Long narrow room rug & furniture multiple doors driving me nuts!
My family room is driving me batty! It's 27' long x 13.5' wide and 9.5' wide at fireplace hearth which takes up most of one wall. The main issue is the pass through from the back hall entry to the kitchen. There are three interior doorways and French doors at one end. I'd like to improve the furniture placement by replacing the wide leather chair with something more updated and have my eye on a swivel chair. Additionally, I'm feeling the need for an area rug in the large traffic path but not sure if it makes sense or relates to anything without just floating. The sofa has to stay and I just purchased the large 9 x 12 rug but intend to refinish the floors, upgrade the drapes, media cabinet, and am open to removing other items. What would you do with this room? Should I put a rug in the traffic path from back hall to kitchen? Any design suggestions to help pull this mess together would be most appreciated :) Thanks!!
View of back entry to kitchen. 10' from back of chair to French doors. 9' from front of chest to desk on opposite side of room.
9.5' from wall to front of fireplace.
27' overall room length
Rug?
view to kitchen
doorway to front hall
Comments (24)
PROPatricia Colwell Consulting
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoIMO you have too much stuff in the space . If you really want help post a detailed floor plan with an idea of your style and what you are prepared to change in the space.These are a couple of pics of a space very similar to yours you could do the TV where the fireplace is in the pic and a smaller scaled sofa where the bench is but you need to keep pieces to a minimum in such a small area IMO the rug will just be in the way and not really look good . The piece that looks like a dresser needs to go for sure. This space was 10 x 30 including the DR and there was an entry door almost right in the center of the space.
Mary Baro
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Upstairs neighbors ... Driving my NUTS!!!!
Comments (6)Have you addressed the noise issue with the management? If by housework, you mean that your upstairs neighbor is coming home at 11 pm and starting to vacuum, I think you have cause for a noise complaint. Especially if all the units have marble floors. Is there anything in your lease about noise or quiet hours or needing to have area rugs down to lessen the noise? Bring this to the attention of the neighbors and the management. I can't blame the management for not working with you on breaking your lease when all you have done to remedy the situation is to talk to the neighbors one time. So here's what I'd do. First, I'd start documenting the noise. Every day. Every time. Jot it down in a notebook or on your computer. "11 am Saturday. Vacuuming. Can't hear TV set on volume 80." "Midnight. Thursday. Woken up by neighbor's footsteps as he returned home. Kept awake by vacuuming and dishwasher." Second, I'd go back to the neighbors. Of course they don't realize they are making so much noise. Tell them that you and your kids are being woken up by the noise--be specific as to time and type of noise--and ask them nicely to deal with this. It doesn't matter to you what they do--put down area rugs, change their housekeeping schedule--but between the hours of, say, 9 pm and 7 am, you would appreciate their efforts to reduce the noise traveling into your unit. Document this and all conversations with them and their responses. They have little choice as to their working hours, but they can try to reduce the noise. And they can certainly limit housework to more standard hours, like during the day when most people are awake. Third, go to management. Show them your log of at least one week's noise disturbances. Ask them what they are going to do. Ask them what else you can do. Be proactive. Continue to give management weekly updates on the noise situation. They need to know that it is a constant, ongoing problem. If you complain once and never again, they are going to think the problem is solved. Fourth. If nothing else works, could they move you to a different unit, preferably one on the top floor? Fifth. If that fails, you have the option to break the lease. Yes, you will have to pay the rent until the unit is re-rented. You signed a contract. You have to honor the contract. Breaking the lease is a last resort. You have to try all your other options first....See MoreMy piano drives the person below nuts...
