Small Spaces by Christine Brun

There are times when the only way to encourage a confined space to work for you is to break the rules.

To be honest, there really are no written rules regarding furniture arrangement. Some of it is common sense. Some of it depends on what feels good in a room.

While it is true that interior designers study the concept of balance in functional furniture layouts, most professionals begin to experiment with countless variations as they move through their careers.

Meanwhile, outside the profession, most folks follow the examples they have seen in stores and magazines. Almost everyone realizes there needs to be enough room around a piece of furniture to allow for the room's purpose.

For instance, if a bookcase blocks access to a reading chair, the chair's function is negated. In the same vein, a dining set must be placed so as to allow people to move freely in and out of the chairs.

But in general, most people find safety in tried-and-true furniture arrangements because they feel comfortable and acceptable. In fact, it can sometimes be a challenge for an interior designer to persuade a client into a less conventional furniture placement.

The very narrow breakfast space in the photo was built with cabinetry on one side and the kitchen counter on the other. To make the room work, it was necessary to ensure that a passage remained clear to the French doors at the far end of the space. The puzzle was how to make an approximately 8-foot-wide area serve as a place to eat while leaving room for passage.

The basic idea was to find a narrow table. Still, the space was too tight for people to sit on both sides of the table. The answer was a fascinating, antique, Filipino bench placed on one side of a monastery table.

Originally, live chickens were kept in the bench's base, which has a set of slotted and sliding doors below the seat.

The bench was a mere 15 inches deep, and when combined with the narrowness of the chosen table left enough room for two leather chairs on the opposite side of the wood surface.

Typically, a refractory table is quite narrow: between 30 inches and 36 inches deep. The shape was perfect for this long, narrow area.

Remember, twisting the rules only works when the pieces are appropriately sized. All too often I have walked into a client's living room to find that the sofa that was just purchased is just too large for the space. So why is this such an offense? Why can't we call it a creative breaking of the so-called rules?

The answer is this: If the use or placement of furniture creates visual discomfort or physical awkwardness as one uses the space, then it must be called a failure. One reason the assemblage in the photo works is that it is seldom necessary to access the items stored in the lower cupboard. Clearly, if the daily dishes were stored there, this entire idea would fail.

Consider that there are many otherwise unconventional solutions to retaining function in a tight room. For instance, you can feel comfortable with placing a bed with a headboard in front of a window if it allows for better use of the room.

You might eliminate a sofa or loveseat in favor of four comfortable chairs of an appropriate in your living room. This might yield a more spacious look and, in reality, will seat just as many people because folks seldom line up on a 6-foot sofa in bus-bench fashion.

Christine Brun, ASID, is a San Diego-based interior designer and the author of "Small Space Living." Send questions and comments to her by e-mail at christinebrun@sbcglobal.net. To find out more about Christine Brun and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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