Common Furniture Arrangement Mistakes

You’ve bought new furniture.  You’ve gotten your new furniture home.  Now you’re in your bedroom or living room or dining room, trying to place the pieces.  You’ve tried 10 different arrangements already and nothing looks right or feels right.  What gives?  There are several common mistakes people make when arranging furniture in their home.  Here we’ll take a look at a few of those.

• Did you measure the room before you bought the furniture?  The number one common mistake people make is in not measuring the room before buying.  New furniture is exciting, we absolutely agree but take the time to make sure that what you’re buying fits in your home.
• Are you balancing the room?  If all of the big pieces are crowded to one side of the room, it will be off-balance horizontally. If much of the furniture is either too bottom-heavy or too top-heavy, a room will be off-balance vertically.
• How many focal points do you have?  Often times, people will have more than one focal point which will throw off the room.  If a huge art piece is your focal point, don’t have a huge television sitting across the room from it.
• A common home decorating mistake is placing all pieces of furniture against the wall. Homeowners mistakenly think that doing so will make the room look larger. You can make the room look larger by placing some of the pieces in groups in the middle of the room. Experiment with your furniture arrangement and settle for the one that is best aesthetically as well as functionally. Try to achieve an airy and spacious atmosphere by moving those chairs from the corners and trying out different arrangements.
• Make sure traffic can flow easily through the room.  Don’t block doorways and make sure there’s plenty of space to walk around and through the room.
• Don’t try to do it all at once! Give yourself time to find what works best for you.  There’s no need to rush through placing your furniture and it will still take you a couple of tries to find the perfect fit even with these tips.

If you’re ready for some new furniture to place in your home, drop by our website or show room today!

Summer Ready Homes

Summer is fast approaching and while you probably made a few changes to your home décor to transition from winter to spring, there are also ways to transition from spring to summer.  Spring is full of nature and flowers and growth while summer is full of lazy, hazy days and (hopefully) bright sunshine and warmth.  It’s easy to make small changes to your home style to incorporate the summer haze.  Read on for some ideas!

• Replace your coffee table.  Lighten up your living room or den by storing your coffee table and replacing it for the summer with an ottoman big enough to store your stuff or something similar such as ceramic Chinese garden seats.
• Use new pillows or new pillowcases to brighten up your sunroom or living room.  Choose bright colors such as yellow or orange to incorporate the colors of summer and the sun.
• Toss your traditional vases and store your flowers in something else like a clear or painted glass jug, pitcher, mug or teacup.
• Bring your favorite piece of outdoor furniture inside – it’s an excellent way to bring in the outdoors in a non-traditional sense.
• Dress up your closets.  Wallpaper the inside of your closets to quickly spruce up and brighten a room or hallway.
• Try a nautical look to invoke the sea and sailing, both of which are representative of summer vacations.

There’s no shortage of ways to brighten up your home (and patio!) for the warm days of summer.  Stop by our store today to see what’s new and let us help you pick out the perfect summer look for your home!

Need a Little Inspiration for Your Child’s Room?

We’ve shown you some of the more…interesting trends of furniture that are currently out there but what about fun or intriguing kids’ furniture?  Your child is full of whimsy and imagination so why shouldn’t their furniture be too?  Here’s a look at some of the cooler pieces we found in our search for what can really capture the fun of being a kid.

Here’s some fun kids’ furniture made of foam in different animal shapes and other neat shapes.  Seems pretty indestructible as well as adorable!  (Source: http://mamasaidshop.typepad.com/mamasaid/2007/07/romping-animals.html)

Here we have a nest/cave built by a group who design children’s furniture to research how they play and work.  We really just like the eyes!  (Source:  http://www.projectsticky.com/blog/furniture/me-too-kids-furniture-by-magis/)

This Alice in Wonderland inspired piece is whimsical and functional – plenty of space for your child’s things and interesting enough they’ll want to play on it.  (Source: http://www.mlive.com/homeandgarden/index.ssf/2009/03/designers_add_a_touch_of_whims.html)

Having trouble getting your kids to stay in their own bed at night?  Why not get them a fun and unique bed they won’t want to leave? (Source: http://www.modernwomenworld.com/shopping/kids-beds.html)

Remember, when it comes to getting furniture for your children’s room, you can have both durability and fun.  Mix and match pieces that will be easy for you to work with and fun for them to have.  Stop by our store today to see what we have in stock!