Editor's Design Pet Peeves

Wallflower Furniture

Like a setting for a neighborhood watch meeting, this default style of furniture arrangement, where everything is lined up along the walls, is both unlovely and uncomfortable.

People need to face each other to talk. They need to be able to reach a table to put down a drink. Pieces of furniture should relate to each other, not to the television. Let your sofas face off across the coffee table. Pull a pair of chairs away from the wall and put a side table between them. You’ll look like a design genius.