When an object is floating, it isn’t anchored to anything— or at least it doesn’t appear to be.
Of course, furniture can’t really float in the air, but there are ways to make it appear as if it’s “floating”. One way is to attach furniture pieces to the wall so that it appears to be floating above the ground. The other way is the opposite: furniture sits on the floor, but not up against the wall.
Floating the furniture in your home can have many benefits. It can be done in every room of your home, but the living room is the most popular room to float furniture. Here are the benefits of floating furniture and how to float the furniture in your living room.
Why You Should Float Your Living Room Furniture
#1: Better Traffic Flow
Having your sofa on every wall in your living room gives it a “boxed-in” feeling, and almost every area of your living room is essentially open. When you float your furniture, you have the opportunity to create a single flow of traffic from one end to the other.
#2: Create Intimacy
When all of your seating is placed against the walls, you’re farther away from the people you spend time within your living room— especially if you have a larger living room. Floating your living room furniture requires you to remove some or all furniture pieces from the wall, and this brings everything closer together.
#3: Divide a Larger Living Room
Having a large living room gives you the perfect opportunity to float your furniture. Half of your living room can be dedicated to entertaining guests, with plenty of seating space and a coffee table; while the other half can be dedicated to entertainment, with your TV, speakers, game consoles, etc. for family movie and game nights. Floating furniture also works well with an open-concept home, and you can use your furniture to make a clear division between rooms.
#4: Set a Clear Focal Point
The best interior designs have a focal point in each room, and floating your furniture can help create a clear focal point. For instance, if you have a fireplace in your living room, you can face your sofa towards the fireplace (and mount your TV above it) and place your loveseat and other chairs off to the side of the sofa.
How to Float Your Living Room Furniture
Floating the furniture in your living room is very simple: just don’t push your sofa up against the wall! However, you still need to create an actual living space, which means that you may have one piece of furniture against the wall, such as a loveseat. It all depends on the architecture and the size of your living room. However you arrange your furniture, make sure that you’re creating a clear flow of traffic, you’re dividing the room where it makes sense, and you’re setting a clear focal point.
You can also consider mounting shelves to the wall instead of having a bookshelf, and even mounting your TV on the wall gives the illusion that it’s floating. You can also have your curtains “float” above the ground and hang them on a recessed track to allow for easy opening and closing. All of these elements create a more clutter-free look and feel of your living space, with only the necessary objects touching the floor.
Finally, remember that even though your furniture is “floating” it still needs to be anchored by something to give your living room a more cohesive look. The easiest way to anchor your furniture is by using an area rug. All of your furniture should be placed on or right in front of the rug on at least two sides, and the rug should be large enough to reach all of the furniture. Doing this will tie your entire living space together.
Keep in mind that if and how you choose to float the furniture in your living room will largely depend on its size, shape, and architectural design of it. It may be harder to float furniture in smaller living spaces, but floating furniture also opens up more space. You just have to figure out the furniture layout that works best with your floor plan, and you may also need to take a minimalist approach to decorating. The goal of floating furniture is to create both an intimate space and a more spacious environment, all without creating a cluttered look.