PRINCIPLES OF FURNITURE ARRANGEMENT
"Next in importance to the actual selection of furniture and accessories is a skillful and sensible arrangement of it all in a room. Every salesman should understand that in the placing of the furniture you may make a small room appear more spacious; a large barn-like one seem more cozy; express the idea of formality or informality; quiet restfulness or agitated confusion, sedateness or gayety, order or disorder."[17]
One secret of getting a homelike quality in the arrangement of furniture is to assemble it in small groups or units which suggest specific uses, as for instance a reading group, a writing or business nook, a rest corner, or a music section.
GET A CENTER OF INTEREST FIRST
If you are arranging furniture in the living room, decide on a central interest. Often this is called a built-up composition—table, be grouped. A fireplace with its cheerful fire-glow may well be a natural center of interest. (See fig. 31.) A window or group of windows opening upon a lovely vista may serve equally well. If the family is musical, the grand piano may be so placed as to become the pivotal point of interest.
Secondary centers of interest naturally are created once the fireplace, a window, or the grand piano is assigned to the major role. There may well be more than one of these secondary centers, i. e., a writing corner, and a reading group.
Objects of central interest.—Every wall should have an object of central interest. Often this is called a built-up composition—table, desk, cabinet, or couch standing against the wall—with, in each case, a picture, mirror, hanging bookcase, or tapestry above. The focal point may be a single tall piece of furniture such as a secretary or highboy. The pictures, mirrors, or tapestry hangings tend to build up a kind of "skyline" and the furniture is united with these wall decorations to create the necessary feeling of orderly stability which proper balance and color harmony can give.
BALANCE AND COLOR HARMONY
An effect of balance in the arrangement of the furniture is as essential to the comfort of the occupants of the room as proper lighting, easy chairs, or unobtrusive orderliness. In fact, it is a species of order. It gives a feeling of repose.
Courtesy American Walnut Manufacturers Association.
Figure 31.—Living room showing harmonious arrangement. View from living room to hall in a city apartment. Interior woodwork, mantel, and furniture are of wood in tones which range from the dark chest to the blond chair.
A room, or a group, is in balance when it appears to be at rest; that is when the total imaginary weight, or pull, on the attention, of everything on one side of a center appears to the mind to equal the total weight of everything on the other side. An accurate feeling for balance can be acquired easily by experiment and practice. There are two kinds of balance: Even or formal, known as bisymmetric balance; and uneven or "off center" known as occult balance.
Formal or bisymmetric balance.—The simplest form of balance is produced by placing two things exactly alike on either side of a center and at exactly the same distance from it. This is called either bisymmetric (double symmetrical) or formal balance—usually the latter because such an arrangement is somewhat stiff and precise in its effect upon the mind. To test it, exactly in the center of a piece of paper draw a rectangle 1 inch long and one-half inch wide. Imagine this to be a console table. Equidistant from this rectangle, in a straight line, draw two small squares (one on each side of the rectangle) to represent a pair of chairs. If you successively place a circle over the rectangle to represent a mirror, you will clearly see the bisymmetric balance. The effect of formality becomes more marked as you add more units to the group. While too many formal groupings will make the room seem stiff and unlivable, at least one formal grouping may be desirable in every room since formal balance affects the mind with a sense of stability and repose.
If the motive of formality is to be emphasized, the number and importance of formal groupings should be emphasized; if informality is desired, the use of formal balance should be limited.
"Off center" or "Occult balance."—There is another kind of balance, usually called "occult" because it is less easy to see or to create. It is produced by arranging a number of unlike things with reference to a center on the basis of the mechanical formula that the "weight" of each will increase directly with its distance from the center.
As an experiment in occult balance, draw a rectangle 2 inches long and 1 inch wide to represent an imaginary fireplace. One-fourth inch to the left of the exact center, and at right angles to the "fireplace," draw a small rectangle 1 inch long and one-fourth inch wide to represent a love seat. Now, one-fourth inch to the right of the center, and at right angles to the "fireplace" draw two ½-inch squares to represent two chairs. Together the chairs will seem to the mind to "weigh" about the same as the love seat, and the whole group will be substantially in occult balance. Now erase the "love seat" and exactly in the same position draw a rectangle three-fourths inch in length to represent a sofa. You will notice the balance has been destroyed. It may be improved either by moving the "sofa" closer to the center, which will make it weigh less; or by moving the chairs farther away from the center, which will make them weigh more. In order to create a perfect balance, however, the chairs should be separated and a small rectangle placed between them to represent a table and lamp.
