The size of the room will dictate how far you can pull your furniture away from the walls, but even in a small space you’ll want to give pieces a little breathing room by allowing a few inches between the backs of furniture pieces and the walls. Despite popular belief, this little bit of space can actually make rooms feel bigger. Of course if you have a larger space feel free to arrange furniture in such a way that conversation areas are created in the middle of the room, leaving several feet between the walls and the furniture.

Wall-to-wall carpet isn’t nearly as popular as it used to be. These days it's been traded out in exchange for area rugs, particularly in the living room. Area rugs look great and are often more practical than broadloom, but if you're going to use them there are a few things you need to keep in mind.

Gray has become a go-to neutral for designers, thanks to its ability to bring sophistication and character to a space while keeping the mood tranquil. The soft shade particularly shines in the living room, as it allows art, furnishings, and other accents to take center stage.

To visually set apart that floated sitting area in the middle of the room from the room's other functions, Amy Stone's design team chose a rug just larger than the couch and matching chairs. The edge of that rug doesn't extend all the way to the walls as you'd expect; instead, the café table dining area and console/desk sit outside of its edges. The line visually cues that you're moving from one "zone" into another, which keeps the furniture from feeling like a jumble.