “a pair of upholstered chairs is visually more balanced across from a sofa than a pair of small scale occasional chairs.” 4. Add Accent Pieces for Secondary Activities Examples would be a reading corner in a bedroom or a kids play area in the family room. 5. Place your Furniture Where it Looks Best Well, that’s a bit too obvious. Sorry! 6. Guide Traffic Patterns Through Furniture Arrangement You can set up the furniture to create the traffic patterns you want to have. Also, “leave a minimum of two and a half feet for walkways and avoid flowing traffic through a conversational grouping if possible. Guide the traffic around the room’s perimeter to create a less disruptive environment.” Don't overload it. Don’t overload rooms with furniture. Not only do rooms appear larger and cleaner when they’re less cluttered, but studies show they make people feel more relaxed.