5 great reasons to float the furniture in your living room

By floating your furniture, you can make sure that you’re not obstructing any part of it, in fact, you’re opening it up for new uses and giving it a 360-degree purpose. For example, repurpose a side-table as a coffee table – its compact size makes it an ideal piece of furniture for small space living and allows for movement all around it. Up the practicality factor by adding storage beneath it or small decorative bowls on it for keys or other odds-and-ends – however you choose to dress it, by floating your side table, you’ve increased its usability from every angle.
 

Meanwhile, a floating sofa – particularly one with a high backrest–forms a sort of “hallway” between it and the wall, or whatever may stand behind it. With methods such as this, using smart furniture layouts and the proper placement of larger pieces, you can ease traffic flow in any room.

3. Divide the Space: Creating Designer Living Rooms

Along with delineating the traffic flow within a space, floating furniture can help you to create better definition in how the space functions by dividing and splitting different areas for different purposes. A common feature of designer living rooms is an open floor plan that has no segregation between the kitchen, dining area and entryway, as this makes your home feel more uncluttered and spacious. But if you want to make a few cosier spaces that allow you to retreat and not be accessible to the entire room at all times, then using floated furniture is one of the easier solutions that also gives you the option to make changes at any time.

While creating floating divisions within the room, try to use pieces that will not make the space seem smaller or darker – you don’t want to create a visual blockade, just make the space feel more cohesive and less disjointed. When floated, open shelving creates a peek-a-boo effect that provides a sense of privacy without blocking light and air-flow. Such a division can make a smaller space feel more put together, classy and appealing, since it doesn’t make your entire living room layout accessible all at once, but instead, allows visitors to gradually integrate into each space. By using open dividers or pieces that aren’t too tall, you can partition off specific zones within a room without losing the expansive charm an open floor plan offers.
 

While cables and other wiring makes installing the TV unit /entertainment unit on or against a wall a necessity, this need not hinder your seating set-up. You can arrange a low coffee table in the centre of your room with a floating sofa and chairs around it; have chairs that are light enough to move easily or that do not block your eye-line to the TV placed between your entertainment unit and the table. With the proper arrangement you’ll be able to create sufficient seating for both everyday comfort and for having guests over.

Of course, you could choose the above method of prioritising your conversation and seating arrangement, but conversely you could also make your entertainment unit the focus of the space and place all your seating facing towards it. This method holds true for a wide-sectional sofa, a heavy sideboard or even a large bookcase – by choosing one key piece to be the focal point, you can actually hide its in-built design restrictions and instead elevate it to a more appealing aesthetic.