Question: I desperately need help with furniture arrangement in my living/dining/music room. I need space for my harpsichord, a table for eating, shelves for stereo equipment, seating and lamps. And what about rugs?

My current table measures 30 by 42 inches and has an extra leaf. My harpsichord measures 33 inches by 6 feet, 10 inches. The ceilings are high (cathedral) with exposed beams, so I would like to have a tall plant.

Carolyn Lake, Berkeley

 

Answer: Help is on the way! Let's start with some creative thinking: Just because the room is square doesn't mean the furniture has to be placed on the same line as the walls.

In a predictable floor plan, we would place the largest piece of furniture, the sofa, directly opposite the window to take advantage of the view. But in your home, its back would be the first thing you see when you walk in through the front door. Not ideal.

We want to take advantage of your wonderful view so we're going to place almost all of the furniture diagonally.

We'll place the sofa so it commands the view and anchors the room (see diagram). The sofa is 6 feet long and not very deep, allowing traffic to flow behind it to the door for the deck. Next, let's put a 4-foot by 2-foot coffee table in front of the sofa. On the other side of the coffee table is a comfortable chair. It's important for the chair to have a low back so it doesn't obstruct the view. A club chair with "shelter" arms would be perfect. (Shelter arms means the back and arms are the same height.) For additional seating, there are two smaller chairs on either side of the sofa. A 9-foot by 6-foot area rug placed on the diagonal under the sofa, coffee table and club chair helps define this space. The dynamic shape of your harpsichord also lends itself to diagonal furniture placement. Placing it this way gives you a perfect seat to view the bay while making wonderful music. The final piece, your dining table, is the only element that is square to the room. I've placed it near the kitchen door for easy access when serving. Because the room is somewhat narrow, I suggest that behind the sofa, on the walls on either side of the door to the deck, you incorporate low, built-in bookcases that come up to the bottom of the window sills. This strong, horizontal, linear element helps minimize the room's narrowness by stretching it sideways visually. It also balances the space. Perpendicular to this wall, on the tall wall that leads up to the loft, I would build a tall bookcase. In addition to providing more storage for books, it could house the stereo equipment. Lighting is the final part of the design. Consider three types of lighting: overall, ambient light for general illumination; task lighting for specific work areas; and atmosphere light for creating drama.

For ambient light I would consider two floor lamps, one on either side of the sofa. With three-way bulbs or a dimmer switch, you adjust the light for any occasion. Additionally, when building the tall bookcase, you can incorporate lights that extend out from the top of the bookcase and "wash" the wall of books with light. Art lights, the type that extend over picture frames, are perfect for this job.

I would suggest you hang a chandelier over the dining table. You'll get both ambient light and task light from it. If you can't get a chandelier there, candles are always a wonderful alternative, especially when entertaining.

The harpsichord requires task lighting for music reading. Put a lamp on the floor near your seat, or, if possible, a reading lamp on the harpsichord itself.

If necessary, a reading lamp next to the club chair would be the final task light. This should also be low. Perhaps a swing-arm "pharmacy" style floor lamp would work nicely here.

A tall plant placed in the bowed area of the harpsichord gives you the final element to enhance the room. An up-light placed behind and below it adds drama for the finishing touch.

 

AND HERE'S WHAT THIS READER WROTE AFTER HER DESIGN DILEMMA SOLUTION APPEARED IN THE NEWSPAPER:

Dear Beryn,

Thank you so much for your response to my Design Dilemma. You answered with a very fine, detailed article. I have implemented your suggestions, and the room has improved immensely. I especially like the position of the harpsichord moved out into the room away from the wall. I can play and enjoy the bay view at the same time. Thank you very much.

Carolyn Lake

 

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