Furniture Arrangement

Furniture may be defined as the movable articles that

make a room suitable for living or working in,

though with the advent of built-in furniture, the term
'movable' may no longer be strictly applied to the
definition. The types and designs of furniture encompass
such a wide range that it is easy to achieve almost any
style. The characteristics of good furniture are that in
addition to being designed for a specific purpose, it is
carefully related to the user's comfort and complements the interior architecture. In simple words, the
furniture must be both functional and attractive. It is important to choose the right type of furniture,
keeping in mind the kind of use it has to undergo.

Selection of Furniture
Some factors that need to be kept in mind while selecting furniture for guestrooms are discussed in this
section.

 Comfort
 Practicality in design and size
 Serviceability
 Durability
 Construction
 Ease of maintenance
 Mobility and flexibility
 Versatility
 Style
 Cost

Comfort

The shape and size of the piece of furniture in relation to the human body
is a paramount consideration for comfort, and this science is called
ergonomics. For instance, in a well-designed and soundly constructed
chair, the height and width of the seat and the back rest, the height of the
arm rests, and the angle of its various parts provide the maximum of
comfort for the average person to work or relax in. A well- designed chair
should offer more than one comfortable sitting position. The height of a
table and a chair in relation to each other, the height and depth of a
wardrobe-all these should be ergonomically viable.
Practicality in design and size
Practical design features not only save money and space, but make the piece of
furniture easy to use.

Serviceability
The service aspect depends mainly on the design of the furniture
with relation to its use. For instance, shelves are more serviceable
than drawers in the bedroom, and built-in furniture can save on
space, labour, and wall coverings

Durability
Hotel furniture must be sturdy enough to withstand
considerable wear and tear, as it will be handled by a large
number of guests. The durability of furniture depends directly
on its construction, the materials used, and the amount of wear
it is subject to.

Construction
The executive housekeeper should ensure that all furniture is
constructed with corner blocks to withstand hard and abusive use (see
the section on types of furniture joints). They should also be well
finished and be possible to re finish as and when required. Furniture
should not have rough, unfinished edges. Drawers should slide in and out
smoothly, doors should have efficient hinges and locks, and handles
should be sturdy and conveniently placed.

Ease of maintenance
This factor is especially pertinent when there is a quick
turnaround of rooms. The design of the furniture should
be as simple as possible for ease of cleaning. Carvings,
crevices, ledges, and so on, can be dust traps, and need to
be cleaned regularly. Each piece of furniture should have
a 25 cm gap from the floor to its base for ease of
cleaning. Sofas with removable, washable covers should
be preferred. Shelves are easier to maintain than drawers,
and the use of self-shine protective coatings can further ease cleaning and maintenance.
Mobility and flexibility
Housekeeping work becomes much easier
when furniture items may be easily moved
from room to room as required. For this
reason, castors are fitted on heavier pieces of
furniture. Mobility and flexibility in furniture
enable rooms to be put to different uses as
well.

Versatility
A piece of furniture should be versatile, that is, it
should suit more than one purpose. For instance, a fitted
wardrobe that combines hanging space and shelf space
can provide adequate space and is a neater piece of
furniture than a separate wardrobe with only hanging
rails plus a chest of drawers.

Style
The atmosphere to be achieved depends
on the design and style of the furniture
to a great extent. The choice could be a
modern or an old world style,
depending on the theme of the room.
For instance, a chair for the dressing
table or the writing table should be
chosen with the particular dressing or
writing table in mind. Any chair in the
guestroom of a budget hotel may not be
necessarily suitable for a luxury hotel,
and vice versa.

Cost
The cost of the furniture is an important
consideration. Quality need not be
compromised for low cost, however.
Quality furniture may also be found at a
reasonable price, if the housekeeper is
aware of the sources and conducts a
good survey before making the decision
to buy.

Some guidelines for selecting furniture

Certain points that need to be checked before finalizing the purchase of a piece of furniture are outlined
below.

Check whether the furniture

 is free from coarse, unfinished edges.

 is sturdy and stands firm on the floor.

 is free from surplus adhesive.

 is reinforced with suitable, well-fitted joints.

 is well balanced, whether empty or full (especially crucial for case goods). ⚫has drawers or
sliding doors that move smoothly along the tracks.

 has efficient hinges, bolts, latches, locks, and handles. ⚫has smooth, conveniently placed handles.

 has furniture glides in case a carpet is in use.

 has castor wheels that manoeuvre well and have no sharp edge.

