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belsem_sneed

How to arrange living room furniture in open living room?

Belsem Sneed
3 years ago

Don’t mind the dining table in the living room and the blankets on the couches - we’re in the process of remodeling our kitchen which you can see a glimpse of in the picture by the front door (kitchen is straight back, dining room is to the left of the kitchen and living room connects to dining room which is directly to the left of the front door). We currently have two sofas and a love seat which is on the window wall. The way the couches and the tv are placed right now are how they’ve always been and I feel like it makes zero sense. I’m open to getting a sectional and moving these down to the family room but even then I don’t think I can fit two sofas and a loveseat in a way that makes sense. I’d like some ideas on how to completely arrange furniture including the tv which we can mount on a wall too. I’ve included a dimension picture as well with an example of what I thought could work with different furniture. I just don’t know if having the back of a sofa to the entry way would work. I feel like we just have an awkward shaped living room.

Comments (26)

  • Belsem Sneed
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    Don’t know if the numbers are too hard to read

  • freedomplace1
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    An L shaped sectional, very well measured for the space, plus one or two well-scaled chairs. Swivel chairs could be a good option.

    Sectional in red, chairs in purple:


    Or instead of sectional, two sofas in an L formation. With longer and/or main sofa being anchored on the window free wall.



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  • Belsem Sneed
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    Where would you put the tv? On the wall across from the two sofas? And wouldn’t the chairs be kinda cutting off the dining room?

  • freedomplace1
    3 years ago

    You could either leave tv where it is, or put it on wall across from two sofas or sectional - so tv would be where loveseat is now in your pics. A long, low console would work there.





    With tv placed where loveseat is now, I would just do the two sofas or sectional. No stationary chairs. Maybe keep some folding chairs on hand for extra seating. An ottoman styled coffee table could also double as extra seating.


    With tv remaining in the corner, you could easily put one chair where loveseat is now. The additional chair I included in mockup is optional - just wanted to show that possibility. A chair with back to dining room is not a big deal - especially if the chair is scaled well. But if you want to keep that entrance clear, that is fine, too. It’s your space, and you know what works best and what you prefer.

  • Belsem Sneed
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    I was thinking about that too. We used to have a sectional in that corner with the tv caddy cornered where the loveseat is now. I would like to not caddy corner it, but it would seem too far from the couch to view at that angle I think.

  • freedomplace1
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Yes, I see. You could put tv in that corner on corner console.


    Or mount tv on wall over long, low console, using an articulating arm.





    Or alternatively, you could use a mobile tv stand/console to allow for more placement flexibility.







  • Belsem Sneed
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    Thank you for the suggestions, I like the articulating arm. Do you think my original sketches are out of the question - put the tv along the long wall the connects to the dining room? We were thinking of mounting it there but I wasn’t sure how that would look for the entrance by the front door with a couch partially in the entrance. Also, do you think arranging the current two sofas and love seat in a way that makes sense is impossible?

  • freedomplace1
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    You’re welcome.

    I oftentimes look at spaces from an Eastern Feng Shui perspective. And from that perspective, the long, window-free wall would be the best placement for the main sofa in your space. In Eastern Feng Shui, that spot would be considered the Command Position in your room. So I personally would not take that wall for a tv, and I would not recommend it. With that placement of tv on long wall, you are basically giving the tv the best seat in the house - while you and your company sit with your backs to windows + entry.



    However, it is an option, and lots of folks do this type of thing. It really all depends on what you are most comfortable with.

  • Belsem Sneed
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    I did think about that but there’s the patio door directly behind the dining table and I thought that may be too much glare from the other side and we tend to keep that open a lot for natural light. I like the idea of cutting out the furniture pieces to move around that definitely would make picturing the scenarios much easier!! I attached my latest idea of how I should arrange it. I thought this kept things pretty open.

  • janzian
    3 years ago

    Think first of conversation. Where would 6 friends sit, where would they put their drinks? can they see each other? Is there lighting for every seat? Also ask yourself if a TV is what should first be visible when walking into a space. Do you intend to use the living room for your friends and family, or for watching films by yourself ? Your most recent plan gives the flexibility for both, and the blue chairs can be pulled into the conversation area when you have friends over.

  • shellydeebutler
    3 years ago

    If those blue chairs had casters, they would be the most used/played with furniture in my house. 😆 Seriously, though, having those chairs easily movable would enable them to be moved closer to the tv for games or around to the sectional for more intimate conversations or to the dining room for extra seating. They might ruin your wood floor, though.

