Sit back and relax

If the traditional three-piece combo is far too big for your room, then try out a couch coupled with chairs and stools. If the mood is ethnic, go for carved wooden furniture. Cane furniture’s the best choice for a country or rustic interior decor style, suggests A Dyuti.

Planning a makeover for the house? Here are a few seat selection secrets unravelled. Two rudimentary rules at the outset — one, don’t cram too many seats into your living space and two, choose seats that are functional while not compromising on aesthetics.

Let’s begin with the living room. The time-tested formula here is couches or sofa-sets. If the traditional three-piece combo is far too big for your room, then try out a couch coupled with chairs and stools. If the mood is ethnic, go for carved wooden furniture. Cane furniture’s the best choice for a country/rustic interior decor style.

All along, cane furniture was reserved only for the balcony. But, today, cane sofa-sets and elegant seats find a place in the living-room, coming in a variety of colours and styles to match any décor. Other cane options include couches, recliners, dewans and hanging-chairs. If minimalist is your cup of tea, select sleek and plain metal furniture. But, be sure to throw in varied seating options like chairs, benches, diwans and ottomans in addition to your sofa/couch to cater to everyone’s seating preferences.

However, first calculate how many people you’ll usually be required to accommodate and work out the amount of seating arrangements you’ll need to make. Also visualise how much of space isn’t at your disposal for seat-arrangement, say, doors, windows, electrical points, etc. Proceed with your plans on this basis.

Decide upon a focal point in the room (fireplace, television, artwork) and arrange your seats around this. The normal trick is to place the sofas/chairs at right angles to each other so that they form a square/rectangle around the focal point. For a bachelor-pad living-room, pick a sturdy leather couch, recliner, daybed and low coffee-table in minimalist style. Set flat against the wall a day-bed with low, carved arms on both sides and pile cushions up to serve as arm-rests.

Muted tones for the upholstery can be contrasted with bright throw-pillows. An ottoman serving multiple purposes such as seating, storage, holding glasses, helps economise space.

Bean bags in the living room

For the lounge area, strew some bean bags before the fireplace or in the middle of the living-room. Choose from among pear-shaped bean-bag chairs, flatter pancake-shaped ones doubling as coffee tables or ottomans or even bean bag beds. Don’t forget to pick bean bags specially crafted for your pet.

When you’re in need of extra seating in cramped spaces, the ottoman makes for a comfy seat despite occupying very little space. Plus, some ottomans come with hollowed-out chambers enabling them to double as storage spaces. Ottomans specially designed for TV sets are also available. The lounge chair caters to both comfort and stylish appearance. A mind-boggling array of designs in leather, wood, bamboo and aluminium entice. Chaise lounges blend the functions of a chair and a couch. For a place to entertain your friends in, choose loungers that lend a nightclub ambience.

Cosy recliners and theatre seats are for the home-theatre/TV room. Ensure they’ve headrests and footrests of the right dimension to allow comfortable seating for hours. Cup-holders are a desirable addition for many.

Remember, a bedroom deserves a couch or a recliner too. For a loft-bedroom, conventional, heavy furniture ruins the contemporary look. Also, lining the furniture along the walls only makes the room appear cramped. Rather, arrange them in groups. If you’ve picked a loft bed, use low furniture like bean-bags for seats underneath.

For your meditation-room, use a comfortable chair or meditation-mat. The chair before the writing-desk should be primarily functional whether for adults or kids. Choose an ergonomic chair for the workstation. Also, don’t position your chair too close to the screen. If you have a home-office, spend on some attractive furniture such as elegant chairs, immaculate meeting-table, coffee-table for that PR edge to your business. Throw in a day-bed or a sofa-bed.

Dining chairs

Now for the dining chairs. They should be comfortable and go well with the colour-scheme and decor theme of the dining-room. Carved wooden chairs are anti-rust and gel with a classic style decor. Plastic chairs are lightweight, easy to clean and maintain, affordable and are available in many designs. Dining chairs with upholstered finish make for additional comfort. Wooden or leather bar stools lend elegance to the dining room.

Today, chairs find a place in the bathroom too. A lovely chair in the bathroom is in fact, the best place to relax after a long, hot bath!

Bathroom vanity chairs and stools are either circular or rectangular and come in an amazing range of designs and styles. Benches and seats before the window or between sinks form another option.