Types of Furniture
There are primarily four types of furniture found in hotel guestrooms, based on the way they
are placed. Furniture may be
 free-standing,
 cantilevered,
 built-in, or fitted.

Free-standing
This type of furniture can be rearranged whenever necessary, but
the disadvantage is that they accumulate dust behind, above, and
beneath them. Examples of free-standing furniture are traditional
chairs and beds.

Cantilevered
Cantilevered there are no legs to furniture are fixed on brackets
fitted to the wall and hence, there are no legs to get on the way
of cleaning.
Built-in
These pieces of furniture are fitted and fixed into
architectural spaces set construction of the building.
Usually their cost is incorporated into aside for them in
the the building costs . If required, they can be
installed later, but in that case may work out
expensive. Since built-in furniture has no gaps behind,
above, or below, cleaning is minimized. However, the
disadvantage is that once built in, the particular piece
of furniture cannot be moved, thus reducing its
flexibility. Wardrobes and cabinets in guestrooms are
often of the built-in type.

Fitted
Though the terms 'built-in' and 'fitted' are often
used interchangeably, there is a slight
difference. Fitted furniture is made to fit into
existing alcoves and niches, thereby to be more
saving space.The room appears more spacious
and streamlined when fitted furniture is used.
However, they have the advantage of being
movable if necessary, though they are not as
easy to move as free-standing furniture.

Based on their other characteristics, furniture may also be categorized

as one or more of the following types:

 Upholstered
 Modular
 Antiques

Upholstered

Good upholstered furniture consist of a webbed base,

coiled springs, two layers of filling material, hessian,
webbing, calico covering, and a decorative outer
covering of fabric. Leather may be an alternative to a
fabric covering Leather, if maintained well, is durable
and may last four times as long as a fabric covering.
Sola and chairs used in hotels are generally
upholstered.
Modular

A manufacturer of modular furniture works to a standard basic

measurement or module, so that different pieces can be joined
together in a variety of ways to sat individual requirements.
Modular furniture is usually built against a wall, and thus
makes the most economical use of space within a room and
simplifies floor cleaning.

Antiques
Actual antique furniture will belong to a period before the
year 1840, though nowadays any piece of furniture that is
more than 100 years old is considered antique. Good antiques
are valuable and expensive. These may be available from a
known collector or from antique shops run by professionals.

Types of Furniture Joints

Furniture parts can be put together or assembled in five ways: using staples, nails, screws, glue, or joints.
Most pieces of furniture use more than one method. Joints are the places where one component in a piece
of furniture fits into another. In good furniture, the joints are often reinforced by synthetic glue. Where
joints are impractical, screws are the best fasteners-they should be secure and screwed in all the way.
Staples are used on cheaper furniture and should not be used for joining pieces that bear weight or
undergo stress. Nails are stronger than staples, but not as strong as other joining methods. A good joint
can make all the difference to the life span of a piece of furniture. Following are the types of furniture
joints.

 Dovetail
 Double dowel
 Butt
 Mitre
 Tongue and groove
 Mortise and tenon
 Corner

Dovetail

These joints are often found at drawer corners. Dovetails should fit together smoothly. Desks, luggage
racks, chests of drawers, and pieces that provide storage (called case goods) are primarily constructed
 using dovetail joints. Furniture pieces in which the dovetail joints are too small or cracked should not
be purchased.

Double dowel
These joints use two dowels to peg the joint together. They are sturdy joints used to create the frame
for case goods or to attach legs to the side rails of chairs.

Butt
These are joints in which two pieces are simply joined together end to end. They are weak joints and
should not be used in places subject to stress or weight.

Mitre

These are used at the corner of tables where two angled surfaces meet to make up a right angle, and
are reinforced with dowels, nails, screws, or a splint.

Tongue and groove

These joints are used to join two boards together, side by side, as in a table top, such that they slide
into each other and hold together.

Mortise and tenon

These joints are the strongest of all when joining pieces of wood at right angles. The end of one piece
of wood is shaped to fit into a hole in the other. This type of joint construction distributes stress over
a wide area.

Corner

These are used at corner joints as screwed reinforcement, to provide extra support, in quality
furniture.

Principles and Elements of Design

In achieving an aesthetic arrangement of furniture, the following principles and elements of design
need to be heeded.

