Help with furniture and lighting layout in new apartment

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

hi all! My wife and I are new homeowners (!) and just moved into our new place after some renovations. I'm stuck on the best way to arrange furniture and lighting in the living room. Floor plan and some current photos attached. My gut says the couch is too big and we need something smaller but I also want to preserve the living room as a space not just to entertain (which we do a lot) but also chill out. We're also expecting our first baby in March, so I anticipate the way we use our space will evolve a lot over the coming years. Lastly, I'm also challenged by the lighting - the fixture in the pics was installed by the previous owners and we like it aesthetically but between the high ceilings, north facing windows and lack of decisions I've made about lamps and such, I'm missing the cozy kind of feeling we had in our last place. I'd so appreciate any suggestions for furniture and lighting placement. Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

Living room as arranged by previous owners during the showing:

Living room as currently painted and laid out by us (click to see larger for couch placement):

This is our couch:

We have a black matte leather eames chair and the noguchi coffee table. We're open to new buys etc and I know we need some small tables and table lamps to make this work.

For context, here's the dining room as currently furnished (view from living room):

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Comments (8)

PRO
CDR Design, LLC
4 years ago
Hi . Nice space! I actually think a long sofa is a great choice for this space.

OPt 1)

I'd move the Eames chair to the opposite end

add 2 chairs by the window.

add a coffee table

add a lamp on either side of the sofa

Opt 2)

Move the tv to the bathroom wall

Move the sofa by the windows, facing the tv but pulled away from the windows

2 chairs floated where the sofa is now.

How do you feel about the bookcases?
distar
Original Author
4 years ago
thank you! I'm leaning toward option 1 so glad you're impulse is in that direction. There are so many built-in bookcases we don't need more, but what were you thinking?
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I think your idea of putting the sofa facing the fireplace and having the play area behind it is a good one. I'd go with a low bookcase behind it, with baskets or bins to hold toys and books. Is this room your prime tv watching area? If the tv can be put in one of the built-ins, then you would have one major focal point, with the tv and the fireplace next to each other, and the sofa facing them. Keeping the media cabinet where it is will really limit your seating arrangement possibilities--it will be difficult to watch tv from the sofa if the sofa is facing the fireplace. And if the media cabinet takes up most of that wall, it is also taking up a lot of the space where you could add in new chairs. Moving the tv to the built-ins might cost some money--you'd need to have the cable hook-up moved and maybe hire a carpenter to make changes to the built-ins. But you will be spending money anyway on new furniture. I wouldn't let the fact that you currently own the media cabinet influence your plans for this room too much, as it could be as much a liabilty as an asset. If it keeps you from creating an attractive room with the amount of seating that you want--why keep it? My thought is to put the sofa where you plan. Then you could put two upholstered chairs, one on either side of the fireplace, angled a bit, but facing the sofa. That would be a nice spot to curl up with a book. That would give you seating for at least 5 people. Then get a couple of side chairs and put them on the wall currently occupied by the media cabinet, with a small side table between them. If you make the table and chairs in the play area into a game table, then you will have 4 more chairs for guests. Now you are seating at least 11 people in the room without having to move in chairs. If you absolutely have to keep the media cabinet and keep it where it is, then I'd suggest a sofa against the window wall, facing the tv, and a second sofa or a loveseat (depending on how large your room is) at right angles to it, facing the fireplace. You could still put a bookcase against the back of the sofa facing the fireplace. Then an upholstered chair in that lower right-hand corner between the built-in and the media cabinet. That should give you seating for 6-7 people, although only 3 of them will be able to view the tv comfortably. If the media cabinet fits the style of the house, could it be repurposed in the play area of the room, holding toys? This post was edited by camlan on Tue, Mar 11, 14 at 8:53
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The sofa seems like odd man out in styling here. Agree with groveraxle, a rug would be very helpful. For a modern look, remove at least 50% of the miscellaneous items on the TV floating console and mantel and end tables. I see a bar cart over in the corner and perhaps a piece of art? Seems like a bad spot for that. Can it be moved to another room, like a dining room or eating area? Perhaps some soft color in a rug would be a nice addition. Then it would be really nice to replace that sofa for something lower and sleeker. If not now, plan for it in the future. Or get a lighters slip cover so it blends in more at least.
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Floating the bed is a nice idea but you wouldn't have room for any type of night stands. An armoire is a wonderful idea for extra storage. Something like this with some extra drawers would work. https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Grain-Wood-Furniture-Greenport-2-Door-Armoire/25739333/product.html?option=43173892 Then use bachelor chests or 3 drawer nightstands for more drawer storage. https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdp/rosalind-wheeler-lusia-3-drawer-nightstand-w001460587.html If there's room, perhaps you could add a bench under the window. Just simple white sheers on the window since you don't seem to need privacy. The floors are beautiful and it's a lovely room. A modern antique brass bed like this would make a wonderful juxtaposition in a traditional room! https://www.burkedecor.com/products/westwood-bed-in-antique-brass?
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PRO
CDR Design, LLC
4 years ago
Nope.....not adding more. Just a thought you might want to actually remove them or remove some if possible.

The tv seems very small for the space.
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
4 years ago
IMO the bookshelves are not holding books and look really cluttered put the books from the DR in those shelves then get rid of the rack in the DR Remove all the shelves forn the center of the unit in the LR and get a TV to fit there . I love the sofa and Eames the light fixture would be better with an LED bulb in 4000K to avoid the yellow cast .The lamps on the sideboard in the DR are to small get all matching chirs for the DR remove the table cloth you need a larger rug in the DR or none at all. All that storage in the LR will be agodsend when the toys start taking over the adult space.
distar
Original Author
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Thank you! this is super helpful.
- Will order the bulbs you mentioned. Is there a specific brand you recommend for the quality of light?
- new chairs are on the way (all matching!) and the tablecloth was temporary.
- what size TV do you recommend? the middle divider is not movable so i'm not sure how to do what you recommend but want to understand.
- how big do you think the lamps on the sideboard should be? would you recommend those lamps be used on either side of the couch?
I really appreciate your insight here.
PRO
CDR Design, LLC
4 years ago
You would need to get a carpenter to come in and reconfigure the cabinets. Well worth the $ to remove the center 2 shelves. A tv about 3/4 the width of the 2 shelves would be idea.

As far as the dining room, would need more photos to make recommendations. I would remove the bookcases.
jay06
4 years ago
Congrats on your new home! You have a wonderful space. I don't have any advice for you except to suggest that you don't reconstruct your bookcases in order to get a bigger TV if you're happy with its current size. Reading opinions that your TV is too small is a first for me.
decoenthusiaste
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
This chart should help you determine what size TV could go in the reconfigured shelf, and how to position the sofa. In addition, while buying new light bulbs, see what kind of LEDs are available to light the shelves.

Help with furniture and lighting layout in new apartment

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CDR Design, LLC

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Help with furniture and lighting layout in new apartment

Comments (8)

CDR Design, LLC

distarOriginal Author

Related Discussions

CDR Design, LLC

Patricia Colwell Consulting

distarOriginal Author

CDR Design, LLC

jay06

decoenthusiaste

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Original Author

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Original Author