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Please help me choose the right size sofa (s) for my space

J. T.
8 years ago

We are a family of 5, and our current seating is inadequate for our needs, and also undersized for the space. I'm going to try to attach the layout with dimensions so that perhaps you can suggest what size pieces would best fit the space. We are open to sofa (s), loveseat, chair and a half, or even a sectional.


The space is part of a great room, and we are casual, easy living people. We spend most of our time in this space. It is adjacent (completely open) to the kitchen, and there is a fireplace and a tv in the space, right next to each other.


here is the fireplace wall, so what the main couch would be facing:

and this is what it looks like, although not from a straight on angle:


better angle, but before it was finished:

There is a two story picture window on the left wall out of the frame of the picture. Thanks for your advice, much appreciated!

Comments (14)

  • J. T.
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    sorry I do not know why that one photo is upside down. Also please ignore the kitchen layout except for the island is in about the right spot in relation to the family/seating room in question.

  • J. T.
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    Anyone? Just looking for size advice, not style or color. The main (largest) would be facing the fireplace/tv wall.....should the secondary piece be facing the window or facing the entry (so in front of the window)? Or a love seat facing the window and a chair facing the entry- or vice versa?

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  • User
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    Love your FP and floors!

    Lots of possibilities here. My LR is set up similar (except corner FP), and I have a sofa facing the TV, love seat facing the windows, and chair in front of windows (facing the entry way).

    You need more seating than us, and since your windows are so tall, I wouldn't worry about blocking them. So really, a sectional would work great (maybe with one part being a chaise?) and two chairs on the other side. Or, one sofa, loveseat, and either a chaise or two chairs.

    I would find a few pieces you like, then go home and tape off the dimensions to see how the size works.

    I couldn't find exact pics I wanted, but here are a few ideas:

    Large sofa, four chairs on either side, may not be optimal for TV viewing, though:

    This one with two chairs, instead of one, or a chaise instead of chairs:

    A curved sectional, with a large chair on either side (and if room enough for an ottoman or two):

    This is my LR set up, yours is much larger, so you have options for more seating (I'd like to replace my love seat with a big chair and ottoman). Taken from entry way:

  • busybee3
    8 years ago

    i love our large sectional- it has served my family very well over the years.... will you have the tv tilted toward the center of the room since it's on the far left?? the tv placement seems a little awkward...

    i would consider a large sectional that has the L extension extending toward the cabinet and straight across in front of the tv... centered on the fireplace... then a single chair on the left side, but close enough to the sectional so it doesn't block the tv... big rectangular coffee table...

  • J. T.
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    thank you! If we did a sectional would it be best for the L to go along the window wall? In that case it would be not ideal for television watching however someone could put their feet up on that part while leaving the other L of the couch facing the tv/fireplace wall open.


    Another uncertainty I had was about seeing the back of a couch when entering from the main door. Is it better to have only a chair on that side (so closest to the entry, facing the window wall) rather than a small couch/love seat which would perhaps close off the space visually (although there is PLENTY) of room physically. ??


    How about concerns about centering the main couch in front of the fireplace? I prefer to have things shifted towards the window wall because of tv viewing considerations. Does this impair a proper layout for the space?


    thanks again!

  • J. T.
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    Busybee, thank you! So the one part of the sectional would be facing the fireplace wall, and the other part of the sectional would be facing the window wall? The back of it would be in front of the entry?

    As far as the tv placement....perhaps yes a little awkward, however we didn't want it over the fireplace and didn't want it on the other side of the fireplace because then it's the first thing you notice when you enter from the main door. This way it stays a bit hidden from the main entry. Yes it is on a bracket on the wall and it pulls away from the wall and swivels towards the center of the room, so that helps with viewing.


    When we are really 'serious' about watching a movie or sporting event we go down to the (walkout) basement and watch from our sectional which is centered right in front of the tv and has good viewing for many people. It's really our second family room and a nice fully finished, well lit space (though not too bright for tv watching).

  • chispa
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I would have switched the display cabinet with the TV cabinet, as they look to be the same size. There would be more options for furniture placement as you have more room to the right side of the room. Also less glare/light as it wouldn't be right next to a big wall of windows.

