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Furniture Design Dilemma living room

Layout and furniture suggestions for small living room

Andrea Slusarski

3 years ago

I am struggling with the layout for our small living room space The room is 158” x 178” and include our front door/main entryway The carpeted area is 120”x 158.” The only thing we don’t plan on changing is the location of the TV because it is wall mounted and my husband doesn’t want to deal with changing that. The current sectional we have seems too bulky for the small space, so we’d like to get new furniture, coffee table, etc. Should we get two couches, a smaller sectional, a couch and loveseat? Any suggestions/ideas for this space would be very appreciated!

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Comments (4)

acm
3 years ago
I'd go for lighter tones as well as less bulky -- if the carpet will stay, then you might look for non-brown for at least some accent chairs. Your space feels tight currently, and I think that would be helped by having a single couch and a couple of chairs -- it also gives you more flexibility in getting a conversational arrangement.

Two thoughts just to throw out there: (1) Sometimes people like to put a couch with its back to the walkway, to separate the sitting area from the entrance a bit. Your room isn't open to the next space, so it may not feel as necessary, but an option. (2) Sorry, husband, but that TV is mounted too high. It needs to be at eye level for the people sitting on the couches, which means it's a foot or two higher than ideal -- better moving the mount than paying for all the chiropraxy later. :)
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BeverlyFLADeziner
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
The room could use some tweaking

The mirror should probably be used on the wall as you enter with a small table beneath to create a foyer area

Add a large canvas over the sectional

The table lamp at the end of the sectional is too short.

Lower the TV. This is not a Sports Bar

Swing the lounge chair so it is angled for casual conversation.
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Thanks all! We are definitely open to looking for something to replace the media cabinet, but have looked intermittently over the years and had a hard time finding something that closes (DH feels strongly about this aesthetically, and we also have young kids so the out-of-sight-out-of-mind thing is very valuable for both safety and sanity) and is deep enough to accommodate the receiver, tuner, etc.--many of the newer pieces made for flat screen tvs seem to either be intended as bases with the tv out in the open, or do close but are quite shallow. I'll take another look around and see if anything new is out there, though! @roarah, thanks for the photos--your space is beautiful (and I love the window seats!) I can show DH and see if it's worth revisiting the tv on the mantel idea. We'd looked at hanging it rather than just setting it on the mantel, so maybe that would make a difference. We do have a 40" tv and replacing it is not in the cards, though. We've been considering what I think is normal-sized furniture--current sofa is 84" and you might be able to tell from the photos/plan that it has quite a big of space in the room (there's room between the sofa and the bookcase for a light and a side table), so thinking if we go with an 81" sofa (one option in a design I like) that would be a good bet if we keep it on that wall and then get a slightly smaller one (72") to form an L. If we go with chairs instead of one sofa/loveseat--and I do like that look in roarah's room--I'll have to rethink that a bit, though. Off to play with Homestyler--thanks for that tip!
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Is the rug centered on the window or with the room? Generally, loveseats are very difficult to work with and are usually not the first seat people gravitate to. If it were my room I would slipcover both sofas in a white duck fabric. If you're not going to watch TV here, I would put both sofas entirely on the rug, facing each other with the coffee table 18" or less from them. You can align them either way. If one has its back to the entry, then add a sofa table behind it. If they align with the window behind one of them, then add a tall piece of casegoods like a bookcase or secretary to the end wall. You can move them to try in both arrangements now to see which you prefer. Once that is decided, then we'll approach what goes on all the walls and what other pieces of furniture you may need.
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you know how many styles there are, right? you haven't given us any ideas as to what you like. I suggest you look at Casual Boho type of furniture. don't get a sectional Also, look at Article. they have great furniture at a decent price. (I have a few of their items)
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I would put the dining table in the sunroom if it is really a true four season space, and an extra "summertime" dining table in there if it is not. Some sunrooms are not that usable during certain times of day/seasons of the year. Then the question really comes down to--do you fill the "dining room" with toys and make it a discrete playroom, or do you strew the toys around the main "living/family room" space along with the sectional and TV? To me it comes down to whether you are the type of person who doesn't mind having most of your house looking like a daycare, with toys everywhere, or whether you want to try to keep them out of the main view. I was too tired to care about my house looking like a daycare when my kids were young, but it comes down to personal priorities. The "dining room" would make a nice home office or quiet adult hobby/music room.
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threers
3 years ago
Please spend some time looking at furniture, fabric and design photos on line or in magazines or books on design. I think you need to educate yourself on find what you really like. Your choices in the current room are all rather " neutral", meaning they could belong to anyone in the world.

You do not need a mirror in the living room or a clock...these are not adding any color or personality to your room .Even your art work is lacking in personality. The room does not need to be complete in any time frame. Buy art when you travel; buy art when you visit a museum; hang a photo of a place you went that brings happy memories. "Borrow" something from your parents" house or your in-laws. Its your place; be brave.
Andrea Slusarski
Original Author
3 years ago
Awesome feedback so far. Thanks so much. We don’t want to keep the brown furniture at all. It’s just what we have and want to replace.

Closing the space with the back of a sofa or chair could definitely be an option to explore.

Normally, we have a bookshelf on the open wall, but I like the idea of making it more like a foyer with the mirror.

I am not committed to any of the things we have on our walls right now! Just placeholders as we make some changes! Thanks again!

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