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Home Decorating

Help! Tricky Living Room Design

10 years ago

Hi! Me and my boyfriend are moving into our first house but are unsure what to do with the living room we want to have our 32" tv, couch and matching chairs as well as a desk in there but it is a tricky room to layout because of a woodburning fireplace that is the main focal point in the room and in a central area...there are also three doorways and a wall of almost all windows. the chairs are standard armchair size and the couch is roughly 6.5ft long by 3 or so ft deep. Any help anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated...hopefully the image uploads the properly it is a floor plan of the room.

Comments (3)

randita
10 years ago
You're probably going to have to get everything in there and try out various placements to be sure everything works for you, but here are a few ideas.

The two possible spots for the TV would be over the fireplace (if the mantle isn't too high) or against the wall on the right. You wouldn't want your TV backlit by the wall of windows or else you would have to block the light during the day and it wouldn't work on the fireplace wall as you wouldn't get good viewing angles.

I'd start with a couple arrangements-I'm assuming that you sit on the couch primarily when you view TV, but maybe you don't.

1. Couch against the window wall and TV across the room. Two chairs across from the fireplace. Desk in front of the window to the right of the fireplace - you can look out the window while you're sitting at the desk and that sinks the desk into that alcove. Drawback to this arrangement is that it's kind of a long distance from your couch to the TV and your TV is on the small side for that distance. But if you don't watch TV that much or are planning on eventually getting a larger TV, that's not a factor.

2. Couch across from the fireplace, chairs against the window wall, desk still in front of window to R of fireplace, TV mounted on wall above fireplace. Drawback to this is you may want your fireplace uncluttered by a TV and IMO, TV's above fireplaces are mounted too high for a comfortable viewing angle. You can partially solve this by getting a tilt mount for your TV.

If you sit in the chairs instead of on the couch when watching TV, then swap the couch and chair arrangements above.

Rooms with multiple doorways do present challenges, but your room is large enough, I'm sure you'll find an aesthetically pleasing and functional solution but it might take several tries.

Congratulations on your new home!
yayagal
10 years ago
I would start out by floating the sofa in front of the fireplace where you have the floor marked 13 and then each chair facing each other so it makes a conversational grouping. A nice coffee table would sit in front of the couch. If you have a small desk you can find a spot on the long solid wall. The t.v. would be great over the fireplace. I'd try that for starters as it gives you room to walk around the furniture and it will feel more spacious.
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I think you can take advantage of both focal points with two sofas facing each other and the TV opposite the fireplace. Behind one of the sofas can be a sofa table and two armchairs oriented towards the patio view. A bench under the window to the right of the fireplace could serve as a window seat. Opposite the window may a be a good spot for some bookshelves. Below is the idea.
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The wall with the bay window is just over 16ft from the back wall to the start of the door frame. The back wall (where the tv is) is 11ft 6inches, and the small wall where the love seat is 4ft. I appreciate all of your input so far! Not married to keeping any of the current furniture pieces, want to find options for more seating and storage. Concern about putting a long couch under the window is that it blocks a main chunk of the radiator. Centering the TV on the back wall is something i'm interested in, but don't know how to place the furniture because the baseboard radiator goes along just half of the wall.
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Your TV would definitely need to come down a couple of inches. It would make for much better viewing. A smaller couch (3 seater but more compact) would make room for a small end table. You could add a pair of accent chairs or add one chair and get a couple of ottomans that can be pushed away when you don't need them. For the TV, I'd get a media cabinet and maybe add a tall bookcase in the corner. You can liven up the room by adding some peppy wall art since the room is a bit boring right now. Alternatively, you could add a nice mirror to the wall too. A rug would really add to this space and define the entire area. Here is an interactive mock up of your room where you can make your own layouts. Did you have some colors scheme or inspiration in mind for the new furniture you want to purchase?
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This couch is about $900. We tried it in the store and were pretty happy with the comfort. Im a lil skeptical of buying couches online without trying.
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Annie Deighnaugh
10 years ago
Hard to suggest a layout without knowing what the main traffic flows are through the room...are the doorways all as frequently used?

I was thinking the desk could go in front of the small window on the left. The sofa could face right, the 2 chairs could face left centered on the fireplace and the tv could go opposite the fireplace so both the fireplace and tv are easily viewed.

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