Tips on Rearranging Furniture

Think About Functionality

• The furniture that you have and where it's placed should create a functional room. Think about how you use the space and how moving furniture around would be an improvement -- or cause a problem. For example, moving a coffee table from the living room to another room leaves you with a living room that's not as functional. Being practical about what you'll be putting in a room is just as important as how the room looks.

Draw a Plan

• Sketch a floor plan of how you would like to move furniture around, even if just on paper, before you rearrange the room. A floor plan, which you can also create using a free online program, is a top view of the placement of everything that you want in the room, such as a bed, chair, sofa, television and accessories. Drawing a floor plan can help you visualize what your room will look like before you start moving heavy items around. It's much easier to change your plans on paper than it is to keep on moving furniture.

Clear the Space

• Remove everything in the room and place it in another area before you start rearranging your furniture. Clearing the room gives you more space to work with and makes moving things around easier. By removing all the furniture from the room and slowly putting it back piece by piece, you may discover that you actually had too much in the room to begin with. Likewise, you may realize that you don't have enough furniture and need to add some new pieces.

Start With the Large Pieces

• Rearrange your room beginning with the largest furniture pieces. Items such as a sofa, dinner table, entertainment unit and a bed are usually the focal point of a room and therefore, their placement is the most important. Continue on to smaller furniture such as side and coffee tables and chairs. Lastly, decorate by putting accessories such as picture frames and potted plants in place.