7 Simple Tips to Create a Floorplan

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Are you completely overwhelmed while staring at an empty room of the new home you just moved into? 

Are you trying to update your home, but not sure where to start?

If you said yes, we have the solution! The best place to begin is to create a floorplan to layout furniture in a functional and stylish way. Creating a floorplan will make your decorating challenge seem easy and enjoyable. Plus, you won’t waste time and money buy buying furniture that won’t fit in your space.

First we’ll review the tools of the trade to create a floorplan on any computer or smartphone. Then, you’ll get some of the best tips we’ve found from interior decorating experts including:

  • Where to start
  • Determining focal points
  • Furniture arranging tips
  • Space planning
  • Use of symmetry
  • Using zones
  • Filling empty space

We’ll be using a real-life example of the floorplan created for my living room redesign, so you can see each tip in action. By the end of this article you will be armed with the confidence you need to create a floorplan to make your room look thoughtful and modern, while functioning great for your family’s needs.

Create a Floorplan - Living Room
Photo by Alberto Castillo Q. on Unsplash

Let’s dive in!

Tools of the Trade:

Bust Out Your Tape Measure

This sounds silly but to create a floorplan, you literally need to measure the length of every wall, door, doorway, window, and architectural feature in your room. Even ceiling height should be measured.

Next, write all these dimensions down, or maybe draw it up with pencil and paper. Soon we’ll discuss the technology we need to create your floorpan, since the days of paper cutouts of furniture on graph paper are long gone, folks!

Best Free Desktop Software to Create a Floorplan: Roomstyler

There were several desktop floor planning tools I tried to create my floorplan, but the one that was easiest and 100% free was Roomstyler. They have a tool called 3D Room Planner you can access by simply setting up a free account.

Roomstyler allows you to make the room’s dimensions to replicate your own home’s measurements. Then, you can add a TON of furniture and accessories. Once you create a floorplan, you can switch between a 2D or 3D design easily.

The only thing that Roomstyler lacks is allowing you to figure out the actual stores and sources for their massive furniture and home décor catalog. Also, their mobile app does not have the ability to create your own room, so stick to the desktop version.

Best Free App to Create a Floorplan:

Room Planner – House Design 3D

How to Create a Floorplan - Living Room
Living Room Floorplan

To create all the floorplans you see in this article, I used the free iPhone app – Room Planner – Home Design. It super easy to use, and you can make the room dimensions close to your own. Then, you can add doors, hallways, windows, stairs, etc. Next, you can select from a bunch of mainly Ikea furniture in the app to put as placeholders to see how many pieces will fit in the room.

Room Planner is a “freemium”model – meaning there are in-app purchases to be able to use more items. They do have a good selection of basics for free, so you should be able to create some great floorplans to understand how much furniture is needed and so on.

This amazing app goes in 2D or 3D – it’s really awesome to get a feel for how things will look – even down to where to place plants, lamps, art, etc. Check out my Resources page for more great apps and tools like this.

3D Living Room Floorplan
3D Living Room Floorplan

And now, the top pro tips to create a floorplan: 

Tip 1: First start with a rug

I spoke with a designer from Living Spaces recently (talking to a designer there is free – just ask in the store), to try to get some advice and ideas for my living room redesign. She recommended we start by picking a rug first. I figure this must be a legit first step to create a floorplan, at least according to the Living Spaces designer. 

Rugs work in a lot of living rooms. To start with, 8×10 is a pretty standard size for any room. Furniture should be added onto the rug by at least having the 2 front legs on the rug, with the back legs hanging off. Check out this article on Wayfair, called How to Choose the Right Rug Sizes for more tips on picking the right rug.

  • 6’7″x9′ Rug

My floorpan helped me select the right size rug for my exact room. I made the room dimensions close to the actual room, then placed an 8’x10′ rug down. In the Room Planner app, you can actually change the dimensions of the rug too! The 8’x10′ seemed to take up way too much room, so a smaller (and cheaper) 6’7″ x 9′ rug was the preferred option.

Tip 2: Decide where the focal point(s) are in your floorplan

What is a focal point?

It’s where your eye is drawn as you enter a room – typically an architectural feature like a fireplace mantel, beautiful big windows, or built in bookcases.

If you don’t have any of that wonderful stuff, just pick the biggest wall and you could put a television, creative artwork, or large decorative mirror as your focal point.  Worthing Court Blog has a great article on focal points, How to Deal with Multiple Focal Points. 

For my living room, we had huge sliding doors that overlook eucalyptus trees, which is a natural focal point during the day. However, I didn’t want to have my chairs facing the sliders, or in front of the sliders, so I needed a separate focal point. 

I chose the longest wall in the room for my second focal point, right where the sofa will sit. That way, even at night I would have a focal point, which would be some large artwork above the sofa.

Before Living Room Photo
Focal point is above sofa

OK, I got my focal points, now what?

Tip 3: Arrange furniture around focal point

Seating arrangements

Now you can use the focal point(s) to orient your furniture and rug around, when creating your floorplan. You don’t have to make all the chairs face a window, but you would cluster large furniture around your focal point or use furniture to draw your eye towards your focal point.

Photo by Vecislavas Popa from Pexels

If you have a fireplace, arranging furniture in a semi-circle or U shape is ideal. According to Crate & Barrel, leave no more than 8 feet between seats.

Another floorplan option is to “float” your couch and chairs in the middle of the room. You can also have 2 couches facing each other, or the couch and 2 chairs facing each other around a central coffee table.

