Using what you have

One of the things I had to learn {out of sheer necessity}, was how to creatively arrange the furnishings I already had after a move.  I always had to make my furniture fit because buying new stuff when you move around a lot, like we did while my husband was in the military, wasn't always a luxury I had.  For example, what to do with that hand-me-down, honker of a sofa that you were given when you first got married.  It worked great in your first apartment and you were extremely grateful to have it, but then you move.  This time you move into a rental property that doesn't come with the wall space needed to accommodate the sofa.  What to do?

So for starters and without further ado, I've set up a corner in my Living Room addressing a sofa and wall space that don't match.

About now some of you might be asking the question, then why rent the house that doesn't work for your furniture?  Anyone that lives on a tight budget or that has had to find a place to live in a hurry wouldn't even be asking that question.  Sometimes you have to make compromises either because the price is right or because it is what is available to you when you need a place to live {in a hurry}.

Getting back to the sofa issues. . .

It would be better to place a large chair and ottoman or two smaller chairs in this corner to give the area the much needed breathing space.  Otherwise, it looks like you forced a larger piece of furniture to fit in a smaller space {which is exactly what has been done here}.  The overall look is crowded and the furniture is now competing for space.  So consider using that sofa in another room of your home {if you want to keep it} and start drawing smaller pieces of furniture from other rooms in your home.

Above I replaced the sofa with two small, leather, swivel chairs that were being used in another room of my home.  Not only do the chairs add warmth to this area of the room, but they are the right scale {size} for the space.

Now onto the coffee table and the accessories. . .

When placing accessories on your coffee table, be sure to consider their size and shape and remember, less is best if you plan to make it functional.  I like to sit down and eat at my coffee table plus I don't like it to look cluttered.  The accessories in my first photo [way up above in this post], though they do complement each other in shape {round}, they seem a bit detached and boring to me.

Below you will see that I've added a copper tray with individual tea pots/mugs.  These accessories are very functional for me because I love to have my afternoon tea in this room.  And I love books, especially decorating books.  I like to have them handy for those times when I just want to drool and imagine 'what if'.  So books are pretyy much a staple on my coffee tables...always.

What would you place on this coffee table?

I will be sharing more tips on "Using What You Have" soon.  I do hope you will come back again.

Jan @ Mavrik Lane

Today I am participating in Show And Tell Fridays at

My Romantic Home.  Please be sure to stop by for a visit to see all the many great ideas that are in store for you there.  CLICK HERE to be transported now.