The layout mistake that’s shrinking your home without you realizing it
You can make a good room feel small with one habit: hugging every wall. It looks logical—open the middle, push furniture out—but it flattens depth, kills conversation, and turns paths into obstacle courses. Pulling pieces inward a bit gives you space back you didn’t know you lost.
Float something—anything—off the perimeter
Even two or three inches buys you a shadow line and a lane behind the sofa. Add a slim console for a lamp and cords, and suddenly you have layers instead of a single flat plane.
Depth is what reads “spacious,” not empty corners.
Anchor with a rug that catches front legs
If the seating floats off a small rug, the group feels nervous. Size up or layer a big natural-fiber base under your favorite patterned rug so every major seat lands on the field.
One shared “ground” makes a room feel bigger without touching a wall.
Set real path widths
Main lanes want 30–36 inches. Between sofa and coffee table, 16–18 is the sweet spot. If you’re sidestepping a table or hip-checking a chair, the footprint’s wrong.
Swap a bulky piece for something leggy so you see more floor, or move it two inches and test for a week.
Aim at one leader and angle the rest
Pick a star—fireplace, big window, large artwork—and point the sofa at it. Angle chairs 10–15 degrees into the conversation. When the eye knows where to land, the body follows, and traffic stops cutting the room in half.
Clarity reads larger than square footage.
Give corners a job, not a pile
Unassigned corners pull clutter. Choose one purpose—reading chair with a lamp, plant plus a stool, or a kid bin with a lid—and commit. When everything has a post, the room stops shrinking under “temporary” stacks.
Order makes spaces feel generous.
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*This article was developed with AI-powered tools and has been carefully reviewed by our editors.