If you really get stuck just remember a basic room combo that is nearly foolproof: 2 chairs and a couch for a living room. This article at Ballard Designs will help you with some basic furniture layout tips and tricks.

For my living room, I wanted my couch on the same wall as my focal point, so I arranged my couch and chair around that focal point. I toyed around with adding another chair, but due to the fact this was also a playroom/office, I just couldn’t make another chair fit.

Next arrange tables & cabinets

Once you set your seating up, you can put in tables where it makes sense, for living rooms – it’s mainly a place to put your drink. Then you can add in things like cabinets, sofa/console tables, side tables, and ottomans. Crate & Barrel goes into more detail on how each of these items can be used.

I knew the coffee table would be in front of the couch, but had a hard time deciding between one or two side tables. We were using this as a multipurpose room, so I went with smaller and fewer tables so we’d have room for my toddler to play.

Place floor and table lamps

According to Crate & Barrel, floor lamps should replace a side table when creating your floorplan. So, you want to make sure a coffee table is nearby for placing drinks. Table lamps are easy – just make sure they don’t take up the whole table. Keep this in mind when buying furniture online – look at the specs of side tables to make sure they will work for your needs.

I wanted at least two lamps since our room didn’t have any overhead lights. These were just placeholders but the floorpan helped me decide where to put my floor lamp and table lamp.

Tip 4: Leave enough space

According to Better Homes and Gardens, leaving enough space around and between furniture is key to make a room functional in your floorplan. They recommend allowing 30 inches between pieces that you must walk around. Then leave 14-18 inches between a couch and coffee table. This will ensure your drinks or whatnot are within arm’s length.

Other tips for space planning for your floorplan include:

Tip 5: Symmetry in your floorplan

Beige and Teal Living Room
Photo: Francesca Tosolini via Unsplash

Trying to remember to use symmetry to create a floorplan is important. It makes it seem more traditional but very intentional and planned. An example of symmetry is in the above photo with 2 lamps and 2 stools. If you can’t get 2 of the same pieces of furniture, you can also use symmetry in terms of accessories, wall décor, or lighting.

I’m totally breaking the symmetry rule for furniture since I only have room for one couch and chair, but am going to use 2 framed art prints (with the same size frame) above the couch to get my symmetry on!

Tip 6: Use zones in your floorplan

Zones are great if you have a large space to work with. You can have a reading zone, conversation zone, or office area, you name it. Most people have rooms they want to serve multiple functions, so using zones is a great way to serve your family’s needs.

Furniture is a great way to designate each zone, but you can also use lighting, rugs, or room dividers. For more info, check out the design experts at Lenore Designs for a brief post on using zones in open floorplans.

For our living room floorplan, we needed a multifunctional room that included play area for my son, desk/office area, and a conversation zone for when we had guests. Making sure I could squeeze an office area in a 12×14 room was a major challenge!

Tip 7: Fill up empty walls and corners

Large empty walls can make a home feel sterile, but can be intimidating to figure out what to do with. 

Corners can be made more interesting with a cute occasional chair, an awesome plant, or an armchair/lamp combo to make a reading nook. Other ideas include using a bookcases, pedestal, or bench. 

This article by Ballard Designs goes into most of these points in a lot more detail.

I saw a lot of my Pinterest inspiration photos with a tall plant in the corner of the room, so I wanted to see how this looks in my floorpan. I tried a few different options using the Room Planner app. When I switched to 3D view, I could see how it looked, and was able to place a floor lamp on the opposite side of the couch to “balance” things out a bit.

Some great inspiration photos for using greenery indoors at this article on Freshome.com.

Wrap up

Hopefully by now, you are seeing how these tips can be brought together to create a floorpan that rocks! You should use both the 2D and 3D viewpoints of the room planning software to help make things look balanced and planned. The Room Planner app even gives you a “realistic photo” rendering of your 3D design. Check it out:

I hope my “live example”of my living room redesign helps you feel confident that you can do this too. From getting the recommended tools, to furniture configuration and space planning, you can see it really isn’t that hard to create a floorplan yourself. 

I hope these tips make you feel like a floorplan guru so your room feels fresh, welcoming, and super-functional too! Did any of these tips help or surprise you? Leave a comment below…

How to Design a Room (for beginners)

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at NO extra cost to you.

Did you just move into a new place, and have new, empty rooms screaming at you to learn how to design a room ASAP? 

Has your room design been the same for the last 10 years and sorely needs a update? 

Do you have family coming over for the holidays, and need your place to look “all grown up” with a cohesive, modern design?

Then you are in the right place! This is the ULTIMATE step-by-step guide to how to design a room – with a “real life” example. Yep, I’m taking you along as I design my living room. My “before” photo is below, and you are invited to witness every step (and mis-step) on my journey to fix this “situation.” 

How to Design A Room - Before Photo
SOS – My living room needs a plan!

By the end of this guide you will know a basic process for how to design a room and get a cohesive, purposeful look. This new knowledge will make you feel like a modern day Martha Stewart. Here’s what we’ll cover:

  • First we’ll learn about function
  • Then we’ll find inspiration
  • Next comes planning and budgeting
  • Last (definitely not least) is execution (aka Go Shopping!)
  • End result: A “blueprint” to help elevate your living space

I’m not going to front – this isn’t something I made up myself, since I’m not an interior designer. BUT I’m a great researcher, so I’m learning and sharing all my findings with you to help save you time (and money).

