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awkward narrow living room help

12 years ago

I've been trying to arrange this living room for years. I would like to buy new furniture, but I don't know where to start. The room only has one wall big enough for a couch. The room will be used for watching TV. I would also like the computer to go in this room. A curio cabinet would also be nice. Any help is greatly appreciated.

http://s1169.photobucket.com/albums/r509/aweston7566/?action=view&current=livingroom.jpg

http://s1169.photobucket.com/albums/r509/aweston7566/?action=view&current=HPIM2061.jpg

http://s1169.photobucket.com/albums/r509/aweston7566/?action=view&current=HPIM2062.jpg

http://s1169.photobucket.com/albums/r509/aweston7566/?action=view&current=HPIM2059.jpg

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Comments (11)

lauriedeee
12 years ago
you can post the pictures here.. Just go to your photobucket acct. Put your cursor on whichever pics you want to show up and when the box comes up just click on the html code.. 3rd. option down, and paste it in this message box.

You may get more responses if you post your pics instead of links.
camlan
12 years ago
A couple of questions. How many people do you need to seat in the living room on an average day? Do you need a full-length sofa or could you get by with a smaller loveseat? (In other words, does someone in the family like to lounge full-length on the sofa while watching TV?)

I'm guessing the TV is in the cabinet opposite the fireplace. Can it be moved anywhere else in the room? Right now you have two focal points at opposite ends of the room--the TV and the fireplace. And none of your furniture faces either one. If at all possible, I'd move the TV down closer to the fireplace. Right now, the fireplace is kind of ignored and seems out of place in the room. Is there room for the TV to the right of the fireplace?

Then I'd swing the sofa around to face the fireplace and TV. Either have the loveseat at right angles to it to make an "L" shaped conversation area, or have two armchairs, maybe swivel ones, one on either side of the sofa.

Move the cat tree to in front of the half of the sliding door you don't use, and put a bird feeder right outside the door. That way, the cats will be able to lounge as they watch their "kitty TV."

Then use the end of the room where the TV cabinet currently is for a desk and the computer and maybe a bookcase for storage. Or you could put the curio cabinet there.
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Since you have a family room elsewhere, you might want to rethink this room and create only a small conversation area left of the fireplace and, perhaps, add a desk/table where sofa is located to create a home office area there. If you can access the hallway or any other room from more than one place including this front entry room, consider closing off the door to that space from this room. On the right wall from the entry door to the rear of the house, you may need to limit that to furnishings that do not include seating. Take some measurements and see if the sofa fit with its back against the wall in that left far corner so that the left arm of the sofa is parallel to the front exterior wall? It may be that you need undersized pieces -- a pair of love seats rather than a full sized sofa or a "ladies" recliner rather than a huge one -- in the room to make the seating a good fit. Something that might be helpful could be drawing the room, to scale, on graph paper and then drawing the "footprint" of each piece of furniture you may want in the room as well so you can cut out the outline of the furnishings and see what fits where -- better than lugging the furniture around until you get it the way you want.
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EG3d
12 years ago
EG3d
12 years ago
EG3d
12 years ago
EG3d
12 years ago
chemnerd
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for the suggestions. The furniture in the room now came with us from our last home. The furniture seems way too big for the room and I'm planning to replace it. The room needs to seat at least five people for when we have company. I would like to keep a full size couch since I do like to lounge full length on the sofa. My current couch is over-sized (7.5ft. long). Thank you EG3d for getting my pics to show up on the forum!
erinsean
12 years ago
I would rearrange a little....put your couch where your TV entertainment center is, facing the fireplace. Put your entertainment center where your credenza is (to the right of the fireplace), and your credenze on the left side of the fireplace. I see your entertainment center comes in three parts....maybe you will have to use just the center part. Then put your love seat where the couch is now..... Kitty mountain could be in the corner where you have the touchiere lamp now. Or like someone mentioned, make your couch and love seat into an L shape facing the fireplace and TV/entertainment center to the right of the Fireplace.
chemnerd
Original Author
12 years ago
Pics of my current arrangement
chemnerd
Original Author
12 years ago
One idea I've been toying with:
lascatx
12 years ago
Having the sofa back to a full length fireplace is never going to work for me. I'll repeat the suggestion to have your sofa face the fireplace, but I'd put the center section of your entertainment center in the corner to the left of the fireplace -- on an angle or where the rolltop desk is in that last photo. The loveseat would then seem to go not too far from where it was in the first photo.

Looks like the white wall with the two small black framed pictures is intended to be a dining area -- maybe a breakfast nook? If you don't need it for an eating area, I think I'd still give it a separate treatment with a reading chair and table, a game table and a couple of chairs, etc. Could still be a nice place for coffee, etc.

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