Small rooms

What the condition actually does

A small room fails at the edges: every piece that almost fits steals the walking line, and three almost-fits make the room unusable. The floor you can still see matters more than the floor you cover — a small room with 60% of its floor visible reads calm, and the same room at 30% reads full, whatever the style. Scale is the whole game; colour and pattern are tiebreakers.

The first move

Take one piece of furniture out entirely — the piece you route around when you cross the room. The room gets bigger for free, and you learn which of the remaining pieces is next.

Light under this condition

One ceiling light flattens a small room into a box. Two or three low-wattage sources at different heights — a wall light, a table lamp, something behind the seating — give it the depth the floor plan cannot.

What fights it

• Pairs of things — two armchairs, two side tables — in a room with space for one
• Sofas with rolled arms and skirts that sit visually on the floor
• A rug that floats in the middle with furniture around its edges
• Anything kept "because it might be useful" — a small room has no backstage