What I did was use the basic process from HGTV’s post, “11 Steps to a Well Designed Room,” and expand on it by researching other related blog posts and guides (especially when I didn’t quite get what they were talking about).

I hope sharing my own journey helps in making your home look elevated and insta-worthy, and shows that YOU can design a room too! Let’s get started!

Step 1: Figure out the purpose of the room.

The first step in how to design a room is to ask yourself a few questions:

  • Is this a room where people will be sitting and relaxing, like a family room? 
  • Is the room for eating? 
  • Will it be used for entertaining? 
  • Will you need storage in the room? 
  • Do you have high traffic areas of the room to get somewhere else in the house? 

These are key questions to understand the layout and types of furniture and decor you need to buy. A great guide for understanding how to layout a room can be found on the Ballard Designs blog.

For my living room design – I knew this was becoming a multi-purpose room to put my son’s train table, do some entertaining when we had people over, and a place to put my desk to write this awesome blog.

Paulo Desk from Target
Desk area on the other side of the living room

Step 2: Who will be using the room?

  • This is really asking – do you have kids?
  • Little ones or older kids?
  • Will older adults or just regular adults be using the room?
  • Will this room be used for guests when they visit?

The users of the room will definitely influence what type of items you would buy and how you actually design the room.

Beige modern living room
Photo: Mateo Fernandez via Unsplash

For my own space – I knew my toddler, husband, and myself would be the primary users, and also occasional guests. Having furniture that would be safe from a toddlers antics was a must-have. So, we definitely won’t be buying a glass coffee table or white couch!

Step 3: Make a wish list

The third step to design a room is to write up a wish list of all the items you want to buy, and decide what items you want to keep. Then, prioritize your list. There’s a little more info about designing a room in this post from the Bless’er House Blog.

This is super useful because it gives you a starting point for your budget. Plus when you start blowing your budget you can decide what you want to buy now, versus what can wait for a little bit later. 

living room grey sectional
Inspo photo that contains examples of most of our wish list items!

Since I knew I was keeping my current couch and swivel chair, I created a wish list with the following items:

  • Rug
  • 1 or 2 Lamps (it was always super dark in this room due to lack of overhead lighting)
  • Coffee table
  • Side table(s)
  • Wall Décor for above couch
  • Throw Pillows
  • Pouf
  • Some kind of artificial plant life (I’ve killed a cactus, people)

Step 4: Find inspiration

This is the fun part. Finding swoon-worthy photos on Pinterest is easiest, or take screen shots of Instagram or other websites. Check out my resource page to find links to modern design inspiration. Keep it to photos that REALLY make you happy. For beginners learning how to design a room, I would keep it to about 5 – 7 photos, too much and you start to feel overwhelmed.

Check out my Living Room Pinterest Inspiration Board here.

Step 5: Measure (twice) and make a floorplan.

Making the floorplan is a super important step in learning how to design a room. The floorplan should be as close to your actual room as possible, to make sure everything fits and you have “flow.” Check out the post I created showing 7 simple tips to create a floorplan to help you make a floorplan like a boss.

Get out your tape measure…

Measure your room – I mean every dimension! The length and width of each wall of the room, the doors and doorways, the windows, how far each window/door is from the corner, the height from floor to ceiling. Also mark down and measure architectural features like fireplaces. Don’t forget to measure all the furniture you are keeping. Measure everything!

Draw it out (or use an app!).

Use the measurements to make a basic floorplan on paper, graph paper, or use some free floor planning software. A great option for creating floorplans on your desktop computer is Roomstyler.

There’s an app for that!

If you want an app, try Room Planner – Home Design 3D, which super easy to use, and I could make my room dimensions close to real-life. I then selected from a bunch of furniture in the app to put as “placeholders” to see how many pieces will fit in the room and to test out different furniture layouts.

I totally skipped this step, then ended up with an awesome mood board of all the stuff I wanted to buy. Then I totally freaked out that I didn’t have “symmetry” by having 2 chairs, so I made a floor plan (below) to see if I needed to buy an extra chair.

Once I made the floor plan, I realized I simply did not have the room for another chair due to a major traffic pattern going through the room.

Don’t skip making a floorplan when you design your room! It will make things easier and you won’t buy the wrong stuff.

Living Room Floorplan

Here are the top 3 tips from my post, 7 simple tips to create a floorplan, to get you started.

Tip 1: First start with a rug.

I spoke with a designer from Living Spaces recently (talking to a designer there is free – just ask in the store), to try to get some advice and ideas for my living room project. She recommended we start with by picking a rug first. I figure this must be a legit first step, at least according to the Living Spaces designer. 

To start with, 8×10 is a pretty standard size for any room, but if you create a floorplan you can see what size rug is the best fit.  Check out this article on Wayfair, called How to Choose the Right Rug Sizes for more tips on picking the right rug.

How did I pick a rug? I looked up “grey couch” (since I was keeping mine) on Pinterest and almost every dark grey couch pin had a rug similar to above Ivory Moroccan Trellis Rug from Amazon (affiliate link). So, I knew I would need something white or cream with some kind of geometric design. I picked something slightly different but Pinterest is a great guide if you have no clue!

Tip 2: Orient furniture around the room’s focal point 

What is a focal point?

It’s where your eye is drawn as you enter a room – typically an architectural feature but it could also be a television, creative artwork (like below photo), or large mirror.  Worthing Court Blog has a great article on focal points, How to Deal with Multiple Focal Points.