The salesman, if he is wise, will suggest pieces which, after suitable arrangement, meet the real needs and tastes of the family whether those needs be musical groupings, game-corner groupings, or conversational groupings. It may mean the sacrifice of some rule of decoration to make or keep a place for a favorite rocker, a grandfather's clock, or a treasured piece, but careful planning can make such a piece either a featured asset, or an unobtrusive addition if appropriately arranged in a proper setting.
The master rule for furniture grouping.—There is one all-inclusive rule for grouping furniture: "Bring together in a convenient place, those objects which will be used together."[18]
So many rooms become mere collections of furniture that along with this master rule for furniture grouping is placed William Morris' little rule, "Have nothing in your home that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."
If a reading chair is placed in a room, make sure adequate lighting provisions are made, either by the addition of a small table lamp or a standing lamp. If possible, a table should be provided for smoking accessories, candy, or a bowl of fruit. If a "quiet" corner is desired, select one away from general room traffic. If the radio is a feature of the room, and the occupant likes to lounge in an easy chair while listening, place a comfortable chair near the radio. Remember that the chair also may be used for reading, so be certain to provide adequate light. Conversational groupings require two or more chairs placed close together with a table for refreshments.
PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL HARMONY
Speaking in general terms, it may be said that things harmonize, or go well together when they are more or less alike, and that they may be alike either because they look alike or because they affect the mind in the same way.
For example, if you cover a Sheraton satinwood bed with a fine silk taffeta spread in apricot, the two units will be harmonious because both wood and taffeta are in colors which contain a large admixture of the same hue, namely yellow. Moreover, they also will be harmonious because the fine lines and slender proportions of the bed affect the mind with a sense of delicacy and daintiness, and the fine texture, silken luster, and pale coloring of the taffeta affect it in precisely the same way. We can call the first type of harmony physical, and the second type emotional. Both are basically important in the art of interior decoration, and make surprisingly powerful sales levers in dealing with that 60 percent of potential buyers whose primary interest in furniture lies in what it will do to make their homes more attractive.
Tests for physical harmony.—There are numerous tests which might be made by a salesman on the floor such as placing a square white handkerchief on a mahogany gate-leg table and placing under it a pearl grey rug to illustrate inharmonious effect resulting from the fact that the three elements are unlike in hue, tone (degree of light and dark), defining lines, shape, and texture.
A much simpler method is to compare room harmony with ladies wearing apparel. Let us suppose a woman put on a brown dress, white belt, and pearl-grey shoes. Of course, the effect would be most inharmonious. On the other hand, suppose she substituted a gold belt and brown shoes. A harmonious effect would be achieved as was done in the instance previously referred to, in which a dull gold velvet or satin, folded to the same width as the table, was laid on the table and a deep warm taupe or mahogany-colored rug substituted for the pearl-grey carpet.
Good rules to follow for harmonious physical harmony are:
1. All elements of a grouping should be united by a common strain of color regardless of whether that common strain is a warm or cool color.
2. All elements of a grouping should resemble each other in a textural effect.
3. Accessories should resemble the piece with which they are used in correct proportion to the whole.
Tests for emotional harmony.—Important points to remember when making tests for emotional harmony are:
1. Low illumination with areas of shadow is restful, but high illumination is stimulating.
2. Horizontal lines and long, low shapes arouse a sense of repose, but vertical lines and tall narrow shapes have the opposite effect.
3. Dark colors (like low illumination and horizontal extension) affect the mind with a sense of repose, but pale colors (like brilliant light and vertical extension) affect it with a sense of animation and activity.
4. Large, heavy objects give a sense of repose, but anything small and light produces the opposite effect.
Bearing in mind these facts, turn on the ceiling lights in a room and notice the stimulating effect. Now turn off the ceiling lights and light the lamps in the room. Study the effect and you will see that the lamp-lighted room is more inviting.
