Dwell On This: Float Your Furniture

There’s a game we all play when we move into a new home, and that’s Tetris—although instead of vivid polygons, the moving pieces are sectional sofas and coffee tables. I’m a regular player even after settling in, shifting furniture around whenever there’s a new piece to add to the home or simply to refresh the look and feel of a room. My wife says my tell is a distant gaze that says, "He’s in his happy place."

The next time you’re in your happy place, try floating your furniture off the walls.

Yes, our natural inclination is to arrange larger pieces of furniture—like a sofa, desk, or floor lamp—right up against the wall. This opens up the center of the room and subscribes to the popular notion that an open space is a better one. We’re here to tell you that it’s not only okay to move furniture away from the walls, but that positioning them more dynamically toward the center may reveal a layout that’s easier to move around, more intimate and engaging, and more aesthetically pleasing.

Start by planting your sofa, or another hefty piece like a bookshelf, perpendicular to a nearby wall and toward the center of the room. Use a rug as a visible border and to help delineate space as you furnish the area. Floating furniture offers more bang for the proverbial buck, creating a room-within-a-room effect and freeing up space around the perimeter for house plants, console tables, and other decorative items. 

As I once advised a friend who was nervous about pulling their furniture away from the safety of their walls: You only learn to swim by letting go of the edge.