Designing and laying out a floor plan in your house...
Floor Plan Design & Layout: What You Need to Know
Designing and laying out a floor plan in your house is all about balancing function and form. Are you creating a space that’s comfortable for you on a daily basis? Should you cater to visual appeal for guests? The answer to both of these questions is “yes!”
There aren’t any rules set in stone for setting up a space, but there are a handful of best practices and guidelines you can follow to strike that balance between comfort and aesthetics. The following tips will allow you to develop a space that reflects your personality and sense of style.
Here are a few basic principles and ideas that you can use to assemble the pieces and parts of any room in your home, and turn them into a floor plan that you’re happy with!
Focal Points
A major aspect of any room is the focal point, whether it is physically part of the room (such as a fireplace) or needs to be moved into the room (like a hutch or armoire). You’ll want a signature piece or space that draws the eye and serves as the central point for the other elements in the room to float around or point to.
Consider the various traffic paths that people take in, out, and across rooms. You should try to avoid blocking or hiding your focal points, making sure the furniture and areas are open enough to allow people to access and interact with the focal point organically.
Color Palette
Color plays an important role in the aesthetic dynamic of a room, particularly when contrasting lights and darks between flooring, walls, rugs and furniture. When selecting a color palette for your room, keep in mind that simple is best. You should have a primary color throughout your entire home, with pops of accent, if you’d like, that do not take away from your room’s focal point. Neutral whites and greys are best for complementing other aspects of your room such as a window, art or a large piece of furniture.
The less attention you draw to your primary color palette, the more at ease you and your guests will feel in the room.
Furniture
Deciding which furniture should go in a room is one of the more challenging elements of room design and layout. Make sure you don’t choose a piece of furniture solely for its style, however. As with most things in your home, curating furniture should be a balance of practical comfort and visual appeal.
Although some pieces can be pricey, you should never opt for cheaper furniture. Invest in high-quality furniture that will stay in tact for the long-term. No one like sitting on an uncomfortable chair or couch!
A major tip here is to avoid overcrowding your space. Allow your furniture to breathe by spacing them out from one another and buying only a handful of well-crafted pieces that complement your floor, walls, rugs and color palette. Go for diversity in your furniture choices as well — balance rectangle-shaped pieces with round ones and vice versa. It’s all about mixing variety with cohesiveness.
Lighting
As you prepare to light your room, it’s important to consider two overarching elements: ambiance and functionality. Try balancing lamps and overhead lights, different wattages and bulbs as well as cold vs. warm lighting. Find the correct amount of light required to properly illuminate the room, while creating an organic, inviting vibe.
A basic rule of thumb is lighter colors make a room seem bigger and brighter, while darker ones shrink the feel of rooms. If you use lighter colors on your walls they’ll reflect light and create a sense of openness. Darker colors will do the opposite, absorbing any light on their surface and decrease the perceived surface area in a space.
Just as with colors and furniture, you’ll want to choose how to highlight your focal point through lighting. Stray away from uniformity in lighting. Instead, mix it up with points of interest, such as lamps and table lighting, that pique interest in your focal point.
Seating
Separate from tables, chairs, armoires, bookshelves, and cabinets, you will want to be strategic about the seating arrangements in your room. A common formation involves creating a “U” or “L” shape surrounding your focal point, allowing for easy, natural foot traffic flow and plenty of sitting space for legs and arms.
Mix things up with furniture types as well. Experiment with different combinations of small and larg pieces — think couches, loveseats, stools and chairs. Make it easy for guests to know where to sit, whether that’s through grouping pieces together or creating a clearly outlined seating area using rugs, barriers or floor coverings.
Rugs and Floor Coverings
Rugs are wonderful additions for your floor, not only for comfort and style, but they also visually anchor your furniture, creating a clear hierarchy and accessible layout. When it comes to sizing, maks sure your rug is big enough that the edges completely surround and outline any groups of furniture, enveloping everything, including the back feet.
If you’re working with an open floorplan, rugs are essential for creating an inviting environment that looks and feels intentional. Try using a rug to outline your seating area’s territory in the room. Without a rug, furniture sitting in an open floor plan feels disorganized and untethered from other elements in the room. Remember, rugs are a valuable tool to tie a room together, creating bridges from one area to another as well as defining borders within an area.
Although this can all be tedious work, designing and laying out your room can be one of the most beneficial and inspiring projects you can do to liven up your home. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, shop around and find the right blend of practicality and style.
Interior design isn’t a science, it’s an art. In the end, your home or apartment is yours to design. Try new things, move pieces around, re-paint those walls, redo those floors. There are endless possibilities and combinations that you can make your own as you work to create personal space that works for you and your family!
Looking for inspiration?
A great example of blending style and practicality is the most recent Whole Home Project! In 2021, Acme partnered with House Beautiful to curate and install floors in this brand new “dream home” located in Fredericksburg, Texas.