In like manner, tests may be made to illustrate each of these points, such as substituting two high-back chairs in a room for the sofa. You will notice immediately that the room is less restful.
| The scale of harmony | ||
|---|---|---|
| Blends harmoniously with— | Preferred color— | Contrasts pleasingly with— |
| Light blue, navy, light green, green, heliotrope, purple, lavender, and gray. | Blue | Olive, yellow, orange, cream, tan, brown, and dark brown. |
| Blue, navy, myrtle, light green, lavender, and gray. | Light blue | Olive, pink, cream, and tan. |
| Light blue, blue, navy, light green, green, pink, purple, gray, and brown. | Lavender | Olive, yellow, cream, and tan. |
| Blue, navy, myrtle green, light green, green, pink, maroon, heliotrope, gray, brown, and dark brown. | Purple | Yellow, orange, cream, and tan. |
| Blue, pink, red, maroon, purple, gray-brown, and dark brown. | Heliotrope | Navy, myrtle green, light green, green, yellow, orange, and cream tan. |
| Pink, red, heliotrope, purple, brown, and dark brown. | Maroon or wine | Navy, light green, green, olive, yellow, gray, cream, and tan. |
| Orange, pink, maroon, heliotrope, brown, and dark brown. | Red | Navy, myrtle green, light green, green, olive, yellow, gray, and cream. |
| Red, maroon, heliotrope, purple, lavender, and cream. | Pink | Light blue, light green, green, olive, and gray. |
| Olive, yellow, red, cream, tan, brown, and dark brown. | Orange | Blue, navy, light green, green, heliotrope, and purple. |
| Light green, green, olive, orange, cream, tan, brown, and dark brown. | Yellow | Blue, navy, myrtle, green, red, maroon, purple, heliotrope, lavender, and gray. |
| Yellow, orange, pink, gray, tan, brown, and dark brown. | Cream | Light blue, blue, navy, myrtle green, light green, green, olive, red, heliotrope, purple, and lavender. |
| Olive, yellow, cream, brown, and dark brown. | Tan | Light blue, blue, navy, myrtle green, light green, green, maroon, heliotrope, purple, and lavender. |
| Olive, yellow, orange, red, maroon, heliotrope, purple, lavender, cream, tan, and dark brown. | Brown | Blue, navy, light green, and green. |
| Navy, green, yellow, purple, and gray. | Myrtle | Red, heliotrope, cream, and tan. |
| Light blue, blue, navy, myrtle green, green, olive, yellow, lavender, and gray. | Light green | Orange, pink, red, maroon, heliotrope, purple, cream, tan, brown, and dark brown. |
| Blue, navy, myrtle green,light green, olive, yellow, lavender, and gray. | Green | Orange, pink, red, maroon, heliotrope, purple, cream, tan, brown, and dark brown. |
| Myrtle green, light green, green, yellow, orange, tan, brown, and dark brown. | Olive | Light blue, blue, pink, red, lavender, and cream. |
| Light blue, blue, navy, myrtle green, light green, green, heliotrope, purple, lavender, and cream. | Gray | Yellow, orange, pink, red, and maroon. |
| Figure 32.—Chart of color combinations.[19] | ||
SUGGESTIONS FOR ROOM COMPOSITION
Consideration of use will guide one to desirable groupings of various pieces. Consideration of balance will prevent placement of the pieces of heavy furniture on one side or one end of the room. Groupings of chairs and their accessories of lamps and stands should be made so as to foster social amenities.
The following suggestions for room composition have been offered by one specialist in the field of interior decoration:[20]
1. Furniture should always be arranged with the purpose of the room uppermost in thought.
2. Each individual piece should be placed so that it is convenient, so that its use is obvious, and so that it is not interfered with by other pieces nearby.
3. Pieces should be distributed so that circulation is not interfered with. Keep furniture away from door openings or passageways.
4. Furniture should be practically placed in its relation to the architectural or mechanical features, so that there is no interference with the use of such features. Particular attention should be given to the swing of doors, the opening of windows, and the operation of electrical or heating devices.
5. The location of movable pieces of furniture should be carefully studied for their compositional relationship to the fixed architectural features—doors, windows, built-in furniture, alcoves, niches, mantels, paneling, etc.
6. An agreeable balance of high and low pieces of furniture should be introduced. High curtained windows and doors may be substituted for high pieces of furniture in a composition.
7. The quantity of furniture used should not give the effect of either under-furnishing or overcrowding.
8. The distribution of the pieces should be relatively even. In a long room, one end should not appear crowded and the other end bare, nor should one wall appear more crowded than the one opposite.
9. Opposite walls should have similar groupings, or, if this is not possible, they should appear evenly balanced in quantity and arrangement.
10. Pictorial wall surfaces (scenic papers, mural decoration, tapestries, and large hanging pictures) should not be hidden by furniture or other objects to such a point that their visibility is marred.
11. Furniture should be related in scale to the size of the room. Large pieces of furniture creating heavy shadows or dark spots are inadvisable except in large rooms.
12. Furniture placed with lines parallel to the walls gives a greater effect of unity in a room than when placed in diagonal positions.