Photo by Sidekix Media on Unsplash
Photo by Sidekix Media on Unsplash
How do I use a focal point?

Now you can use the focal point(s) to orient your furniture and rug around. You don’t have to make all the chairs face a window, but you would cluster large furniture around your focal point or use furniture to draw your eye towards your focal point.

No fail combo

If you really get stuck just remember a basic room combo that is nearly foolproof: 2 chairs and a couch for a living room.

For my living room, we had huge sliding doors that overlook trees, which is a natural focal point during the day. However, I chose the longest wall in the room for my second focal point, right where the couch will sit. That way, even at night I would have a focal point, which would be some large artwork above the couch.

3D Floorpan Living Room

Tip 3: Use symmetry to design a room

Beige and Teal Living Room
Photo: Francesca Toscolini via Unsplash

Trying to remember to use symmetry in room layout is important, and it gives a feeling of balance. It makes the design seem more traditional but very intentional and planned. An example of symmetry is in the above photo with 2 lamps and 2 stools. If you can’t get 2 of the same pieces of furniture, you can also use symmetry in terms of accessories, wall décor, or lighting.

My incorporation of symmetry is going to be the 2 pieces of matching artwork that will be a focal point above the sofa.

Step 6: Consider the rest of your home design.

Look at adjacent rooms…

Make sure you consider the other rooms next to the one you are redesigning. In the open-concept homes of today, this is especially important to stay within the color palette and design style of the whole open area to create a cohesive look.

open concept living dining
Photo: Random Sky via Unsplash

Determine your whole house color palette.

One way to make sure your whole house stays within the same color palette, is to check out this great post, 7 Steps to Create your Whole House Color Palette, by the School of Decorating blog.  

This process really helped me think about the color palette I could use for my whole downstairs (my upstairs still needs a lot of help).  You don’t have to use this for only paint colors, you can use it for selecting furniture, pillows, and accents too. It makes shopping waaaay easier!

Using this process, I looked at my dining room and kitchen, which connect to the living room, and are mainly white, grey, black, with brass hardware and beige trim on all the windows.

Ikea Dining Table and Chairs
Dining area connecting to living room

Based on my existing color scheme, The whole house color palette I chose is pretty neutral: grey, black, cloud white, and beige, with accent colors of camel and brass to add some warm.. I used the Kelly Moore MyColorStudio Tool to put my whole house color palette together below.

whole house color palette

Don’t know where to start?

What if you have a “blank slate” and don’t know where to start? One piece of advice I heard while we were renovating our first home, was to look at the clothing in your closet. Then, take note of what colors you (and your significant other) tend to buy of clothing.

Your clothes are likely colors you love, and would be great picks for your home too. This was totally true for me, I have tons of grey, black, white, and beige clothes too!

Step 7: Find your signature or lead piece for the room design.

This is a little design trick recommended by both HGTV and this great blog View Along the Way, of picking one of the most colorful items in the room first. It could be just a chair, a throw pillow, a piece of fabric or favorite artwork. The signature piece will help guide your color decisions for everything else, which makes shopping so much easier, and faster. 

I didn’t think I needed this step but this blog post from View Along the Way changed my mind: Decorating 101: The Cheater Formula to Decorating a Blank Room. In the example below, the artwork is the signature piece.

Photo by Sidekix Media on Unsplash

For my signature piece I chose the beige and peachy bark of the eucalyptus trees, which are part of the amazing view you get from my living room windows. I used this color to inspire my coffee table purchase, pillows, and art.

I really wanted to warm up my primarily grey and white color scheme, to make things less sterile and more homey. This beige/peach combo did the trick perfectly!

Eucalyptus Tree
My Signature Piece = Eucalyptus Trees

Step 8: Make a budget – and stick to it!

This can be tough, but set something you are comfortable with. It can be really hard, I know, especially when you first buy a house, then remodel it, then you have hardly any money left to get new furniture (been there, done that).

In Step 9, you’ll start to put together a plan and shopping list, so you will get a feel for how much things will actually cost. There are ways to make everything “fit” into your budget – by using more of what you already own, painting your existing or pre-owned furniture, yard sales, thrifting, etc.

I decided to try to keep my living room redesign to $500. This was a personal challenge to myself since I wanted to showcase my skills at finding affordable modern furniture & decor to design my room.

Step 9: Make a plan.

First, gather your goodies…

Keep your work together that you’ve done so far, such as your inspiration photos, floorplan, whole house color palette, and your signature piece. Make sure you also add any fabric samples, flooring samples, and paint chips that you love.

Next design a mood board…

This is my favorite part!  A mood board is basically putting the room together on your computer, with cropped photos of furniture, pillows, curtains, flooring, everything! The goal is to see if it all “goes” together to make a cohesive room design. Here was my “first draft” mood board. I can go through a lot of different versions!

How to design a room moldboard draft

Software Solutions

You can really use any program where you can arrange and layer photos together.

  • You can use the Snipping Tool on PC’s or the Grab tool on Mac’s for cropping photos from furniture retailers on the web. 
  • I use Microsoft Powerpoint to make a mood board on a single slide, since it allows you to “bring to front” and “send to back” in terms of arranging photos.
  • For a bunch of options to make a mood board, check out 5 Go-To Resources for Making a Moodboard by the Chris Loves Julia blog.

