How should I lay out our new living room?
We're building a house to be finished later this year. I'm having trouble figuring out the best way to lay out the living room. I took some screen caps from a house with the same floorplan, so first I'll explain the space and then I'll explain my dilemma below.
The room has these lovely windows along the back (north) wall. We will not have a fireplace. Kitchen is on the right. Main entry behind the photographer.
Below, here it is from the back north wall looking south towards the front door. Again, don't forget, no fireplace. We're planning to put our TV where the fireplace is, though maybe someone here will convince me not to! Door on the left is the guest bedroom.
And here it is from the other end of the north wall. Door on the right is entrance to the master bedroom.
And here's the floorplan just for completeness because I bet someone will ask. :) North is on the left.
So below is what I have been planning. TV where the fireplace would be, furniture centered around it in the middle of the room. The thing in the top left is a small piano, but really it could go any number of places and I'm not married to it staying there. We've got some outlets in the center of the room in the floor to facilitate lamps or whatever by the furniture.
I feel like the above layout makes sense for the TV, and we are definitely a TV-watching family. I like the idea of twin couches facing each other (90 degrees from the TV), but we would never want to watch TV from those twin couches since they aren't facing the TV. Also, our TV is 60", which feels huge here in our tiny apartment but probably won't let us put the couch too far away from it. At least, until/unless we decide to get a new TV.
So here's the first problem: we've got this beautiful window on the north/rear wall, and no seating that facilitates looking at it! It's not a super fantastic view or anything, but there are some trees and it looks out over the surrounding neighborhood. I thought about putting benches in front to make it like a long window seat, but then sitting there would put your back to the windows! So that's not really solution. The location of the TV furniture means that there isn't really space to put other seating facing the window, and if we move the TV+furniture south towards the kitchen, then the TV won't be centered on that wall anymore and I think it might look weird.
The second problem is that the west walkway area behind the couch seems really empty. We'll probably frequently be walking from the master bedroom in the northwest to the hallway to the south and/or the kitchen via the southeast corner, so this will definitely be a thoroughfare. But I don't know how to make it look not completely empty. Should I put a little table on the back of the couch? Should I put one on the west wall? Am I imagining this and it's really not a problem at all, and I should just put a walkway rug down, some wall art, and it's fine? Here's another diagram in case that helps:
If anybody has advice to offer, I would love to hear it! Thanks!
Comments (8)
Sarah
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (13)Any of those Beth posted or a REAL travertine or limestone will always be ‘in’. A good quality natural wood look will be a sure bet as well. I’m personally a little leery of the grey wood look floors as I feel those will quickly read as a fad. You need to assess your furnishings that you wish to reuse - is everything ‘warm’ or ‘cool’. Typically, a natural wood look will work either way. The original tile you posted is very pink and would only work in the very warm family of colors. Good luck and again I wasn’t trying to be snarky :)...See MoreHow to lay out living room
Comments (5)Furniture placement is key to a great functioning room. Question, is this a "great room" situation or do you have a living room and a family room? If you have both rooms, I suggest no TV in the living room. If the TV will be in the same room as the fireplace, and there is room, consider built-in cabinets on either side, or one side of the fireplace to incorporate the TV and accessories. If you can't afford built-ins at this time, as new homeowner's are usually low on cash, you might be able to find a nice TV cabinet that will work. I prefer a nice piece of artwork or a mirror over the fireplace. When placing furniture, consider the view, if any, and how the room is to be used. Never put a sofa in front of, and with it's back to a window. A very simple setting would be a nice sofa, two lounge chairs, coffee table, side table, and possibly floor lamps. My philosphy is to never buy a "set of furniture". Do an ecclectic mix. See one of my client's homes below. All the best to you in your new home!...See MoreHow to should I approach this pentagon shaped living room lay out?
Comments (1)Can you sketch out a floor plan with some measurements? The photos help, but the distances seem to be distorted, for example the distance from the corner of the fireplace to the kitchen pass-through in the 1st and 2nd picture....See MoreHow should I lay out my combined dining + living room?
Comments (2)can you post a pic from the other direction? (stand next to fireplace) can the round dining table be placed closest to the kitchen? maybe off to the right in the foreground of your first picture as shown in your floor plan? are you putting a tv in there? where is the cable outlet? this layout is rather long and narrow. media cabinet lay out do you have an area rug? I like something like this to the left of the fireplace under the window or behind the sofa along one of the walls something like this would look cool. easy to hack w/Ikea Billy Bookcases....See More
PROCDR Design, LLC
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoHere you go. Sectional could be sofa and 2 chairs. You want wide-open spaces. Sectional or tv seating could also be turned the other way toward the view.
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JGGM
3 years ago
PROBeverlyFLADeziner
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoSarah, That layout was just a starting point for your room. There is lots of room to entertain different concepts for your room. Here's another possible layout for you to consider. This one has two sofas with 'cuddle' sections at each end facing the TV. I added an upright piano to the plan. Is this something you own or are you considering a baby grand for the room?
Not sure this is the right room for a standard wall bookcase to store books. I'm sure you have an office in this house that might be scaled better to receive a standard 84" tall bookcase. Instead, you might want to consider sectionals that have matching bookcases that border the sectional like this example below. The bookcases act as book storage, display space, and console tables all at the same time.
That long wall for the TV is 14ft. This photo below illustrates a cleaver use of a long wall that incorporates a TV and some display shelving if that is what you meant by bookcases for the room.
Here are a variety of long walls with large TVs mounted on the walls and ways to address all the wall space that comes with this.
I'd suggest you start with a rug that at a minimum is 10x14. It can be larger, as you have the room. Rugs this size can be pricey and limited in designs. Also, it's like hauling 2 dead bodies to move them so you'll not want to do that more than once.
The plan also shows a long credenza or sideboard with art mounted above on the wall behind the two sectionals. This might be a great spot for placing a food spread if you entertain. Just keep in mind how large the room is and small items will get lost in this room.
Also for you ceiling, don't even consider a 54 or 60" size. Start looking at the big fans if you expect any air movement.
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3 years agoSarah
3 years ago@BeverlyFLADeziner Thank you so much! This conversation is really making clear to me how VERY much I don't know about this! I've never been much of an interior decorator, but I'm determined to make our new house look nice, so I'm learning a lot.
The fan we're getting is this one, which is 66" inches: https://www.hinkley.com/902466fbn-lwd.html (It's the largest one the builder offers.)
We own an "upright" piano that is digital but looks real, except for having more minimalist design than a real piano could. It's slightly smaller than a typical low-profile upright.
Re: bookcases, I didn't really have a plan... I'm sure that if this conversation hadn't taken place, I would have put a 48" bookcase here or there where there was free wall space and it would have looked dumb. I love your couch/bookcase idea!
Regarding the two sofas with cuddle spots, I like the look of the room but I feel like we'd find this layout too frustrating for watching TV since most of the seating is looking at the TV from an angle. Maybe we could add a third piece that looks straight at the TV, like a loveseat, instead of the cuddle ends. My husband is concerned this would make the seating space feel too enclosed and like an obstacle to walking around and through the room.- PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
3 years agoMake sure they supply the correct downrod for your ceiling fan.
If you haven't already, start keeping a file of ideas and plans. I imagine you have time before you have to consider furnishings.
You have the room to explore a variety of arrangements.
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BeverlyFLADeziner