Wondering if your living room coffee table is too tall?

Curious about how many chairs will fit around your dining table?

Don’t know how high to hang that framed print?

Now you can grab your tape measure to double-check whether your intuition was right about what goes where.

Here are my favorite guidelines for furniture arrangement. They're sure to make easy work of your home staging.

Go by the Numbers

PASSAGE
Anywhere you expect people to walk needs to measure at least 18 inches wide. You want home buyers to be able to move about the room.

TRAFFIC 
The main traffic pattern through a room needs to be at least 24 inches wide. You want home buyers to see clearly which way they should go next. 

BREATHING ROOM 
Furniture placed against a wall should be 2 inches away from the wall. Any room feels less cramped when furnishings have space around them.   

DIFFERENT CHAIRS 
The height of assorted seating around a room should not vary by more than 5 inches. This will make the room look cozy and more intentional.

ARM'S LENGTH 
The space between a coffee table and a couch should measure at least 14 inches but no more than 18 inches. In other words, you should be able to reach it.

HOW HIGH? 
A coffee table between 16 and 18 inches tall looks best and functions best. 

BACKUP ROOM 
When dining chairs are pulled up to the table, there should be at least 36 inches between any chair and the wall behind it.

There's room for making the bed
and for moving around. The side 
table is the perfect height. BHG photo.
ELBOW ROOM 
There should be at least 4 inches between dining room chairs. 

REACHABLE 
End tables should be no more than 2 ½ inches above or below the arms of the chairs or couches they sit next to. Not only is the look more seamless, but the tables are more functional.

USABLE 
Got seating at the foot of your bed? Make it almost as wide as the bed, and almost as tall. If it's a desk or table, it needn't be that wide, but a short bench looks skimpy when you want home buyers to see a luxurious bedroom. 

NO FUMBLING 
Bedside tables should be approximately the height of the bed. Otherwise, they are awkward to use and look like an afterthought.

What goes on walls and where

HANGING PICTURES 
The space between two framed items on the wall should be no more than 3 inches.

HEADROOM 
Keep 9 inches between the top of a chair, headboard, or couch and the bottom of any wall hanging (artwork, sculpture, curtains).

BEST VIEW 
Find the center of a framed piece of art, and position the center 63 inches above the floor. This is average viewing height for most people.

TELEVISION 
Best height for a flat-screen television is at eye level when you’re seated. The screen should not be the focal point of the room.

SIZING ART
Keep artwork larger than 12 inches square, and usually, the bigger the better. You can make small prints look important by framing them with wide mats.

BLANK SPACE 
If a wall space is less than 36 inches wide, leave it unadorned. Buyers need a place to rest their eyes and get a sense of open space. Resist the temptation to decorate every wall. When in doubt, a mirror could be the best space filler, especially if it reflects a selling feature of your home.  
These shades are just the right size
for the lamps. And the draperies hit the
carpet gracefully. Photo: Decorpad. 

Sizing when accessorizing


NOTHING TINY 
Make all decorator pillows 16 x 16 inches or larger. It's better to have one large pillow than a collection of small ones. 

NO HIGH WATER HEMS 
Draperies should touch the floor, and if they break (like pants over your shoe), the break should be at least 1 ½ inches, or it looks like a mistake. Sometimes you can adjust the length of the drapery at the top by re-positioning the hooks or clips.

LAMP PROPORTIONS 
The shade on a table lamp looks best when it is 1/2 the height of the lamp base. It should cover the neck of the lamp, but not disguise the shape of the lamp.

FOR SAFETY SAKE 
Never use an accessory in a staged home that is so small someone could easily slip it into a pocket. Small items are distracting to the eye, and can easily be stolen.

Get the look, get the book

I have found these formulas helpful when I’m shopping for furniture, hanging art, moving furnishings around a room, and in all kinds of other home staging decisions. They reduce guesswork and mistakes.

I hope these numbers and proportions will be useful to you when you’re just not sure if your eye is telling you the truth about what looks best when you’re staging your home for sale.

For more advice on how to make your home the one that buyers want, you'll want to download my eBook, How to Arrange Furniture.  

 Top photo: Apartment Therapy