Optimizing Your Living Room: How to Choose the Right Rug, Sofa, and Furniture Layout
Have you ever ordered beautiful pieces of furniture for your living room, only to find that when you finally put them together… something just feels off? Laying out a living room feels like it should be easy, but it’s harder than it looks because no living room or family is the same.
For some living rooms, one logical layout makes the most sense, but more often, you have a few options and just have to choose what works best for your family. There are a few general tips and rules we use that really help.
At Rochelle Cote Interior Design (RCID), we’re a group of experienced interior designers focused on high-end residential interior design, so we’ve spent a lot of time designing living rooms. Here’s some advice and general rules on how we approach optimizing a living room layout.
Step One: Choose the Right Rug
A rug pulls a living room together. They are practical and beautiful, and can even act like a statement piece of art, bringing in color, pattern and shape into the room. For living rooms specifically, they have to withstand a lot between dirty shoes, pets, kids, and the occasional spilled coffee.
RUG LAYOUT RULE: Your area rug should be large enough for at least the front legs of the sofa and all chairs to rest on top of it.
● Rug Size: Choosing a rug that's too small is a very common mistake. At the very least, the front legs of your sofa and chairs should sit on the rug. Try to leave 8 to 18 inches of bare floor around the edges of the rug and always use a rug pad.
● Pile height (thickness): Pile thickness is the height of the rug. A low pile (short/thin) rug is easier to vacuum and keeps your coffee table nice and steady. A high-pile (thicker) rug feels wonderful on bare feet, but furniture legs can sink into it and can wobble, and it can also collect crumbs/dirt in high-traffic areas.
● Pattern: Textured and patterned rugs are great for hiding stains and dirt. If you are set on a light colored rug, pattern and texture can help.
● Rug Material:
Wool:
■ Pros: Soft, plush, highly durable, naturally stain-resistant, and eco-friendly
■ Cons: Expensive upfront investment, sheds loose fibres initially.
Natural Plant Fibers (Jute & Sisal)
■ Pros: Affordable, naturally textured, sustainable, biodegradable, and sturdy.
■ Cons: They can be scratchy on bare feet and don't like moisture. Skip them if you have toddlers or a puppy.
Synthetics (Polypropylene & Nylon)
■ Pros: Affordable, stain and water-resistant, easy to clean, and durable.
■ Cons: Can flatten over time, can lack the authentic luxury feel of natural fibres.
Viscose and silk-look rugs
■ Pros: Beautiful, lustrous sheen and silky soft texture
■ Cons: Less durable. Better for low-traffic rooms.
Step 2: Scale The Sofa Correctly
Your sofa is generally the biggest piece in both size and investment. So, it's worth getting it right.. Save yourself the hassle of ordering the wrong one and having to return such a big and heavy piece of furniture by making the right choice the first time. Have an interior designer draw the sofa or sectional in the space for you using autoCAD.
SOFA LAYOUT RULE: If possible, don't push your sofa flat against the wall (give it at least 3-5 inches of breathing room)
● Measure the room and the entrance: A good general rule is that your sofa should take up about two-thirds of the wall. Go much bigger, and the room feels crowded; go much smaller, and it looks tiny. Also measure your doorways, building elevator, or stairwell to make sure you can get the sofa into your living room in the first place.
● Seat depth: If you want something to lounge in, find a couch with deeper seats. If you want something more upright for reading and hosting, a shallower seat is better. It's worth trying a few different sofas in a showroom to get a feel for different depths and to see what you like best.
● Legs: Sofas with exposed legs let you see the floor underneath, making the room feel lighter and more open. A sofa that sits low to the ground, or without legs, feels cozier and more relaxed, but it can look heavy in a small space.
● Fabric: Performance fabrics are our first recommendation for any home with kids or pets, since they resist stains. Leather is durable and gets better with age, though it can feel cold in the winter and sticky in the summer. Velvet is having a big moment, and it's a good choice if you want a bit of richness. The fabric options are limitless, but some are definitely better than others (especially if you have kids and pets).
● Sectional or sofa? This all depends on what you want to use it for. If you have a large space and want something to lounge in, a sectional is great for defining a seating area in an open room. In a smaller or more formal space, a sofa paired with accent chairs is easier to get around and feels more balanced.
General Rules for Optimizing Your Layout
Living rooms are rarely one-size-fits-all. There are usually a few layouts that would look great, and it’s up to you to decide what works best for how you will use the space. With that being said, there are few general rules and guidelines that can help bring your space together.
● Layout Rule #1: Float the sofa if you can. If possible, don't push your sofa flat against the wall. Pull it off 3-5 inches if possible to give the space more breathing room.
● Layout Rule #2: Keep your seating close, but not too close. Give at least 30-36 inches of walkway between large furniture pieces; in tighter spaces, allow at least 20 inches. Furniture should be near enough that you can chat without raising your voice. We always allow 20’ from the coffee table to the sofa or chair.
● Layout Rule #3: Get the coffee table right. Try to leave 20 inches between the sofa and the coffee table. Aim for a coffee table at least half the length of your sofa, at or just below seat height.
● Layout Rule #4: Arrange accent chairs. The person sitting should face the sofa or sit at an angle to it. Leave enough walkway for people to move around, and pick chairs with slim legs and open arms if space is tight.
● Layout Rule #5: Give every seat a place to set things down. Side tables should be about the height of the sofa arm, or a couple of inches lower so they are close enough to set a drink down. Mix materials, like a wood side table next to an upholstered chair, to add dimension without clutter.
● Layout Rule #6: Layer lighting. Do not rely on overhead lighting. Mix in a couple of table and/or floor lamps at different heights to totally change a room's feel. Ideally, make sure the shade of your floor lamp is covering the bulb when you are sitting down.
One Last Tip
Before you start buying furniture for your living room, get an interior designer to do the layout for you! Or use painter's tape to mark the footprints of your rug and furniture on the floor to get an idea of spacing. This is a great exercise to get a feel for things before you commit to anything.
If you'd like a hand optimizing your living room, we'd love to help. Rochelle Cote Interior Design specializes in furniture layouts and sourcing.
Get in touch and tell us what you have in mind.
