Making the Right Arrangements: Think Close Enough to Gossip

Q: I don't have a clue about arranging furniture. We bought a condo that has a big window on one side of the main room and French doors on the other side.

Should we put the sofa facing the window or looking out on the patio? I tried it against the wall, but it didn't feel cozy.

A: There's a fine art to making a large space feel cozy. It's all about placing the furniture to relate to human scale — that is, within the reach of normal conversation.

Sister Parish (Mrs. Henry Parish II), the doyenne of design in the early to mid-20th century, was renowned for taming intimidating spaces by breaking them into small, intimate seating areas. Sister's influence was enormous, no surprise, considering her carriage-trade clients (among them, the Astors, Kennedys, Gettys, and — almost — the Duke and Duchess of York, who ultimately realized that it would be bad form to let an American designer do a royals' home).

Parish-style room arrangements have at least two seating pieces close enough for quiet gossip, a table within easy reach and good lighting. "Personal, comfortable, friendly and gay" was Sister's description of a successful room.

The same prescription still applies two generations later. In the pictured room, designer Barclay Butera translates Sister's adjectives into contemporary-speak in the sitting room of his California beach house. Butera angles a sectional sofa partway across the room, backing it with a tall palm to break up the large, open space.

A large cocktail table is conveniently centered, stacked baskets hold a reading lamp, and the picture light provides general illumination. Over all, the darker-painted ceiling encourages the warm attitude of this cool arrangement by one of today's top design talents. For more inspiration, visit www.barclaybutera.com.

Q: We have a contemporary house (our name is Barnard so friends call us "the Pottery Barnards"— ha! ha!), but suddenly we find ourselves attracted to some of the things that weren't so great about midcentury modern, such as wacky lamps with Murano glass bases and wild fabric shades with flowers and fringes. Do we need a design shrink?

A: If you're having fun, don't fret over a little attack of design schizophrenia.

Tastes are supposed to change and grow. As you develop your own personal style, many undiscovered ideas will bubble to the surface. Some will stick. Some are "shtick" — Yiddish for clowning around.

But there's also a word for the kind of decor you seem to be nurturing — "eclectic" — which translates loosely as a combination of different styles but always the best of each. Otherwise, you wind up with mere clutter.

Besides, your kind of wild-and-wacky lamps are making a definite comeback. We saw some of the best at the recent New York International Gift Fair, designed by the sisters-in-law team of Susan and Caryn Kinzig (kinzigdesign.com). The partners have a surprising collection of floor and table lamps with brilliant glass and metal bases as well as uniquely shaped, embroidered and bejeweled shades and pulls — each eccentric enough for the Jetsons and a bright addition to any style room.

Rose Bennett Gilbert is the co-author of "Manhattan Style," "Hampton Style," and five other books on interior design.