Comments (16)You are right, no need to argue your point because this is a discussion silly. No, I never tried the Roland HP 237 but Classical music? Their are certain pieces that just require bravado but they are not key banger pieces, especially when you know your neighbor is bothered. Sorry, I assumed you were playing rock or rap or something loud like that. Best you can do, besides changing your time of playing, is to buy a few bathroom rugs, and layer them. Bathroom rugs because they have a rubber backing and they have more fiber than say a kitchen put in front of your sink rug. Try two then move up to 3 or 4 if need be. It should at least help and might help enough that your neighbors shut up. What also might help, since sound travels so well in your building. Take off the head phones, and turn the volume so it is a fraction of a notch above the key noise. Your neighbors might stop complaining if they can hear the music when they can't sleep. Or they might complain more, you never know until you try. I had teenage boys living above my bedroom and I didn't complain about them playing music, I complained about the thumping base at all hours. Their Mom put a rug under their base speaker and at night they turned down the base down a few notches between 9pm and 6am. When I couldn't sleep I could still hear their music, and that was fine, but it never woke me up if I was sleeping fine....See Moredesign help narrow lounge room sectional couch and multiple access
Comments (8)On Facebook recently, I recall seeing a soft crochet ball being used as an ottoman. Something like that would be safe for a toddler. Would NOT invest in a rug -- too easy for a toddler to trip over. Small room doesn't need it. You could decorate the room by focusing on decorating the walls. For the corner to the left of the door, a wood two drawer file cabinet could double as an end table rather -- solid and heavy than something lighter that could be pulled over. Then push your sofa against that. Plants and toddlers don't usually mix well. You could add a bracket for a flower hanging basket above the fixed side of your patio door -- hung out of reach of your toddler. You might try one flower in a very large, tall, heavy pot placed in front of the fixed side of your patio door to see if you can train the toddler to leave your plants alone. Wouldn't invest in more till you can get your toddler trained. You might also be able to find an adult sized bean bag chair -- no hard sharp edges -- in addition to a colorful bean bag chair especially for your toddler. For additional lighting, consider wall hung lamps behind your sofa rather than something that could be pulled over. https://www.lampsplus.com/products/lanett-brushed-nickel-swing-arm-plug-in-wall-lamp-set-of-2__1x503.html Since the safety of your toddler is obviously a priority, you might consider investing in a plastic toy box in lieu of a coffee table -- preferably one with a flat part that might be used as a coffee table whenever the toddler is asleep. https://www.step2.com/c/kids-furniture/toy-boxes-storage/...See Morefurniture arrangement in long narrow great room
Comments (17)I would break that room into 3 spaces. But first just a few general comments on how it is now .... Pull the area rug that is in front of the fireplace further underneath the couch so that the front legs of the couch are sitting on it. And then don't put two couches facing the same direction. The one in front of the fireplace has to stay that direction, so if you have to use the other couch then have it face the window creating a walkway into the room along it's back. 1st space closest to the front door and staircase: I would put a sideboard type piece of furniture in front of the window with two lamps on it and one accent chair closest to the door. 2nd space: Leave your sectional there with the TV. 3rd space: I would either do 4 chairs in a circle with a round coffee table in the middle, or I would put a chaise lounge there with a small table, or again if the second couch has to stay there, then I would add two smaller chairs with a coffee table if there is room, and if not then a small table between the chairs....See More
PROBANDD DESIGN
5 years agoWe agree that the blue chest can go, and we don't think you need a rug in the traffic path from the back hall to the. kitchen. We actually agree with Patricia, that the TV really might need to go over the fireplace. It doesn't look like it can fit where the blue chest was, and it isn't do any good in the corner it is in. If we were you we would've gotten a sofa, with no chaise as it sticks out and makes it harder to make this room work. However with that being said, if you move the TV over the fireplace, you will have more seating options open to you. You could potentially put two chairs on either side of the fireplace (one where the blue chest is and one where the current TV is). Or you could replace the red chair with something else and angle the chair instead of having it face the window.
This would've been the best option for the space:
Moving Water · More InfoThis is what you will need to do now:
Westlake Hills · More Info
Westlake Hills · More InfoMary Baro thanked BANDD DESIGNMary Baro
5 years agoThose are wonderful examples. I'll try to move the tv though it is rather large and I have eight foot ceilings. It's difficult to see from the pictures that the placement of the fireplace and doorways make it impossible to center the furniture or rug in front of the fireplace. I have previously had a sofa rather than a sectional but found I still couldn't fit an accent chair on the left side of the room near the picture window as it obstructed the traffic flow.
Mary Baro
5 years ago
Peppapoodle
5 years agoIt seems the doorway into the kitchen is throwing things off. Since you are refinishing the floors-why not change opening to the kitchen to be opposite of entry opening? Then you could center rug §ional,. Get an articulated mount for tv.
Excuse kindergarten drawing-blue is new opening.
Mary Baro thanked PeppapoodleMary Baro
5 years agoMary Baro
5 years agoIf I do move the furniture there will be a wide open space on the other side of the room???
leelee
5 years agoFind another room for the tall bookcases flanking the double glass doors. Move the desk to the same room. Do you have a guest room or a master that could hold these?
Then put the blue chest with mirror and lamp on the wall where the desk is now.
Mary Baro thanked leeleeMary Baro
5 years agoleelee
5 years agoMary Baro
5 years agoI see it! Clearly, this is the way to go Cheryl Smith. I think a sofa instead of sectional is best and wall mount tv. The giant chair is way too big. Before that I tried a place holder cabinet to left of fireplace to try that out with the existing sectional and then wall mount tv.
Mary Baro
5 years agoHere it is with sectional in front of fireplace. It’s not as pleasing and feels a bit crowded. The decision seems to be whether to ditch sectional and get sofa with accent chairs. Ugh. That was certainly an eye opener and good exercise! Thanks so much for the great suggestions
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