Filling your home with comfortable furniture that reflects your sense of style can be a joy for the new homeowner. But it can be a major headache unless you consider the basics for good furniture arrangement.

Home designers at Ethan Allen offer five tips to help get your started:

• Plan before you buy – Measure one room at a time and give yourself a little quiz. What do want to do in this room? How many would you like to seat? Less is more, so don’t feel you need to buy every piece available in a suite. Pick three pieces you really want and build the rest slowly, leaving easy-to-manage foot paths.

• Zero in on a focal point – This will be the heart of the room. If there’s a fireplace, you will want your seating space to face it and build the rest of the room around it. Perhaps the focal point is a TV screen – or a lovely mirror, a piece of artwork, or a sweeping view of the outdoors.

• Encourage conversation – It’s tough when the sofa is against one wall and chairs are placed against the others. Arrange the couch, coffee table and chairs in an inviting cluster away from the walls to create a cozy, more inviting social space.

• Be practical about space – You don’t want to hit a lamp when you open a drawer or have your guests hit their knees on the coffee table when they get up. Leave space between pieces – and leaving three feet of walking space around the room will keep guests from knocking into furniture or bumping into the walls.

• A room is about first impressions – If you walk into the room and see the back of the couch, mask it with a pretty console table and accessories – or hang a lovely throw over the back of it. You want guests entering the room to see something interesting first. Lamps and other accessories should be eye catching enough to suggest the room is welcoming and inviting.

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