S/O Furniture shouldn't be shoved against walls

TheWop

So...I saw Tarheels reply "furniture shoudn't be shoved against walls".  Do people feel the same way in small homes?  I have no idea what we would do with our furniture if we didn't "shove it against a wall" because our house is small.  I think our home would feel smaller if we didn't have couches, tv stands, and buffet tables against the wall and everything was floating in the middle of the room.  I see people post things here and there about furniture against walls and how much of a nest sin it is.  Thoughts? 

 

Pamela05

If my couch was not against the wall, there would be no room in my living room.  I do have my love seat floating as a divider between the living and dining area.  I understand the concept and it works in large rooms, but doesn't for small ones.

xmaryrickx

I think it's situational. In small rooms is likely not practical to float all I your furniture. I know I would love to float our sofa in our family room but while the room is large it's very narrow and it wouldn't work. Same with our living room. Odd shape that would making walking impossible. I do often look at rooms and think that the furniture needs to be pulled away from the walls, but eh to each their own.

krennersds

I have a small home but a floating couch still works better for us because of the layout of our living room. Previously we had our couch shoved up against the wall, but our front door opens along that wall so it was always in the way. We also used to have our kitchen table up along a wall, but there was the same issue... The door into the kitchen and the door onto the deck were both right on that wall and by putting the kitchen in the center of the kitchen we created a sort of hallway.

I was nervous about the space issue with the floating couch at first but now I actually really enjoy sitting on the couch and being in the living room... I realized I hated being in there before because my roommates would always wander in the front door, walk in front of me, and it was just distracting. Now I sort of feel like I'm in a separate room, and I don't care about the traffic behind the couch.  

HesitantBride

I also think it depends on the size of the room.  Our house is super tiny.  In our living room, our couch is up against the window wall, and I have one piece of furniture--a chair--that is floating and helps to define a pathway from the front door to the rest of our small house.  I would really LOVE to be able to put a console table behind the couch and style that table, but it just doesn't work. 

I think when you have small rooms you are really limited in terms of layout possibilities.

TarHeels&Rebels

Her room is 19x14 - she has the room to pull it off the wall. But if we're talking about a 10x10 room, then no, of course there's nowhere else to put it. 

TinyTRex321

I had the post below. I wasn't planning on shoving it against the wall but using a wall to guide where it is and have it out some but still close to the wall. I want the room to feel open to the breakfast room so I don't want the space where there isn't a wall to be blocked off a lot. Now I'm thinking maybe it won't matter from what you guys have said and I'll see about pulling the furniture out more.

To OP sorry for hijacking your post! 

 

MrsMelB

I'm weirdly OCD about space and have always put it up against walls. Unless the room is shaped to where you have a couch and an end table behind it with walking space behind that, I don't really see it too often. Mine are usually up against walls.

juno

Ha!  I don't have a room in my house larger than 11x12 (maybe the living dining room, which is one 11x24 room, but we treat it as two separate spaces).  The only thing not on a wall is the dining room table, and it's in the way all the time because it blocks the kitchen door.  If I could figure out a way to slam that up against the wall and still use it, I'd do that too!

wealldeservepretty

I think it's contingent upon so many factors - i.e. the style of the home, the size of the room, the functionality, etc.  You also see how it looks when it's all laid out -- if you don't like it, you can always change it, but if it's functional for you, and pleasing to your eye, then it's all good.

TheBridesMom

wealldeservepretty:

I think it's contingent upon so many factors - i.e. the style of the home, the size of the room, the functionality, etc.  You also see how it looks when it's all laid out -- if you don't like it, you can always change it, but if it's functional for you, and pleasing to your eye, then it's all good.

 

This.

We have a small family room, and it actually wound up working better for us to float the sofa (and now our current sectional.  We do have things against the walls, but not everything.  It makes it feel like it is more spacious.

 

Even when there isn't room to really float furniture, I still think it looks weird smacked up to the walls, unless it is bookshelves.  Kind of like a furniture firing line or something.  Just a few inches can make a big difference.

hippie4yahweh

Our LR is pretty small so the majority of our furniture is against the walls just because there's no where else to put it. But I skipped a (probably more comfy) loveseat for 2 small scale chairs that I float, l think the room feels cozier and less awkward (not by much because it's just an awkward space, but a little!)

egs_sweetness

I wouldn't be able to walk thru my house if some pieces weren't against walls!