I find that many challenges people experience with a space are simply because they are fighting the architecture. The architecture is the foundation of all decisions for a space. This foundation includes the walls, the floor, the ceiling, the windows, the doors, the openings, and any other structural elements, such as a fireplace. When planning the design of a space, one universal truth reigns above all other interests:

The architecture always wins. By embracing the architecture, design decisions become intentional rather than forced. This note is most easily explained by considering the furniture plan.

In a first meeting, clients often express either frustration (“I just don’t like this room”) or bewilderment (“I have no idea what to do”). They are feeling in conflict, and they have reached out to me because they are just not sure how to proceed. More furniture? Less furniture? A renovation? A move? One of the first comments that I make is nearly always about outlining goals for the space and letting the architecture guide the decisions that help us to reach those goals.

A client recently felt completely at a loss about how to furnish a room. The openness of the space felt “off” to her, preventing her from seeing the size of the area accurately. It looked both too big and too small for what she wanted it to be. This home is beautiful, with a thoughtful layout and lovely architectural details that are in proportion, yet she felt in conflict.

As soon as I shared a plan that embraced both the architecture and her goals, she immediately understood the space. This open area felt casual to her, and she wanted this front area of the home to be more elegant. By adding an interior wall featuring clerestory windows and following the direct lines of both the ceiling architecture and an existing column, we created two delineated spaces, a foyer and a sitting room.

With that simple change, we achieved her overall goal of elegance without forced formality. The new entrance foyer now ushers guests into the home, and the sitting room provides seating for eight in a space she had been concerned would even seat three.

As it turns out, this area was much larger than her eyes had been telling her. We simply embraced the architecture to create the ideal result.

This example included the small non–structural change of adding a wall, but often we do not need to make any adjustments in order to develop an ideal furniture plan. The key is simply letting the architecture be the guide.