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ARE YOU FAILING FOCAL POINT?
What is the first thing you see when you look into your living or family
room? If it’s a jumble of wires hanging from the side view of your TV,
you are failing focal point.
Every room needs a center of attention that draws the viewer in, around
which furnishings and accessories play a supporting role. Some rooms
have a fireplace or an expanse of windows opening to a beautiful view,
or some rooms have both. How do we place our furnishings in relation to
these focal point(s)?
If your room has a fireplace, but unremarkable windows, then be sure it
has enough drama to attract a viewer. If it looks drab, consider
resurfacing the front with stucco, stone, ceramic or marble tile. If
it’s too puny, you could box it in with plywood, add moldings and a
mantle, then paint or stain it.
Add a large artwork over the mantle that covers at least two-thirds of
the mantle width, and comes fairly close to the 8 foot ceiling. Use a
large mirror if you like, but only if it reflects something beautiful,
and not just ugly ceiling vents.
Now you might want to place your sofa directly across from the
fireplace, and then add a chair or two at right angles to the sofa arms,
so that you have a “U” shape. If it were a very large room, you would
add another setting on either side of the sofa area. It could be a game
table or secretary on one side, and a credenza against the opposite
wall, flanked by occasional chairs, and topped with more art and tall
lamps.
If you have great windows and a fireplace, and a TV, you now have three
focal points. This calls for more careful placement of furniture, and
the understanding that not every seat will get the full view of each
one.
When redesigning a room such as this, the best solution, even in narrow
rooms, usually involves placing the sofa and chairs at angles, so that a
person may view the TV, and have side views of the rest. Remember that
TV can be comfortably viewed from a chair that is placed at an angle.
Just keep in mind how many people actually watch TV at the same time.
For example, my family room has a TV and two flanking cabinets angled
into the right corner, so that the center of the TV lines up directly
with the corner. The fireplace is centered on the adjacent wall, and
three adjoining windows view the backyard on the third wall. I placed
one sofa across from the TV at a corresponding angle, and another sofa
is placed at a right angle to the first sofa. A wing back recliner
completes the “U” shape, but the whole configuration is at an angle to
the rectangular shaped room. So we can see the TV, and part of the
fireplace and backyard depending on the chosen seat.
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