An art, not a science

This is way more of an art, than a science. Use your inspiration photos for guidance – look to the professionals on Pinterest & Instagram for how to add contrast, color combos, where to place lighting, chairs, etc.

Look to the pro’s for guidance

I looked to my inspiration photos & simple Pinterest searches for “modern living room” to determine:

  • If I could put a floor lamp on one side of the couch, and a table lamp on the other (short answer: yes).
  • Where and how to incorporate plants.
  • What kind of rug I should contrast my coffee table and couch with.
  • Even throw pillow inspiration and guidance!

Then make your shopping list…

I like to include the link (and price) of an item I found online in the notes section of my Powerpoint mood board, so I can easily go back and buy it when I’m ready. This is really what I use to develop a prioritized, fully costed shopping list – and identify what I can buy now versus later. 

Here is my mood board with my living room design:

How to Design a Room - Moodboard

Step 10: Go Shop! 

First thing is, make sure you made an online shopping list of items you put in your mood board. Then, Note down all the prices of each item, and try to make it fit into your budget by cutting corners when you can (& prioritizing). 

Now it’s time to go out and try to beat those prices and find a bargain!

Prep for your shopping trip

Grab some of your swatches, paint chips, and load up your phone with photos of your mood board and shopping list (maybe even print it out).  

Try discounters first

Go for the most affordable places first, like thrift stores, Big Lots, HomeGoods, Ross, Tuesday Morning, and TJ Maxx. Having your mood board with you will give you focus and keep you from feeling overwhelmed, or from getting off track. Make sure to check the clearance sections!

Thrifting for Furniture
Photo by Julien-Pier Belanger on Unsplash

Online shopping next

Shopping online is also super awesome & convenient, although I like to buy online from retailers like Target, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart since you can take store-returnable items right back to the store. Also Amazon has tons (not all) of items with free returns for Prime Members.

A few major watch outs for online home decor shopping:

  • Make sure you read the retailer’s return policies & watch for restocking fees. Free returns are pretty rare at online only furniture stores.
  • Read both the good and bad reviews to know what you are in for.
  • Check out the item’s measurements in the specification section. Remember with furniture – height matters, especially when it comes to coffee and side tables.
  • Don’t do what I did and order a coffee table online, just to have it delivered and it’s 4 inches too short when I put it next to my couch! Good thing my hubby is handy and can add some legs to it!
Online Shopping via Laptop
Photo: Kari Shea via Unsplash

Wait for a holiday (if possible)

Keep your eyes peeled during the holidays and check your favorite online (and in person) stores for sales like on Memorial Day, July 4th, Black Friday, etc. Check out my resource page for a full list of affordable modern furniture sources. Target.com often puts home decor and furniture on sale during holidays.

Try a simple DIY hack

If you really can’t fit everything you want into your budget – think about a small DIY project to give something you already have a face lift. Pinterest is a great source of DIY hacks and updates for almost anything. I decided I would try two things to save $:

  • Update a floor lamp I have by spray painting it black and changing the lamp shade – savings of about $40.
  • Get new pillow covers for existing pillows (not exactly a DIY but certainly saves $$). H&M Home and Amazon (affiliate link) are both great, inexpensive sources for pillow covers.

Amazon even has the above throw pillow cover sets (affiliate link) you can buy to take the guesswork out of mixing and matching pillows.

Mix it up

Try not to buy everything matchy-matchy but buy from different retail stores and brands. Keep to your budget, but it’s ok to make changes if you find a great deal! 

Step 11: Embrace Design Trends, But Cautiously

Solid advice from HGTV was to try to keep super trendy items limited to accessories when designing a room. Ultimately it will save you money by not having to redecorate very often, if you avoid trends on big, expensive pieces.

Neutrals are good for pieces like your sofa or bed.

Pillows or artwork are great for exploring new colors, textures, and patterns. For example, Mud cloth pillow covers (affiliate link) may not be in style forever, but changing out a pillow is way easier than changing out a couch!

Step 12: Lighting is Key

Changing lighting can really change your room’s look and feel. In addition, a lot of lamps today are almost pieces of art in themselves, and are considered part of the design. There is lighting for doing specific tasks, checking email, ambient lighting, or mood lighting.

Our living room was super dark, as we had no overhead lighting. So, lighting was critical to my design. I knew I wanted at least two lamps for this area. This short lighting tutorial video from West Elm helped me figure out what type of lighting to get:

Since I didn’t want the more traditional look of the symmetry of two end tables on either side of the sofa, I went with one floor lamp and one table lamp.

I chose black metal lamps (example below), with a modern/industrial feel, to go with some of the furniture pieces I had in mind. The glass shade echoes the pendant lights I have in my kitchen, helping create a cohesive whole-house design.

Simple Designs, Black Bronson Desk Lamp. (affiliate link)

Step 13: Make It YOUR home.

Personal touch

The final step in learning how to design a room is to simply make it personal. Add your personal touch such as a beautiful photo, books you love, or collections. Even keepsakes like baby items or mementos could find themselves into room décor. 

Get artsy

Finding artwork you love is another great way to reflect your personal style. It has never been easier (or more affordable) to order large prints (Shutterfly) or find printable original art online (Etsy), to create something unique that is just perfect for your space. 

What I did was find an awesome & inspirational modern interior design blog, “My Paradissi“, who has a printable shop on Etsy. I just loved this woman’s design esthetic – she’s an architect and interior designer named Eleni living in Crete, Greece. Art is personal – pick something YOU love.