    You said you had a secondary family room in the basement, but do you also have a formal living room, or is your main family room also your "living room"? If you have no formal living room, then I would decorate the family room to serve more of an entertaining function and not just a TV watching function.

  • lascatx
    8 years ago

    The orientation of the sectional would depend on whether you want the entry to be more open (in which case you put one or a pair of chairs backing to the entry) or to create a hall/room division -- in which case you could put one side of the sectional backing to the entry and have a console or sofa table behind it. That gives some break between hall and room in an open area and you have plenty of room to do it. It would also give the sectional seating facing the windows, which I would prefer if the view is good. Chairs on the window side could either be part of a grouping with the sectional of set back a little and paired in front of the window with a table between them -- a second conversation spot and potential good reading or needlework spot.

    I've had my LR with both chairs and sofa/console backing to the entry. My room is much smaller, so the chairs have to be part of the conversation grouping. In your room, I would do a sectional, long side facing the FP but short enough to allow a pair of chairs at the window.

  • busybee3
    8 years ago

    if the tv isn't on too frequently and if you all watch tv as a group most frequently in the basement, then furniture arrangement isn't as impt... but, i would still arrange it so thereisn't any furniture blocking the tv. also, make sure that you're sure you will want to go into the basement for viewing- i never was as crazy about hanging in our (very nice!) finished walkout basement for some reason...

    i thought having the sofa back face the room's entry would bother me too with our sectional- and when when it arrived, it looked like a whole lot of brown leather, so i got a console table to put on a portion of it... but i also got used to looking at the sectional back and found it didn't bother me after awhile!

  • Peppapoodle
    8 years ago

    I think you can go large in there!

    You can cut out graph paper of various configurations on your plans & plat around with different ideas. 3 feet for walkways behind furniture. Did you wire electrical sockets in the floor for floating furniture? It'll help to use lamps to create coziness rather than overheads.

  • J. T.
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    thanks again everyone! I stopped by a local furniture store and she recommended a 10 x 10 sectional and a chair and a half. I think we could go either direction with the sectional if we go that route- facing window (yes, nice views!) or facing door (which would give more seating closer to the tv.


    To answer a few questions: this is our only 'living/family' space. There is not a secondary living room for entertaining. We don't entertain much and when we do we all end up at the kitchen island. We do spend a lot of time in our basement. It is a very integral living area to our house- two of my kids have bedrooms there, we have the secondary family/tv watching space, and a bar area. Definitely use!

    As far as the tv location we spent a lot of time discussing one side vs the other. Ultimately I think we are happy with the left side of the fireplace for the tv. As I said earlier, it is farthest from the main entrance to the house. Also as far as furniture shift I prefer to shift away from the entry rather than towards it. There are a couple negatives and one is the glare, at certain times of the year during late afternoons. Most of the time it's fine. We have a lot of privacy on the back of our house so we have elected not to have shades over the windows....but certainly if the tv glare bothered us THAT MUCH we could add shades to help that.


    Yes, there is outlet in the floor, however floor lamps are iffy because I have a special needs child who is older and has in the past broken a lot of lamps because he doesn't know not to knock them over.


    So, my other question then is lets say we do a sectional that faces the window (and therefore backs against the entry way). And so we put a sofa table behind it. Then do we have a second sofa table behind the other part of the sectional as well? Two sofa tables?


    Love all the input and ideas!

  • lascatx
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    You could -- but if they are both tables, I think I'd want them to match and that would be too much with the sectional too. What about a console or sofa table on the side facing the entry -- light and pretty, but on the side facing the kitchen, do a bookcase, buffet or cabinet, something with some added function. It could have glass doors, drawers -- display, hide, serve for entertaining (maybe spread out some of the kitchen crowd). Think about how you want it to function and let that take the lead.

  • J. T.
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    that's perfect lascatx because I am already using a narrow console cabinet with frosted glass doors instead of a sofa table behind my current sofa, facing the kitchen. We keep our electronics out of site there (laptops, tablets, etc) and because it has a cord cutout I run a power strip to the in-floor outlet and we can charge multiple things inside the cabinet, all out of sight. The console is from Room & Board (very clean design, walnut wood, iron accents).


    I'm still totally open to sofa/loveseat/chair combination also.