In most cases this piece should face the rooms focal point. Chairs should be no more than 8 feet apart to facilitate conversation. Unless your room is especially small, avoid pushing all the furniture against the walls. ... 4. Consider Symmetry Symmetrical arrangements work best for formal rooms.
Circulation (the way one moves around a space), balance, emphasis and rhythm should all be considered next. From small to large-scale plans, formal to informal ones, find out which of these fail-safe living room arrangements is right for you. ... U-shaped living room arrangements expand on the traditional L-shape by adding extra pieces or by incorporating a U-shaped sofa (as in the above room by Katharine Pooley). A variety of individual furniture pieces can make up this type of living room plan a U-shaped sofa, two parallel sofas with armchairs or a bench at their head, a sofa with two chairs at either side and many more.
- Use furniture scale to define zones for lounging reading or games so that each area has a clear identity while still feeling part of the whole. Rectangular rooms often benefit from anchoring seating in the middle of the space and allowing circulation along the sides. Square rooms are friendly to symmetrical arrangements that place sofas opposite each other.
