Give Your Toes a Break

About how often do you or your guests stub their toes on furniture items in a high-traffic area in your home? Regardless of the answer, it happens way too often.

In all likelihood, that metal leg on your living room chair is a toe target primarily because the busy area it sits in is too crammed. I get it, you want to fill the room with lots of nice furniture, but high-traffic areas fall into the “less is more” category. Areas like living & dining rooms should be made comfortable and also accommodating to lots of foot traffic.

When you’re arranging your room, think circulation, above all else. Leaving a 4-foot-wide walkway between larger pieces of furniture, and 14–18 inches of breathing room between smaller pieces of furniture is highly recommended, per Elyse Moody of Designer Appliances. This effectively allows for two lanes of traffic, giving your peripheral vision a better idea of where to step.

In a dining room, each chair should occupy about two feet of space to ensure a comfortable dining experience. From the edge of the table to the wall, you’ll want to have at least three feet of space.

As an added bonus, circulation also helps to make the room seem bigger. Being able to walk freely and without consequence between furniture pieces prevents you from constantly having to “watch out” or step over something directly in a pathway.