The Top 5 Things To Consider When Positioning A Sofa

Your sofa is one of the most important furniture pieces in your living space and getting the positioning of it just right is important. The layout and positioning of your sofa and furniture in general can change the look, feel and flow of your space – so, it is important to get it right. 

At Oswald & Pablo, we are masters of sofa placement and we have a few tips and tricks for you to consider when deciding on the placement of your sofa. 

Contents 

1. Sofa Size 
2. Sofa Placement
3. Flow & Traffic
4. Purpose 
5. Furniture & Accessories

1. Sofa size

The dimensions of your room and of your sofa play a huge part in the positioning of your sofa. You don’t want small spaces to feel cramped, and alternatively, you don’t want large spaces to feel too open. 

If you are struggling for space, you should check out our small spaces guide, which provides the best ways to add a sofa to a small living space and how to get the most out of the room. 

If you have a room with no furniture, you ultimately have a blank canvas to work from. You should consider how many people will use the living space on a regular basis and cater the number of seats accordingly. 

Whether you opt for a sofa, multiple chairs, or a mixture of both is for you to decide, but you should take into consideration the available space and the number of seats needed. 

Due to their smaller size,  snuggle chairs, armchairs and wing chairs provide a lot more freedom in terms of positioning options in comparison to a sofa. 

Chesterfield sofas are typically larger in size, and this should be a consideration point when deciding the layout of the room. Your positioning options become limited as your furniture dimensions increase.

With corner sofas, you will find that the options are also limited unless you have a larger space to fill. This doesn’t mean that you can’t utilise the space to suit you and your needs – we have some handy tips for making the most of your corner sofa that we will touch upon later. 

2. Sofa Positioning 

This is what you came for! 

When it comes to sofa positioning, there are a few options for you to choose from depending on the layout of your room and the existing furniture that you have. 

Middle of the room

For corner sofas, you have a few options for positioning. The obvious choice will be in the corner of the room. This can transform the look of a room and give the space a flow (more of that later), or if you have more space to play with, you could place your corner sofa in the middle of the room as a central focal point. 

Corner sofas can elevate a room to new levels of sophistication if they are placed on top of a large rug. Make sure that your rug covers the full surface area of the sofa, including all of the feet. This will make the space feel luxurious and is ideal for breaking up larger spaces. 

Facing another sofa

Another option is to create a central focal point in the room by facing sofas towards one another. Having this central area is great for families and for those who want to prioritise socialising, or if you entertain guests regularly and want to have somewhere you can take guests after dinner. 

Whether you face two Chesterfield sofas towards each other, or if you opt for one sofa and two armchairs – you will create a central conversational area that you can build the rest of the room around. This is not always achievable in smaller rooms but can look brilliant in rooms with more space. 

Facing a focal point

If you find that your room is lacking focus, you should create a focal point – don’t worry, this is a lot easier than it sounds. Facing your sofa towards a mantlepiece or television is a great way to focalise a room and will give the space an added practicality. 

Consider lighting and windows

For rooms that have lots of natural light, it is worth facing your sofa towards the window. This will allow you to take advantage of the view and will ensure that no natural light gets blocked. 

If you do decide to do this, you should consider the material type of your sofa, as certain materials can fade if they are exposed to long periods of natural light. 

3. Flow and traffic 

Every room should have a natural flow and route of traffic. This sounds a lot more complex than it actually is. You should take into consideration the routes that people will take when they enter and leave a room. 

People shouldn’t have to squeeze through a small space past a sofa, so make sure that once you have found a suitable spot for your sofa that you check all of the available routes to and from the spot. 

If you have a coffee table, make sure that there is enough foot space between the sofa and table. This is often overlooked when arranging your sofa and can make a big difference to the flow of the room. 

You should also check for tripping hazards when positioning your sofa. Check for wires from lamps, furniture legs and any other items that can be tripped over when planning out the flow of your room. 

4. Purpose 

When arranging your sofa positioning, you should take into consideration the room and the main purpose of that room. 

For example, a sofa in a lounge is more for comfort purposes – you want to be able to sit back, relax and catch up on all the TV you’ve missed. If this is the case, you should create a focal point to the room and position your sofa towards the TV cabinet. 

If you are adding sofas to a room where the main purpose is socialising, you should consider positioning sofas towards one another. This will give people the chance to chat with one another comfortably, and you won’t be scrambling for the emergency chairs. 

5. Furniture and accessories

Changing the layout of your room can often mean that you have to rejiggle some of your other furniture and living accessories to recalibrate the room. 

For smaller rooms, you may have to move furniture to another place in your home to create space. Too much furniture in a room will make the space feel cramped and even smaller – so make sure to consider this if you are repositioning your sofa. 

Alternatively, you may need to add some furniture or accessories to break up larger rooms. Make sure that you take the balance of the room into account, as you don’t want one side of the room to be cluttered. 

If you take these five points into consideration when arranging your sofa, you are sure to create a living space that you are proud of. Why not check out our range of Chesterfield sofas at Oswald & Pablo today? Each and every one of our Chesterfield’s is handcrafted in our Manchester workshop from start to finish using locally sourced materials. The luxurious furniture pieces are designed to be comfortable, fashionable and to last all of your redecoration attempts. So, what are you waiting for? Browse the full range of bespoke Chesterfield sofas now.