  • hollywaterfall
    3 years ago

    I like the sofa/sectional on the window wall. If a sectional, then the L part should be against the outside wall not towards the entry. I also like an articulating arm for the TV and putting it like a piece of artwork on the short wall opposite the windows. Underneath the TV I would put a few chairs and table for a sitting area when you are not watching TV.

    Alternately, you could shorten up the room and visually square it off. Put the sectional/sofa on the short wall opposite the window with the L facing the entry and put the TV on a stand on the entry wall part. Put another sofa against the window, and a chaired sitting area on the outside long wall.

  • Kristina
    3 years ago

    I personally wouldn't have a problem with the back of the couch backing up to the LR entrance as long as there is room to come in and walk around to sit on the couch. In my last house, the front door opened up directly into the living room. I placed a sectional with one side against the wall opposite the door and the long end came out into the room, providing a barrier creating a sort of entry. It funneled the kids coming home from school back to the bedrooms to put their things away but was just as easy for anyone coming in the front door to step into the living room area and sit down. The way you have it set up in your mock up gives plenty of room to come into the living room as well as to move into the dining area. If that's where you're leaning, go for it. I think you could also put in two couches in the same configuration with a table squaring off the area where they meet.


  • marie13100
    3 years ago

    Separate the dining area from the relaxing entertaining area.

    no tv table, hang tv on wall to save on space, 1 couch and 2 armchairs are enough.

    coffee table. A rug under the table and another rug in the relax zone,

    ps : why all those covers on couches ? On top of table cloth ? Use wall deco with moseration like a mirror around the dining table

  • Lynn G
    3 years ago

    I like to arrange my L/R so that my TV is near a window/slider. That way when the TV is off things are arranged to enjoy the view. Also, there isn't a glare on the TV if the light is from behind/side of the TV rather than across the room from a window...


    The thought of sitting for hours looking at a blank wall with a TV in front of it is depressing. I've been in people's homes like that and I typically can't wait to leave.

  • Belsem Sneed
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    Marie13100, I mentioned in the beginning we are in the process of remodeling our kitchen and we needed to move the dining table into our living room temporarily and cover everything from the dust.

    Lynn G, you’re right. Having to look at the wall would be a bit depressing. The most recent floor plan I posted that had the sectional along the window and long wall would be perfect because we can view directly outside the patio door which is in the dining room.

  • Belsem Sneed
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    I didn’t draw up the kitchen because that would take too much time but I put the walls so you can get an idea of the size.

  • marie13100
    3 years ago

    Please, will you post pictures of the results...am excited... am also in the process of rearrange my house (A 1965 farmhouse style house bought last summer 2019)...

    am still thinking how to arrange sofa, buffet, tv...etc...

  • Belsem Sneed
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    Marie13100, will do. I’m likely going to sell these three couches in here because there’s just no room for them to all fit and make sense. And we won’t have the dining table back into the dining room until the kitchen is done, so pictures may not be until November!

  • Scott Satterfield
    3 years ago

    What program are you using to model your rooms?

  • Belsem Sneed
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    Planner 5D

  • Margie Kieper
    3 years ago

    Your first choice was the best one - a sectional with the back to the entry, a narrow sofa table behind it facing the entryway. This leaves the corner that had the oversize sofa in it empty so that you could put bookshelves and make this a display area. Or you could make it a desk area.

  • PRO
    DANE AUSTIN INTERIOR DESIGN Boston & Cambridge
    3 years ago

    We think your setup, if going with a sectional, might work well. However we wanted to include other designs here so you could see other options. Note where the sofa and chairs are in accordance to the painting in the first image?

    Alloy Penthouse: Living Room · More Info


    Federal Style Single Family · More Info


  • Kristina
    3 years ago

    @Belsem Sneed The last set up you have in the comments has traffic necessarily going between the seating and the TV. I don't know what your family make-up is but when my kids were teens, unless there's another path to the kitchen, that wouldn't fly, at least not with their siblings.

  • Belsem Sneed
    Original Author
    3 years ago

    @kristina there’s a doorway to the kitchen on the the right side of the tv. No children over here plus this is more so the living room. We have the family room downstairs - it’s a split level so not a lot of steps. I feel like the last one I put makes the most sense in being completely open.