How to Design Your Living Room Chairs

Start with What You Have

• 1

  Create a floor plan by measuring the length and width of your living room in feet and inches. Use a metal measuring tape and include doors and windows. Draw the outline of your room on grid paper, with two squares (or approximately 1/2 inch) equal to 1 foot. Include part of your dining room or entrance if they are attached, to get the "big picture."

• 2

  Measure the existing furniture. Draw free-hand (or with a ruler) the shapes that represent your tables, sofa and chairs, as they are located in the space. On the graph paper, these are simple rectangles, ovals and circles.

• 3

  Lay the tracing paper on the graph paper and draw the outline of the room again. Redraw your furniture to improve the layout and accommodate new or replacement chairs. Leave at least 24 inches between furniture, and 36 inches for two people to pass each other. Determine how many new chairs will fit on your floor plan and how big they will be, based on the space you have.

Look for Something New

• 4

  Sketch your new chairs as 1 inch to 1 1/2 inch rectangular shapes to represent 24 inch to 36 inch (both width and depth) chairs. Leave extra space behind rocking chairs and around swivel chairs. Take photographs of the furniture you have and print them. Clip out and tag pictures of chairs and fabric in magazines and on-line. Spread everything you have drawn and collected on the sheet of poster board, including your own furniture.

• 5

  Trace shapes and styles that you like from the collected images. Create new chairs from two or three different designs. Notice the similarities in shape among your choices. Likewise, pay attention to contrast. Use tracing paper and markers (or colored pencils) to draw over and color your designs; play with solids and patterns. What your eye wants to see is even gradations of contrast. The trick is not to go to extremes.

• 6

  Select your favorites from this collection of new, found and existing furniture. Consider the texture of wood, plastic, metal - even stone. Mix hard and soft materials Metal and mohair is a good example of extreme contrast. A more even gradation is wood and mohair, as is metal and leather. Some chairs have open arms and backs. Document your observations and ideas.

Design the Perfect Chairs

• 7

  Prepare your collection of pictures, colors and fabric to be tacked down. Consider their relationship to each other. This sample board is a work in progress. Look for even steps of gradation when contrasting style, color, texture and size. Fasten your images down using a glue stick or double-sided tape for heavier samples. Include your sticky notes.

• 8

  Become a chair expert. Visit showrooms and sit in every chair that appeals to you. Recognize the difference between styles and how they function. Research what people like most about their favorite chairs. Notice details that lend a sculptural look or functional purpose to a design. If you're so inclined, take a woodworking or upholstering course to learn the tricks of the trade.

• 9

  Source your newly designed living room chairs. You can have it built from scratch, modify an existing chair, or purchase "ready made." This can be quite economical if you purchase second-hand or reupholster. Look for shops that will take your ideas and make them a reality. Designers must be flexible. You can give your living room the lift it needs by using your own creativity.