How to arrange furniture like a professional home stager

In real estate listings and the “after” reveals on HGTV shows, the homes seem more sleekly furnished, bigger and brighter than what you see in real life. Do none of these people need to incorporate grandma’s Goliath of a china cabinet — and can they all afford to buy a new sofa every time they move?

Putting together a harmonious floor plan to suit your home — while not over- or underfilling it — can feel as tricky as a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. “It’s all about balance, like that adage about getting dressed to go out and then taking off one piece of jewelry,” says New York interior designer Kati Greene Curtis.

We asked home stagers and interior designers how to get the mix right. Here are some of their furniture arranging do’s and don’ts.

Do: Think about sight lines

“When you walk into a room, you want to be able to see everything without a huge sectional or a tall lamp blocking your view,” says Michael Fowler, a D.C. home stager, interior designer and real estate agent. Do this by floating lower-profile pieces (say, a sofa with a 30-to-32-inch back) and reserving wall space for taller pieces (that antique bookcase). The further you can look without your eye stopping, the more expansive and serene a place comes across.

Anchor your furniture arrangement around a focal point: a fireplace, a window with a terrific vista, a jumbo piece of art. “You want to spot the prettiest thing in the room first,” says Fowler.

Don’t: Forget about flow

In design speak, “flow” refers to how your furnishings harmonize and how easy it is for people to move around in a space. “You don’t want to feel like you are sneaking around your furniture or bump your leg,” says Betsy Wentz, a Pittsburgh interior designer and the author of the book “Design Happy: Colorful Homes for the Modern Family.”

In general, that means leaving a 28-to-36-inch “walkway” around major furniture — dining room tables, sofas, anything floated in a room. Coffee tables should be 12 to 16 inches away from your sofa: close enough so you can plop your latté or laptop on it, far away enough so people can walk through.

Don’t: Shove all the furniture against the wall

“You don’t want your house to look like a bowling alley, so stop placing everything against the wall,” says Shirin Sarikhani, founder of Seattle Staged to Sell & Design. “Either float some of your furniture, or just give it a little breathing room — a four-inch gap between the wall and a chair or end table actually makes the room look bigger.”

Some larger pieces — a bedroom armoire, a tall bookcase — do need a wall to visibly (and sometimes, physically, anchor them). If you have a mammoth room and high ceilings, you can place a bulkier item off center or on a less-dominant wall as a sort of visual surprise, perhaps balancing its heft with some wall art or a mirror.

“Still, many people underestimate the proportion of the furniture they bring into smaller rooms,” says Curtis. “Sometimes, your beloved jumbo armchair just has to go.”

Don’t: Buy a bed that’s too large for your bedroom

“I have arguments all the time with clients who want king-size beds in their small New York apartments,” says Curtis. “You need to be able to walk around the bed.” Since most king beds are 76 inches wide, they require at least that much wall space plus 28 inches or more around each side. Think, too, about leaving space around the bed for nightstands (the smallest of which are about 18 inches wide).

Keep other bedroom furnishings functional (chests for clothing storage) and soothing (a chair and ottoman for nighttime reading). “You don’t have to put everything you own in your bedroom — the Peloton, an extra sofa, a TV,” says Wentz. “It’s a private space where you are supposed to be relaxing, so do you really want to be looking at all this crap?”

Do: Break your room into zones

Larger spaces — outsize basement dens, sprawling living rooms — can serve more than one function, as long as you give each zone a distinct, clear purpose. “There was a real paradigm shift during COVID, and now function is king,” says Sarikhani. A den could have a sectional sofa and a TV for watching movies in one corner and a table and chairs for playing games or doing crafts in another zone.

“And I sometimes keep hotel lobbies in mind when I’m arranging a living room,” says Fowler. “They have different seating groupings, and you can also do that at home.”

Do: Make a floor plan

Yes, you can use painter’s tape to mark out potential furniture groupings on the floor. But that can be cumbersome and you’ll miss the “elevation”- how high pieces are and how much space they’ll consume against the wall or under a windowsill. It’s more effective (and enjoyable) to use an app that makes 3D floor plans or an online tool that helps you virtually scoot stuff around and produce illustrations of potential setups. “Those tools let you plug in the size of your space and the dimensions of your furniture,” says Curtis. “They’re a great way to see how furniture works in relation to your floor size and the height of your ceiling.”

Retailers such as West Elm, Room & Board and Crate & Barrel all have their own free floor plan tools. Other options include the online Room Sketcher and smartphone apps such as Magicplan and RoomScanLidar, which harness AI and laser mapping. You’ll pay if you want to print out room plans, but many of their simple features are free.

Don’t: Forget to give each seating area its own drinks table

No, your home isn’t a speakeasy or coffee shop. But there’s nothing worse than planting yourself on a piece of furniture and having nowhere to put your drink/book/phone. Every seat needs a buddy — a table or stool roughly the same height as the arm of the chair or sofa, from which you can easily reach your things. “We use a lot of C-tables, which tuck into the sofa, so you don’t trip over the furniture,” says Wentz.

Do: Purchase flexible furniture

Poufs that slide under a console and anything on wheels (a bar cart, a kitchen island) can be an MVP in a smaller space, changing its orientation or use with a simple push or slide. Swivel chairs can also do double duty, says Sarikhani. “They’re great because they allow you to turn one way to have a conversation in the other room, and then turn back and watch the game on TV.”

Don’t: Block a door or window with furniture

It’s bad feng shui, and also makes people wonder if you’re hiding something creepy behind that armoire. “Even if you have multiple doorways into a space, don’t block any of them,” says Wentz. “That’s a real sign you have too much stuff.”

It’s OK to have a chair or bed poke up a bit over a windowsill, but keep in mind that this might block natural light and fade your upholstery or wood.