1st Home Furniture Arrangement! Small, high-traffic sunken living room
Natalie B
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
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latifeh hammad
5 years agoNatalie B
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Arranging living room furniture
Comments (10)You can measure up the room and go to homestyler.com...free on line software where you can lay out your walls and your furniture to move around on line and see what might work. The problem is you have 2 competing focal points...the TV and the fireplace...and not enough room in between for 2 separate seating areas, esp with the size of your current furnishings. You also have traffic patterns flowing through the room making it functionally smaller than the walls would suggest. The only thing that might work would be to put one sofa in front of the window and the recliners opposite it on the other side so when seated, both the fireplace and tv are visible...but this is not the best for tv viewing from the sofa. You may just have to bite the bullet and arrange the room around the tv and ignore the fireplace...set it up as decorative only with maybe a small chair, a basket of wood, etc. We had a similar set up at the old house and we ended up ignoring the fireplace which we turned into a wood stove. We arranged the LR furniture around the window and the TV......See MoreSmall house 1st floor - comments please - elevation?
Comments (99)Comments on small things: - I don't have any opinion about whether your bedroom should be just off the kitchen, but I can tell you that a child's bedroom should not be in this position! We were a "sit in the kitchen" family, and I had the bedroom just off the kitchen. I overheard MANY things that were really none of my business, for example, I remember being terrified after a smoke alarm salesman came to our house to talk to my parents (yes, when they first came out, they were sold door to door), and I really shouldn't have heard all the details about why my parents were divorcing. - Width of the door isn't the only consideration. A larger door is heavier and larger, and it is more difficult for an elderly or infirm person to open (because the person has to reach 4" farther to reach the door and allow it to swing open); we're a short family, and our arms aren't that long. A larger door also requires a greater "swing area", meaning that in a small house furniture placement may be hindered, and you might like to use those few extra inches for slightly larger kitchen cabinets or slightly larger bookshelves. If you are ever confined to a wheelchair full time, you'll probably buy an electric wheelchair, which is more narrow than a traditional push-it chair (because electric chairs are "driven" with a joystick on the arm, and you don't need to allow space for your hands beside the wheels); I had a student in such a wheelchair this semester, and she could scoot through small spaces -- but she couldn't fit under a standard-height table! Additionally, if you go with smaller doors now and later find that you need the extra few inches, you can always switch your doors to swing-away hinges later. And since you want both accessibility and budget-friendly choices, be sure you choose standard-sized doors; I think it's 34" that isn't standard (?). Note, too, that these arguments don't apply to pocket doors. Okay, after reading on in the thread, I see the above thoughts on 36" doors had already been covered. -- Since you mentioned wheelchairs, I'll toss this out: My grandmother didn't have any type of accident or disease, but as she approached 100 she became more fragile. She was never confined to a wheelchair (few people are actually in wheelchairs ALL THE TIME); rather, she went through the typical old-age progression: First she started using a walker only when she left the house ... then she started using the walker inside the house too ... and in the last two years of her life she started using a wheelchair outside the house but used the walker inside the house. Until the last 2-3 days of her life, she never used the wheelchair in the house. She never had any problem with any doors (and I know the ones in my house -- she lived with me for a time), and I know the doors in my house are 32". What WAS a problem was not having a place to store the walker (and later the wheelchair) when she wasn't using it! Finally we bought a second walker, so she used the blue one INSIDE the house, and she was able to take the one step down to the garage, where her pink walker was waiting by the door. When she started using the wheelchair outside the house, we'd help her up the ramp and into the house, then after she was seated in her favorite recliner, one of us would have to take the wheelchair back out to be stored in the garage ... and then she she was ready to go out again, someone had to bring it back in the house for her. We were always moving something because we had no place to store the things! As a result, for the house we're building, I'm planning a spot (in the utility room) near the garage entry that will hold a 36" chest of drawers in a little alcove ... but in the future, if we need to house a wheelchair inside the house, we can remove the chest and use that alcove as a wheelchair storage spot. Regardless, the walker-and-wheelchair and/or doors weren't what gave my grandmother the most trouble. The #1 thing that gave her trouble was the shower; she had trouble lifting her foot over the threshhold (though it only about 6") and a larger shower with a larger, more comfortable stool would've been good. The #2 problem for her was being able to carry her laundry and reach into the machine. #3 was probably changes in flooring (even a 1/2" difference between tile and hardwood could trip her). Oh, and she wouldn't go to one relative's house because she couldn't get into the toilet-in-a-closet. In contrast, the household detail that gave her the most joy was probably the big bay window by the table where she always sat. It let in so much light and she could enjoy the lovely back yard. Honestly, aging-in-place is a common topic on this board, but most people are discussing the wrong things. The discussion goes way beyond wider doorways and walkways; I definitely learned a great deal from being my grandmother's caretaker. - I don't know how large a shower kids "need", but my girls have a tub-sized shower in their bathroom, and we all LOVE it. (I say tub-sized because we recently had the old tub pulled out and replaced with a tiled shower.) My only regret about their shower is that I wish we'd had two niches build (or an extra-long niche); they aren't particularly high-maintenance, but a big squirt bottle of shampoo and another of conditioner plus a bottle of squirt soap ... well, it's all full, so they have to keep shaving cream and body wash on the floor. It would've required only a tiny bit more effort and money to have had more storage. The shower in my bathroom is 3'x4', and it's comfortable; however, I'm planning to make the one in my new house 8" wider. Why? Because I want to install grab bars on both sides, and I don't want to make the usable space any less than 3' wide. - Dormers may not be necessary, but I think they'll add significantly to the quality of light in the upstairs. I'd do my best to include them....See MoreLiving room furniture arrangement
Comments (6)I would take out the big recliner. Then move the black glass cab to the wall where the blue chair is now. I would put the blue chair in the corner (where the black cab is now) with the small table and a different lamp (smaller) next to it. If there is room for the rocking chair I would place it next to the black cab or where the large recliner is now. You could always temporarily use your rug in front of the couch under a coffee table. I would edit it out the small orange chair only bc of room and the color. Not that I do not like the color of the orange chair but it would be nice to eliminate one of the many colors in the room. I would scour CL and see what they have in your area for coffee tables or go to overstock, they have tons of inexpensive options. I would also change out the light to a fan or a different ceiling light. I also agree curtains would look great if they are in your budget. Have you considered painting or is that out of the question. If you did paint I would use a much warmer tan. Also, you could look at CL for a different more clean lined sofa. Not that you need one, but it would help in opening up some room in your space....See MoreBought 1st home & need your layout & design skills for living room!
Comments (23)Thanks all again but after being in the space and testing out the layouts your offered, I really do prefer the TV in the corner so I'm trying to decide between one of these 2 corner TV stands: https://www.birchlane.com/living/pdp/pullman-corner-tv-stand-for-tvs-up-to-65-b001030194.html?piid%5B0%5D=1082005253 https://www.birchlane.com/living/pdp/birch-lane-heritage-benedetto-corner-tv-stand-for-tvs-up-to-65-b000771980.html Thoughts? Then I can put an upholstered storage bench underneath the big window and a console/desk behind sofa with chairs for extra seating. And I still want to get a chaise lounge or armchair with ottoman place counter the sofa (empty space in mock up below). *Mock up is not the right colors or styles but just picked based on size to help with figuring out layout...See Morelatifeh hammad
5 years agoNatalie B
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5 years agoNatasha Martirosian at Ethan Allen
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