Instead, furnish your space by floating furniture away from walls.  Reposition sofas and chairs into cozy conversational groups, and place pieces so that the traffic flow in the room is obvious.  In most cases, this means keeping the perimeters clear.  When you place furniture in a room, envision a figure-eight or the letter H in the middle, with clear pathways around it.    Not only will this make the space more user-friendly, it will open up the room and make it seem larger.

If you're nervous about doing something that can seem a bit radical. Try an area rug on an angle first, then move the couch and see how it looks.  But just try it.  If the new arrangement doesn't strike your fancy, you can always put things back the way they were. But chances are, you won't want to.