Studio Paradissi Gallery Wall
Photo by My Paradissi

I bought a couple of Studio Paradissi’s abstract art printables for $8 each, then printed them out (Wal-Mart and Walgreens have inexpensive poster printing online). Once they arrived, I simply popped the prints into some black poster frames I already had (from Wal Mart). This was a total of about $50 for 2 large pieces of wall art!

Conclusion

Ok Wow! This was a long post, glad you are still with me. I wanted to make an ultimate step-by-step guide on how to design a room that would help out beginners at this whole decorating thing. In addition, I wanted to share my own experience and research to try to help someone else out too. 

We covered everything from the idea stage, finding inspiration, planning, shopping, and incorporating a personal touch.

The final step…

Living Room Redesign - Penny Modern
My Living Room – After!

The final step is putting it all in place. Your floorpan and mood boards should help guide you where to actually place everything in your room when you (finally) get everything home. 

Hope this guide helps you to update and learn how to design a room to achieve a thoughtful, cohesive modern look. 

Leave a comment!

Leave a comment below or message me if you get stuck along your own journey. I would love it if you leave me a photo of your before and after if you used this process – happy decorating!

11 Most Comfortable Desk Chairs for Modern Decor – (They’re all under $200!)

Disclosure: This post contains mostly affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at NO extra cost to you.

Have you been spending days searching the web for the perfect modern, stylish chair to use at your desk, but can’t find anything that looks awesome, is in budget, AND will be comfortable? Well, I had this same problem after I got my new black writing desk from Target (Paulo Basic Desk – Project 62™), which I reviewed here.

Paulo Basic Desk Project 62
Paulo Basic Desk from Project 62 (Target)

I needed an awesome modern chair to pair with it, but most of the ones that looked trendy also looked extremely uncomfortable. So, I put a ton of time and effort to put a short list of my top 11 most comfortable desk chairs together, and thought I could share it with everyone else looking for the same thing.

This post will review 11 comfortable desk chairs to help keep your modern decor scheme intact while not breaking your back (or pocketbook).

First we’ll review the latest trends for modern home offices to get our style inspo, then I’ll tell you how we evaluated our list, and then we’ll get into the pro’s and con’s of each pick on our top 10 list.

Let’s get started…

Latest Trends for Modern Desk Chairs in 2020

Photo by Christian Lambert on Unsplash

First we need to know – what are the latest trends for modern desk chairs in 2020? What are interior designers and furniture houses using as desk chairs? This article by HomeDesigning.com gave me some great ideas. I also looked at popular interior design blogs (some found on my resource page).

I then went to my local high end furniture stores like Room & Board and Scandinavian Designs for inspiration IRL (in real life) and snapped a few pics of chairs I loved – unfortunately most were priced between $400 and $800 – way out of my budget.

  • Grey Cora Swivel Office Chair – Room & Board – $699
  • White and Chrome Office Chair
    White and Chrome Office Chair – Scandinavian Designs
  • Blue Velvet Dining Chair from Room & Board
  • Beige Tenley Office Chair – Room & Board – $799

The trend, for modern home office design seems to be avoiding the typical computer chair that is black or grey mesh with wheels, that you would see in any corporate office.

White desk white chair Nathan Waters Unsplash
Photo by Nathan Waters on Unsplash

I’m also noticing a trend with interior designers showing very minimalist chairs with hardly any cushions or padding, like the ubiquitous white plastic chair you see above. These chairs seem horribly uncomfortable, which I simply cannot put form over function in this case, since my butt is the one that is going to be sitting on this thing!

Do comfortable desk chairs have to look ugly?

Short answer is, no.

I had a little designer inspiration and ideas, now I just needed to search for some more affordable lookalike candidates which are actually verifiably comfortable. Here is how I compiled my list, and created a rating system.

Ratings Criteria

Comfort factor:

I did not sit on all of these chairs myself, but I did go and sit on a ton of chairs in the high end stores that I can’t afford, and know what to look for. That would be things like how “cushy” the seat is, lumbar support, how high the arms and back are, and if the height is adjustable.

So how will we determine if it’s a truly comfortable desk chair?

Reviews, Reviews, Reviews. My method is to make sure there are more than 5 reviews for a product, and I read them all so you don’t have to. I always read all of the negative reviews, and compile a list of pro’s and cons for each chair (no chair with legit reviews will have only pro’s). If they are all positive reviews it sets off a red flag that some might be fake.

Materials:

We looked at the product info for the type of upholstery covering on the chair.  At the price point we are looking at (less than $200), real leather is unfortunately out of the question. According to this article by BKA, PVC faux leather is slightly more durable than PU faux leather, so is a better choice if you want this to last. PU leather will typically be softer and feel more like leather. Fabric coverings are typically synthetic, but will breathe better than faux leather, although be harder to clean. Fabric might be the way to go if you live somewhere hot, without air conditioning, or sweat a lot when you are at your desk.

Specifications:

We examined which areas, if any, of the chair are adjustable – height, tilt, armrests, etc. The more adjusting you do, the more it can be fitted to your body in a more ergonomic fashion. Also, in this area you can look for the type of padding or cushion they use in the seat.

Return Policy:

This is really the key for comfort. Everyone’s body is different, so my idea of comfort may not be comfortable at all for you. ALL of the chairs in this list have FREE RETURNS according to their Amazon listing (as of the writing of this article).

