Spring & A New Living Room Furniture Layout

Happy Spring Equinox, dear friends! It’s been a while, what have you been up to? 

In a world on fire, escapism has become my lifeline. Escapism and furniture shopping. I’ve been trying very hard to focus on the upside of things this winter and you can tell it was a rough one by the sheer amount of Facebook Marketplace furniture pieces I’ve added to our collection: twelve new dining chairs (in my defense, they are stunning), a new old sofa (also stunning), all of which I have no use or space for, two wingback armchairs, a secretary desk to serve as entryway catchall once refinished, and four rolls of vintage wallpaper with no idea where or how to use them. 

All of these stray pieces of furniture have somehow found their way into my basement, despite my better judgement. They were lovely, affordable, and the sellers highly motivated and willing to deliver – an irresistible combination for me. Clearly, my hoarding tendencies have returned, stronger than ever, and my attempts at self-improvement have, for the moment, stalled. 

With the addition of new furnishings, I’ve been forced to spruce up our basement and tweak our living room furniture layout a bit. It now includes one of the two new wingbacks and is the most efficient layout we’ve ever had (rough sketch below), born out of a fluke. We got the most beautiful Christmas tree last year – wide, dense and tall – and the only place large enough for it was the living room, which forced me to rethink our furniture placement. While the new arrangement is not symmetrical in the classical sense, it is visually balanced and makes the best use of our limited space as we can now comfortably seat 5-6 people in the living room, without bumping any guests. 

The fact that we’ve managed to fit five tables, three comfortable armchairs, a sofa, an ottoman, a highboy, a bench, a side chair and an entryway table in a room that’s roughly 12’x17′ is mind-boggling to me. Our living room has never been this packed with furniture, yet has never felt more spacious and comfortable. And if anyone wants some dining chairs, or a sofa, let me know! 😉