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Furniture Design Dilemma Fireplaces

New living room and I'm stumped!

6 years ago

Hey designers! I'm stumped. Help! Just bought a gorgeous house and the living room is giving my husband and I a headache- we're so stumped! The room is 13x20 and has built ins along the wall, opposite the fireplace wall. i want to just get rid of them (they take up so much room) but they're beautiful and expensive and my husband really loves them. i want/need a wrap around couch in my life but we have no idea how to incorporate seating and a tv mounted over the fireplace. The furniture in the pics are the previous owners and obviously really outdated and not set up how I'd prefer since the Tv is actually included in the built ins.

So the big question is how do we put a wrap around couch in this room facing the fireplace without being too close?

Thanks in advance!! Xx

Featured Answer

PRO

BeverlyFLADeziner

6 years ago

There is no room for anything more than a sofa with a chaise.

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Comments (10)

dover P
6 years ago
No to tv above fireplace please, do you really want that to be the first thing you see when coming into the room? lovely mantle surround.

There is no way to have a sofa face the fire place in a 13deep room unless you moved the doorway down and closed the existing which I don't believe would look too great. You could put a nice round upholstered ottoman in front of the fireplace.
jhmarie
6 years ago
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/on-my-soapbox-mounting-the-flatscreen-too-high-dsvw-vd~4537748
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I actually like the way you have it set up now. You do need to add accessories: lighting, art, a few more pillows, and drapes to soften the room. Add lighting to the sofa console too, along with a few books and other items. Don't crowd it, but it needs something to warm it up. I would add one more chair as someone posted above to make it a conversation area. Add the chair in front of the window facing the sofa area. The only piece of furniture that i would change is the TV console. It is too short and too high IMO. Go with something long and low and remove that small end table that is in the corner next to the tv console. ^ I like the floating console look, but you can also get a long freestanding console. In this particular application, the back wall is painted (near) black so the TV blends into the wall.
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PRO
Flo Mangan
6 years ago
What do you mean by "wrap around"? Do you mean a sectional?? With that built-in it would be very difficult to put a sectional in this room, given the openings and fireplace and window, etc., etc. What are you goals? Even removing the built-ins isn't going to give you that much more room. It is the overall width of the room that is limiting. It would help to know what you are trying to achieve?
User
6 years ago
@jhmarie

I honestly have no idea how this became a "thing". Who wants to "relax" by craning your neck at the ceiling like you're in the front row of the movie theater?
odin08075
6 years ago
beautiful builtin's
BJ
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
From someone who is not a Pro, but purchased a house in the last few years:

Try out virtually different furniture arrangements by using one of the room layout apps, such as Floorplanner, utilizing exact measurements both of your room and of furniture you like.

You will soon find out if what you want/need works (or doesn't), and maybe find that what works will soon be what you want/need.
jhmarie
6 years ago
@Lena - I first noticed a certain pair of brothers on HGTV doing it (and they do other silly things like rip up hardwood flooring) - I don't watch HGTV anymore. Then I saw it in some Parade Homes and I still see it in design pics. Designers at least usually keep the TV the same size as a painting above the fireplace might be, but unfortunately many homeowners will put a very large TV above the fireplace, which not only is too high, but overpowers the fireplace and looks top heavy on the wall. Part of the problem is open concept - which removes walls so there are less options. Another part of the problem - the very big TV. It no longer fits comfortably in the corner of a room.
acm
6 years ago
That's a long room, so usually that means that subdividing it is right. You might try a (shorter) couch placed with the fireplace to its left, so you can enjoy both that and the TV in the shelves. Then a chair on the other side of the fireplace. Probably the far end of the room, by the windows, becomes a different zone, either a couple of reading chairs with a low table, or maybe a game table, etc.
janiceme
6 years ago
I really like the sofa/chaise idea in the above diagram. And the chairs could be swivels. I think you would miss the storage if you removed all the built ins. But, I would be inclined to remove the one section of built in that acts as a TV stand or at least have it reworked to match the depth of the rest of the unit. Since flat screen TVs don't need much depth, I would place the TV in the built in across the short section that would directly face the sofa/chaise, perhaps wall mounting it directly to the back of the unit and having all the shelves and vertical divider removed. I would create an additional seating area with an occasional chair in the corner and a small table under the window that is to the right of the fireplace and eliminate the secretary desk that is against the wall adjacent to that corner. Totally agree about no TV above the fireplace. I had a contractor tell me that one of his most common jobs is removing such TVs to a more comfortable location.

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