This is super important since if you intend to use this to work at a desk on a daily basis – you will want to be able to return it if YOU don’t think it’s comfortable.

So, here we go…

The 11 most comfortable desk chairs to go with your modern home office decor, all under $200:

Review of Sauder Harvey Park Occasional Chair (link here to buy).

The Harvey Park chair comes in gray and is around $165 (check price via link).

Loving this chair due to the retro/mid century modern design and the fact it does NOT have wheels – which seems to be very on trend these days. Also I have a toddler so the thought of having a wheeled chair for him to roll around our living space has me scared senseless.

Pro’s

  • Thick seat and back padding should be comfortable for long stretches of sitting.
  • Fabric covering will be durable and cool to sit on in the summers.
  • 20 Reviews on Amazon and 4.1 out of 5 stars.

Con’s:

  • A few reviewers complained of a few parts being defective, but seems they were sent replacement parts by Sauder.
  • Upholstery may not withstand lots of stains since it’s fabric and a light color.

Link for the Sauder Harvey Park Occasional Chair on Amazon here. (affiliate link) or directly from Sauder here.

Flash Furniture High Back Office Chair in White

It’s only $95, and looks almost the same as the one from Scandinavian Designs (photo above) that was over $300!

Pro’s:

  • The seat padding is very thick, it has a high back, and it has much-needed lumbar support.
  • It’s adjustable in a lot of placed including tilt/lock and pneumatic height adjustment.
  • Comes in 2 colors – white or black, and you can choose between chrome, gold, or rose gold metal.

Con’s:

  • Upholstery is PU Faux leather, which won’t hold up like real leather, but reviews say it’s super easy to clean.
  • You have to do some assembly yourself, and it sounds like it can be a little rickety if you don’t know how to adjust it correctly.

Link to the Flash Furniture High Back Office Chair on Amazon here (affiliate link).

Review of Elle Decor Ophelia Bentwood Task Chair.

Priced at $159.99 (but check listing for latest price). Available in French Ivory, French Gray, and French Pink.

This is so cute, modern/mid-century, and looks so cushy! I also like that it comes in 3 colors.

Pro’s:

  • Fabric upholstery will be softer to sit on, and will wear better than fake leather.
  • Adjustable height to help w/ ergonomics.
  • Armless so should fit well under any desk.
  • Over 56 Reviews and a 4.5 star rating.

Con’s:

  • A few reviewers say it’s a little squeaky – WD 40 might be a fix?
  • The fabric cushion can lose it’s shape over time.

Link to the Elle Decor Ophelia chair, on Amazon here. (affiliate link)

Review of Rivet Alfred Mid-Century Modern Wide Curved Back Dining Room Chair.

Available in both an Ash Gray (darker) and a Felt Gray (lighter), for around $169 (check price on listing).

I love these barrel type chairs since the seem so comfy, and this one would look great with a walnut desk.

Pro’s:

  • Plenty of padding all around.
  • Hardwood legs
  • Very sturdy

Con’s:

  • Some reviewers claim they did not receive an instruction manual for assembly.

Link to the Rivet Alfred Mid-Century Modern Wide Curved Back Chair (affiliate link).

Review of Armen Living Summer Chair.

This baby comes in charcoal, green, and blue, for only around $105 (check listing for latest price).

Mid Century Modern vibesssssss all day here folks. I love how it’s a little masculine too.

Pro’s:

  • Highly rated for both comfort and easy to assemble.
  • 283 customer reviews and a 4.4 out of 5 star rating.

Con’s:

  • Doesn’t swivel or have any ways to adjust the height/tilt/etc.
  • Some folks complain of the seat cushion getting compressed.

Link to the Armen Living Summer Chair here (affiliate link).

Review of Armen Living Monte Dining Chair .

The Monte comes in black or gray faux leather, and is around $86.43 (check listing for latest price). This is very minimalistic chair if you have that type of minimal modern vibe. I think it also can be masculine or feminine and would look on point with a wood and dark metal desk.

Pro’s

  • Many reviews say the chair is both comfortable and sturdy.
  • These are very easy to clean – so great if you have kids!
  • Looks fairly simple to assemble.
  • 34 reviews with 4.4 out of 5 stars.

Con’s:

  • The pad on the seat is thin but dense.
  • Sounds like a couple of people couldn’t get the holes to line up during assembly – luckily there is a free return policy if that were to happen.

Link to the Armen Living Monte Dining Chair here (affiliate link).

Review of the Sauder Park Occasional Chair in Emerald Green.

Comes in Emerald Green Velvet or Black and White checks/houndstooth. Price is around $139 (check website for latest price).

I just love this chair. The velvet. The color. My hubby likes it too. I think it would go great with my black desk, what do you think?

Pro’s:

  • No wheels, which is a pro for me since I have a toddler and this will be on our main floor.
  • Swanky velvet fabric will make you feel like a boss.
  • Has a lot of cushioning for extra comfort.

Con’s:

  • No reviews on Amazon. What’s a girl to do?
  • There is the same named item on Amazon (above) in grey. The reviews were good and that it’s comfortable.
  • Would the legs/feet scratch a laminate or hardwood floor?

Link to the Sauder Park Occasional Chair in Emerald Green here (affiliate link) or directly from the manufacturer here.

Review of Rivet Modern Tufted-Back Dining Chair.

The Rivet Modern Tufted-Back Dining Chair is available in blue for around $125 (check listing for current price).

