How to divide living and dining room (15x26) + entrance wardrobe?
Recently purchased a new condo (first 2 pictures are from that condo) and would live some advice on 2 things.
First, this entrance adjacent to the living room and the living room placement (where to put the TV). Enjoy the pictures (decoration is horrible, not mine but the old owner; don't judge)
IMO, An entrance without a wardrobe isn't something you want. There should be a wardrobe in the entrance. I've looked to similar condos in the area (same livable surface) and there seems to be 2 alternatives. I'll tell you my 2 cents for each of it
First one : Budget friendly, no renovations to do, way better then how it is currently. The layout of MY condo (above) is not something I'm very keen of and prefer the TV to the left. But my problem is 1) there's +/- 15ft from the TV to the couch and 2) the TV is kinda IN the entrance. Not the best solution but better. Also, putting the TV on the right wall (as seen in picture up) is limited because of the way the wall is configured as you can see in the top right corner of the picture (the wall is not straight). Also, there's no wardrobe.
Here's a plan view of the condo shown above.
Second option : adding a wardrobe in the entrance seems like a good move but does remove from the open space the condo has to offer. Also, it seems weird to enter a condo and seeing the back of the couch. In my head, it is way more inviting to enter the condo with the blue chairs (above) then the one under. But this configuration seems to solve the problem with the wall not being straight. Still, not the ideal solution. Some questions do come up in mind : is it better to put the wardrobe on the left hand side when entering giving the opportunity to switch the living room around (TV on the wardrobe wall, couch where the TV is at right now)
THEREFORE : Wanted your advice on how would you guys design the whole thing? Do you like what you've seen above? Do you have better ideas in your head? Shoot them up. This opens the discussion about the second thing I'm having troubles with.
------------
Second advice is related to the open living area. I know the tendance is having large open areas, but this one seems little TOO open
I'm not a big fan of having the living room and dining room in one big area and would like to "close" things up a little without building a wall. I've watched some TV shows and I've came up with 3 ideas
-------------
First one would consist in adding a structure in between the living room and dining room to put the TV on without creating a big wall. Here's 2 examples
-------------
Second would be creating a entry hall giving the opportunity to put a wardrobe and TV on the entry wall (like mentioned above). Because I wouldn't to build a full wall, adding some bars (second) picture would create the openness desires + place to mount the TV on.
-------------
Third and final option, would be to create a desk on one side of the dining room + TV on the other side.
THEREFORE, which idea do you guys think is the best. There's no right answer I know, but would love to know if you have other ideas in your head.
If you've made it that far, thank you. Really appreciate your help.
Comments (22)
4 years ago
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Dividing long living dining room combo
Comments (10)Here's something to consider... First, I would reverse the uses of the room, and put the living room furnishings on the end away from the kitchen, and the dining room where the living room is now. Then I would take the table and chairs out of the breakfast room and turn it into a music room, with the piano and perhaps a small game table there. With the dining room close to the kitchen, you could easily use it for your meals, rather than wasting space on a function you never use. And you could have coffee at the little table in the music room if you wanted to. Then I would not add anything structural to divide the space. Since you have those large windows on two walls, you lose the end wall for furniture. I would place the china cabinet on the long wall beside the door into what is now the breakfast room, and let it establish the line between the two. (Its size would fit better on the long wall.) I would hang a large rectangular mirror vertically over a small table directly opposite the cabinet, thereby establishing the feeling of a transition space. That way, you gain the use of the china cabinet in both areas, and make a clear delineation much more economically. I would arrange the living room furniture with the back of the sofa facing dining area, to establish the start of the living room and further divide the space, with a narrow console table behind it facing the dining area, which would give you room for a lamp, and add serving space when you need it. I think you would find that arrangement more comfortable than if you added architecture to a nice simple room, and lost space doing it. And I also think you would find the house lives better if you are using all of it every day. There is something rather forlorn about a functional space, sitting in the midst of your life at home, that never gets used. What gives a home life is...living in it! And that's my big idea! Let us know what you decide....See MoreAre dividing doors between living & family room a good idea?
Comments (40):) Valid questions The office room will be used as a bed room. So, I dont have a "real" office room. I do work from home a lot and that dining room would be really multitasking. kitchenette is wife's demand. So, no questions asked there :) In fact, she does lot of cooking and often cooks with spices that make the home smell like a curry. kitchenette is to avoid that. With a nice vent system, that kitchenette would help us contain the smell. We are not really thinking about the house for sale down the road in the near future. We wan to build one as we want it and live next 30-40 years happily ever after....See MoreBedroom cum Living Room. How to handle a pax in a living room.
