Step away from the wall

Yesterday I spent the day trawling an antiques market looking for finds for the store but as luck wouldn’t have it found zilch apart from that is 4 sweet little metal bistro chairs for home.Sitting on one typing this and have just counted up in my London garden I now have 5 different sitting areas (a raised area under a very ancient lilac with a wisteria trailing above. A bench which isn’t a bench but a lump of old wood I found is partnered with a 70’s teak table from G’s parents.  Next up a couple of chairs years old from Ikea by the wood stack with an apple crate which has been turned upside down and used as an impromptu coffee table. Then a Philippe Starck toy chair  sits next to a bed of foxgloves  and meadow flowers with a table made from of old tires. Are you bored yet? Moving on to the terrace two black super sexy Marc Newson Orgone chairs hang by the outdoor fireplace and finally we get to the bistro chairs now gathered around the table. What I am trying to say in the worst way possible (Maud fidgeted all night in bed stretching her paws over my face continually so sleep alluded me) is that furniture placement is integral in making a space feel cosy. Forget (please) pushing furniture against the walls so everything is lined up a la doctor’s waiting room.  This goes for indoors and out. its uninviting and beyond depressing . The more you can angle and push into the centre the better it looks - snug and inviting  regardless of the size of the space . Yes traffic paths and flow are important  and have to be considered but who wants to walk into a room and look at a big open space with nothing in the centre. I want to meander and potter around. In my house you can’t walk in a straight line from one room to the next (far too much stuff ) and now exactly the same is happening in the garden. Yes I here you say its not super practical but practical is boring and life is way to short to live  in a space that is just indifferent. Two images below from lonnymag.com. First up Angel Dormer's fabulous living room in NY The sofa  floats in the center away from the wall and the atmosphere - instantly cosy and casual. Gone are the days of lining furniture against the wall leaving the centre clear. Visually its way more appealing and far more appropriate for yabbering. And below the furniture layout is perfect