Balance

Furniture should be arranged in groups for specific conversation, reading, dining, and so on. The
groups should be arranged in balance- with several small or bright pieces offsetting larger or heavier
pieces. The balance may be formal or informal. Too much of a formal balance in furniture
arrangement makes a monotonous and stilted. Therefore, a formal balance should not be used in more
 than two or three groups in the room. It is best to combine formal and informal balances in the same
room

Scale and proportion

Small pieces of furniture suit a small room and large furniture room. Massive and too-small furniture,
if mixed in one group, tend to clash . the piece of furniture as a unit should be in proportion to the
wall space. Certain proportions are inherently pleasing. Good proportions of furniture space to wall
space are 2:3, 3:5, and 4:5. These proportions may be used in arranging any group of furniture with
regard to height, width, or overall visual mass.

Line

The lines of furniture may be straight, curved, parallel, vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. They may be
delicate or strong, soothing or harsh. All lines have certain individual characteristics; but in furniture
arrangement, they should harmonize gracefully. Too many different kinds of lines used in one group
of furniture lead to an air of confusion.

Colour

The colour schemes for the furniture should be planned keeping in mind their size, shape, and use;
other furnishings; and the colour scheme of the room as a whole.

Texture

The roughness or smoothness of the materials from which the furniture is made gives a character and
feel to the room. Textures should be graduated when mingled.

Rhythm

In furniture arrangement, rhythm is the result when the observer's eye moves from one piece of
furniture to the other in a group and from the furniture of one area to the other in a pleasing and
ordered way. Room rhythm in a furniture arrangement may be achieved by repetition of an accent or
the use of colours and design so that the eye is carried from one point to another. One way to achieve
rhythm is for the eye to be carried from a colourful window to chairs, pictures, and accessories, each
repeating in correct proportion the main colour scheme of the room.

Furniture Arrangement in Guestroom

Areas
Some points relating to the placement of furniture are given below, area by area.

Entrance or verandah

This area should have a furniture arrangement that expresses warmth, cheer, and pleasantness. The
furniture here may include a chair or two and a low table. Attention should be paid to the kind of
material used, as not all materials will be suitable for verandahs and entrances. These are ideal places
 to use cane, wicker, or painted wrought- iron furniture. These types of furniture have a lightweight
feel in visual terms.

Living room

The living room in larger guestrooms usually contains upholstered furniture to seat the maximum
number of people who may occupy the room and one or two more to accommodate guests. Each large
chair should be within easy reach of a table on which an ashtray or refreshments may be placed, and
should, if possible, face the door so that those entering the room can be seen and welcomed. Tables
and chairs should harmonize in weight, size, and style. Tall pieces of furniture should be placed
parallel to a wall. Seating should be placed in accordance to the wall, either parallel or at right angles.
Small chairs may be placed diagonally. Other furniture to be placed in this area are a television
cabinet and sometimes a chest of drawers.

Dining area

Most guestrooms do not have a separate dining area. In these rooms, a large coffee table and a few
chairs suffice for any meal served in the guestroom. The table and chairs should be set so as not to
interfere with traffic. Hotels can experiment with furniture of bright cheerful colours for this
grouping, but the colours chosen should harmonize with the colour scheme of the room as a whole.

Bedroom

The usual set of furniture in a guest bedroom is a bed, two bedside tables, a dressing table, a chest of
drawers, a coffee table, chairs, a luggage rack, and a writing table. Most economy guestrooms are
primarily bedrooms with regard to their function. Traffic lanes around the bed should be clearly
defined. Unless the room is very large, all furniture except the coffee table with its chairs and perhaps
the bed are best placed against the wall.

Kitchen

Some hotel guestrooms have a small kitchen, where usually modular cabinets are utilized as
furniture. It is mainly storage furniture that is found in the kitchen, in the form of cabinets and basket
drawers.

Certain fundamental points to

consider in furniture arrangement are given below.

 Keep accessories in proportion to the furniture. For instance, a lampshade too big for a
bedside table may not only look out of place, but may also topple off the table.
 Keep furniture in proportion to the space. For instance, placing a three-seater sofa between
two closely placed doors is not advisable aesthetically or functionally.
 Use a blend of symmetrical and asymmetrical arrangements.
 Place furniture with due regard for keeping 'traffic spaces' free. Consider placing larger pieces
against a wall rather than in the middle of the open space in a room. One can also place
furniture around a focal point of interest, perhaps a good painting or a fireplace.