As any homeowner knows, the living room is a major focal point of the home. From family gatherings throughout the year to sitting back and watching TV together at the end of a long week, the living room is often a home’s social center for family and friends alike.

That being said, furniture placement can distract from such gatherings, affecting the comfort and functionality of the room.

Here are some mistakes to avoid when it comes to arranging your living room furniture:

Forgetting the focal wall.
A focal wall is the first place the eye comes to rest when entering a room. While not every living room has a focal wall, if yours does, you don’t want to pass it up. Set up the furniture so that most of the seating is facing or angled toward the wall you’ve pegged as the focal wall. A fireplace, mounted TV or picture window are natural places to have a focal wall.

Too much furniture.
Don’t clutter your living room with too much furniture. The couch should be the biggest piece in the room and should get the focus it deserves.

Start by pushing everything else out of the way in order to see where the sofa fits the best. Then bring in smaller pieces of furniture to complement the sofa.

Adding furniture you don’t use.
After arranging the furniture so that it works well in the space, don’t add nonessential items to the living room that aren’t used on a day-to-day basis. For example, don’t let a small side table or a chair that’s rarely used take up space for the sake of filling up the area.

Extra furniture is a good thing to have when friends and family visit, but it doesn’t have to take up space in a living room every day if it isn’t used on a consistent basis.

Keeping everything.
When moving from one home to another, some people put the same furniture in their new living room simply out of habit. Even if the room is the same size as the old one, it doesn’t always make sense to incorporate the same furniture into the space.

If you recently moved into a new home”or have a move on the horizon”it’s important to consider how much you use something before integrating it into your living space. Surface areas such as coffee tables, side tables and desks may not be needed as often as you think. In the same vein, storage areas such as cabinets and trunks may not be opened for years but will ultimately take up valuable space in the family’s main gathering place.

A couch against the wall.
Pushing a couch against a wall can be the easiest way to set up the living room, but it may not create as much space as you think. Instead of simply pushing the couch against the wall, try pulling it out at least 12 inches. This will create some space, which will ultimately make the room feel bigger.

While pushing the couch against the wall may be a good idea if you’re looking to get it out of the way, it can create a lot of dead space in the middle of the room. No matter your style, take the time to think outside the box and try something newand see what happens.

Published with permission from RISMedia.