Comments (16)Hi, Paul NY 5b-6a, thank you so so so very much; for visualising all the deatails without photos and writing so much in detail. Here is more deail: 1. yes , its Sagstua in Queen size in black. 2. i agree light is more needed in the sitting area. 3. The problem with putting the bed where sofa is: (a) the space is only about 170 cm upto the door. As the total width of the room is 3.25 meters. So the head cannot be against the wall where sofa is. It can be against the wall where entrance door is. In this way it will make a bit longer "passage" that you mentioned. And also wont have much space to put something alongside it ( exxpt for curtain ? along that entry passage?) 4. And now when the foot side would be towards the sitting area, can be easily hidden by inddor plants , real or fake or lamp etc. 5. Pax is all white. Maybe i can remove the handels and instaed attach Ikea leather hooks that would be less conspicuous, and then see if surface paper etc. could help. ( As that would be another consideration to coordinate the print with curtains etc. And buy together with new curtains) 6. Would love to know your suggestion for what other furniture i should have for sitting area in addition to ektorp that i already have, as i would have one wall avalable after one side taken up by pax and the other being the window. Although it would be a longer wall with first half being that "passage area" and the second half being next to window. here is , floor plan also Thank you so much again....See MoreHow to visually separate living and dining rooms?
Comments (22)This is what I see right now. My eye always goes up from the TV (under lower right side of pic.) I cropped off the bottom because there is a bunch of stuff I am storing in the area right now. It could be that the line of crown moulding is messing with my head. I want to beef that up and paint it white. (I will beef it up by adding trim under it but it won’t add depth.) The wall color will also be much lighter. Here is a sample of what I think the crown moulding will look like when I’m finished: I love the metal wall sculpture. It won’t be leaving anytime soon. The light fixture was one of my first purchases, and I got the fan to go with it. Sort of an ”industrial farmhouse” look because it worked with the brick of the fireplace. So all hardware and fixtures and art are staying for now. I can play with paint and see if that changes how I feel about that corner. The furnishings and floor don’t annoy me. Just the ceiling and that outside corner and the closed-in 7’ wall that has the TV on it. What you don’t see is the entry into the living room. It is tiny. I need to keep a thruway open in that space (lower right corner of diagram). (Beverly, I just noticed you removed a wall. That is staying. there is a staircase behind it. The opening to the living room is a 34” wide opening at the bottom right of the diagram. However… that wall runs parallel to the joists, I think. So it may be just that it needs a support post at the base of the staircase. Maybe I could once again consider opening up that staircase wall, and keeping the post in place. I didn’t want to install a new beam to support the upper level, but that wall may not have support beams. This is similar to how the open staircase would look, but one post would go to the ceiling and the other would be normal height and up one tread. All 13 steps would likely show. I still would need some open space in front of that wall. I don’t need much furniture - dogs love open rug space.) I’ll revisit this after the room is cleared and some temporary paint is up....See MoreRelated Professionals
Palos Verdes Estates Architects & Building Designers · Wichita Furniture & Accessories · Claremont General Contractors · Lighthouse Point General Contractors · Prichard General Contractors · Garden City Interior Designers & Decorators · Brooklyn Furniture & Accessories · Eureka Furniture & Accessories · Wellesley Furniture & Accessories · Green Bay Lighting · Fort Lauderdale Flooring Contractors · Franklin Square Flooring Contractors · Mill Valley Flooring Contractors · Raytown Flooring Contractors · Willoughby Flooring Contractors
4 years ago- PRO4 years ago
- 4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
@Patricia Colwell Consulting : I have absolutely no furniture and nothing to decorate the space with atm. That's why I'm looking for ideas as to what to purchase for the space. The pictures I posted are ideas that could potentially be used as a divider between LG and DG. Also, I do have a scale floor plan and it's been posted above (posted again here). It's the exact same floor plan MINUS the wardrobe at the entrance. If that can be of any help. You can even take a 3D tour of the place : https://my.matterport.com//show//?m=riwDLGjo6mE&lang=en&wh=0
- 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
So, your dilemma is as confusing as I first thought. I didn't see you mention that you had no furniture. So, start with a 3-seat sofa and two upholstered armchairs (they might be swivels.) You can't go wrong with those. A wardrobe (usually called an "armoire: here) generally holds a TV if used in a living area. Mostly they're in bedrooms. You ind them more in other countries where homes don't usually have built-in closets. You just need a landing space and coat hooks at the entry. You can float a couch to be nearer TV or use the issue as an excuse for a larger TV.
- 4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
4 years ago- 4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
While browsing the website I came up on different ideas, what do you guys think? Do you like them? @decoenthusiaste @acm @Patricia Colwell Consulting @territheresa
Also, I was blowing the forum and came across this post : https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5539935/20x20-family-living-room-layout-idea-help-needed#n=15
I definitely do not want my solution to look like this. What makes this so weird and "awkward" as mentioned by some in the replies. Is it the height? The colour? The fact it's centered? - 4 years ago
Possibilities if you have the room. From your overhead plan it looks like you've got a door opening that leads right into the walkway between the dining/living area leading to your kitchen. How about these? I like a more open divider than the floor to ceiling choices but it's not my call.
living room · More Info
Kitchen · More Info - 4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
Here's another angle of one above. I just searched "divider between living/dining" in the houzz search box. There was only one pic of the 2nd one and people questioned from where it came but there were no replies.
Kitchen · More Info - 4 years ago
- 4 years ago
After some growing I came up with this layout. Could I do it better? Don't mind the coffee table placement nor the entry cabinet.
PRO4 years agorobasks thanked DANE AUSTIN INTERIOR DESIGN Boston & Cambridge- 4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
PRO4 years ago- 4 years ago
territheresa