It does not have to be a tricky decision between placing your couch against a wall or keeping space in between. It’s a matter of the size of the room, what the purpose of the room is, if you have the ability to adjust items like wall sockets, and your design aesthetic. So if you’re stuck making this decision we can help.
First we’ll start with times you’ll want to place your couch directly against the wall, then we go into situations where you’ll want to leave space in between the wall and the couch. But these rules aren’t set in stone.
If you’re having a party or get together and want to clear space for people to congregate, you can always temporarily move the couch against a wall then back to its position away from the wall when the get together is over.
When to Place a Couch Against a Wall
When you need to free up more space in a room for movement, the room is small or narrow, and there is a lot of natural light without being an open floor plan, this is when you’ll want to place your couch against a wall.
The most common situations include:
- Small or narrow rooms to free up floor space for movement or other seating
- The room being used for get togethers or playing
- Where there are low ceilings, walls, and a lot of natural light
- Needing clear pathways through the space and behind the couch is not an option
For small and narrow spaces, keeping the couch against the wall frees up space for people to walk through, a coffee table to set things on, and it is less visually daunting because you don’t feel as closed in when you’re slightly further away from the other side of the room. If you want to include more seating like accent chairs or a side table, keeping furniture like a sofa against the wall frees up more space for these additional pieces of furniture.
When it comes to rooms with a lot of natural light and low ceilings, couches and furniture grouped in the middle of the room or away from the wall create confusion for the eyes and the space feels cluttered. Our eyes naturally look for a visual horizon and trace the walls of the space, which is one of the reasons horizontal lines can make a room feel wider. When the furniture is against the wall it doesn’t break this natural way to take in a room.
When the couch is in the middle of the room, the space is broken creating a cluttered look. But this is mostly only when there are walls in the room vs. an open floor plan or large space including great rooms or commercial spaces like a museum or hotel lobby.
Pro-tip: If you want to have the furniture away from the wall in a room with natural light, ground it with an area rug and keep either all furniture legs on the rug or only the front for consistency. This creates a grounded focal point that helps break up the confusion.
If you rent an apartment or cannot modify the walls and there are outlets, unsightly dents or smaller holes, and defects you want hidden, the couch being against the wall can hide these without having to get approval from a landlord to fix them or having to spend money on repairs.
In a den, small family or game room, or any other place with a large and mounted tv, placing the couch against the wall helps the TV become a focal point as you add a media tower, a couple plants on both sides, and other decor elements vs. the sitting area. You’ll be able to add distance between the TV and sitting area while staying immersed in the action and enjoying the screen.
But the couch being against the wall isn’t right for every room, space, or situation.
When to Keep Space Between Walls and Couches
Keeping your couch away from the wall or “floating it” is a good idea when you have a large room or open floor plan, if you like a lot of flow and airy space, and when you want the actual features of the room to stand out.
The times to keep your couch away from the wall are when you want to:
- Create zones in large and open spaces to create balance
- Allow for visual movement and flow to pass through
- Help the features of the room themselves stand out
- Avoid blocking pathways through the space while preventing disruptions from the visual space
- You need to create a focal point and a grounded space
When you have an open floor plan and there’s a living room or sitting space, a dining area, and the kitchen is visible, the long back of the couch set on an area rug and combined with the coffee table and accent chairs creates a grounded space. It uses the Gestalt principles of design for our minds to know that this is a space for sitting and then feels balanced vs. out of place. The comfortable space and focal point is called grounding.
Other times moving the couch away from the wall creates more flow and allows for visual movement. Your eyes will float past the couch with enough space behind or no wall at all adding depth to the room making the space feel a bit more fluid. This goes along with the concepts of Feng Shui where you want ample flow through the space.
When the room has unique architectural features like arched doorways, a fireplace, and interesting molding or framing, the couch being away from the wall helps these to stand out. The couch and sitting area become a grounded center, and because our eyes trace the walls, these features pop becoming more visible and mini-focal points while our brains explore the space.
Another time the couch can be away from the wall is when you don’t want to interrupt someone from watching tv or viewing people on another couch across a table. If there is ample room behind the couch, keeping it away from the wall allows people to pass by without interrupting a conversation or tv time, so everyone can enjoy the space more easily.
Much like grounding, the couch and sitting area can be a way to ground a space, and if your couch is meant to be a conversation piece with bright colors, a unique shape, or it’s an antique piece, moving it away from the wall helps it to take center stage. This is especially true if the back has interesting patterns and colors to it.
Knowing when to float your couch away from the wall or place it against is a matter of the size of the room, the type of space it is in, and what the purpose is. By keeping it against the wall you free up more usable floor space, and floating it helps large space to feel grounded. We hope this guide helps you decide what to do with yours.