Pro’s:

  • The blue fabric will make any room uber classy.
  • The legs give it a mid-century modern feel.
  • Fabric will breathe better than faux leather.

Con’s

  • Only 6 reviews – 4.3 out of 5 stars.
  • No arms or wheels if you are into that kind of thing.

Link to the Rivet Modern Tufted-Back Dining Chair here (affiliate link).

Review of the OFM Core Collection Modern Fabric Upholstered Office Chair.

This chair is available in a light grey for $167, as well as a black faux leather for $218 (check listing for latest price). This one looks SO similar to the beige one from Room & Board in my inspiration photos. I think it would be a great add to any modern office.

Pro’s:

  • 3″ Thick coil spring cushion adds to the comfort of the seat.
  • Arm rests will also make it more comfortable.
  • Height is adjustable.

Con’s:

  • Only 5 reviews, but 4.7 out of 5 stars.
  • It is pretty large so may not work for small office spaces.

Link to the OFM Core Collection Modern Fabric Office Chair here. (affiliate link)

Review of AmazonBasics Modern Adjustable Low Back Armless Ribbed Desk Chair.

This beauty is available in Brick Red (pictured), Black, Grey, and White, for a price around $75 (check prices via the link). I had to include a cognac/saddle leather-like chair since that seems to be the rage lately to warm up any room. The brick red seems to be more like a cognac or reddish brown, versus a red.

Pro’s:

  • Slim design without being bulky, fits under any desk.
  • Very easy to assemble.
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars out of 440 ratings.

Cons:

  • Seat is a little firm, although most reviews say it’s comfortable.
  • Does not recline or have many adjustments other than the swivel and pneumatic height adjustment.

Review of Rivet Contemporary Dining Chair

Colors include Ink Blue (pictured), Forest, and Grey. Pricing is around $179 but check the listing for the latest price. Note the back does have a channel-back pattern on the back of the chair.

This chair has almost the exact same shape as the Room & Board Cora chair I took a photo of on my inspiration trip. That one was priced starting at $699, and had wheels, which won’t work for my room (or budget).

Pro’s:

  • Looks very padded and has super soft fabric for breathability.
  • Solid Wood Frame
  • Comes fully assembled

Cons:

  • Only 6 customer reviews, but a 4.8 out of 5 rating.
  • On the higher side for price, but still under $200, way cheaper than our inspiration chair at Room & Board.
  • May not have much lumbar support but the seat looks very cushy.

Conclusion

Well, that’s my roundup of the most comfortable modern desk chairs under $200. Remember – they (almost) all are sold on Amazon, AND offer FREE RETURNS. I hope this list helps you quickly find the perfect affordable chair for your modern home office, which will bring you joy!

Leave a comment below if you bought any of these chairs and let me know what you think!

Disclosure: The above post contains mostly affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases, at NO extra cost to you.

Review of Paulo Basic Desk – Project 62

Trying to find a modern, darker colored writing desk to go with the rest of your decor but can’t find anything within your budget?

I was searching all over the web for something fairly inexpensive that would go with our main level modern-style decor. I decided to put a desk in our formal living room that we honestly don’t ever use. We normally use our family room, connected to our kitchen, to hang out, but we had a second living room that was severely underutilized. Enter: Paulo Basic Desk from Project 62 available from Target.

Paulo Basic Desk Project 62
Project 62 – Paulo Basic Desk, from Target

Basic Features:

Available Colors:

The Paulo Basic Desk comes in SIX (!) colors: Black (what we went with), Espresso, Walnut, White, White Wash, and Weathered Smoke.

The black version of this desk was a great fit for our existing decor, since most of our first level’s furniture was already black or espresso. Since this comes in six colors it’s sure to go with almost any furniture or color scheme you already have.

Pricing:

The retail price is $109.99 but I got it on deal for $76.99 for Black Friday, and had it delivered to my house. Target has periodic online furniture sales with 10 or 20% off so I’d wait for one of those sales and go for it!

Materials:

It says the material is hardwood for the frame, and wood for the surface. The surface has a shine to it that must be a lacquer because it honestly almost seems like a veneer. There is a grain or texture to it, and it’s consistent on the whole thing.

Other Features:

  • I love how it has a pretty slim design since I don’t have a formal office to place it, I needed a slim footprint but still functional. Dimensions are 30″ high by 40″ wide and 20″ deep.
  • There is just a single drawer, which has the same finish on the inside, as the outside so it looks really nice when you pull out the drawer.
Paula Basic Desk Project 62 drawer open

Ease of Assembly

Assembly was super easy, my hubby is pretty handy but he put it together in under 30 minutes. Instructions were easy and the parts were numbered so it would be pretty hard to assemble it incorrectly. You mainly had to put the legs on and the back support between the 2 legs in the back.

Conclusion

The Paulo Basic Desk is pretty solid, VERY affordable, has modern/contemporary vibes, a slim footprint, and seems fairly high quality. It has a very neutral and unassuming look, but I also didn’t want to call too much attention to the fact I have a desk in my living room, so it works for me.

I plan on finding a really cool, but comfortable, modern chair to pair with it to complete the look and up our modern decor game. Check out my post, 10 Most Comfortable Desk Chairs for Modern Decor, to see what modern & affordable chairs I was able to dig up to go with the Paulo Basic Desk from Project 62.

What do you think of this desk in our room? Do you consider it modern/contemporary? Comment below!

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