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Furniture Design Dilemma living room

Need help with living room layout!

last year

last modified: last year

We have a large (17x25) rectangular great room and I'm trying to figure out the furniture layout. See photos. On the left, there are stairs that go the entire width of the room and then wrap around to a portion of the adjacent wall. The front door is also beyond those stairs to the left. Next to that, there is a not-quite-centered-on-the-wall see-through fireplace that is set 25" off the floor, followed by a set of built-in bookshelves with a seating area for a reading nook. On the far wall (right), there are large windows, and then coming around to the wall at the bottom of the picture, there is a smaller (probably 3ft wide) window and then an expanse of wall that needs to house our TV somewhere on it. I am trying to decide if we should do two couches back-to-back to create two separate seating areas, one L-shaped couch that is situated farther over to the right to sort of move the seating area to the actual center of the room but away from the fireplace, or just put in a big U-shaped modular sofa and call it a day. Or something else entirely??

Some thoughts and questions I've got swirling around...

- I love the idea of a daybed chaise in front of the fireplace. I have found one that is the exact length of the fireplace and will sit well below it so that people can sit comfortably and enjoy the fire, so I'm pretty sure I'd like to keep that.

- Should I have chairs toward the stairs so that you're not walking "into" the back of a couch?

- I'm concerned that putting two couches back-to-back will mean that the one facing the windows pretty much never gets used.

- Is it important, visually, for the TV to be directly across from the fireplace to balance it out? Does it make a difference?

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Comments (9)

Elaine Doremus Resumes Written
last year
I do not recommend a daybed chaise in front of the fireplace. People usually like to sit on the floor or in a regular upholstered chair or couch in front of the fireplace. Think about what your focal point is - that can be a fireplace, tv, an outside window view, or a beautiful large piece of art. Your primary focal point needs to take priority. You will want to place your couch facing the focal point, and perhaps two swivel chairs on either side of your couch.
jck910
last year
Agree no day bed. Too hot to sit that close to FP and how long can you sit upright with no back to lean against. I would try 2 sofas facing each other and the 2 swivel chairs flanking the FP
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Hi Annabelle, I'm Neha. I created a mock up of your room and came up with the following layout. Since its a small place I wouldn't recommend a sectional. Maybe a 3 seater sofa and two swivel chairs would work well. The height at which the TV right now might not be very comfortable. I recommend you mount the TV to the wall next to the fireplace. Place two ottomans near the fireplace for extra seating. Since I was not very clear on the nook behind the sofa, I've left that as space for storage. It would be best to keep all your furniture compact. You can also place a table and chair and make it a working/reading space. I could help you with more layouts and furniture suggestions if required.
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bump...you might want to include your budget so if people have suggestions they will have an idea if it's within reach. And also a floor plan showing measurements and doorways/windows. And which you imagine being the tv wall? If the window wall is the long measurement (hard to tell from the pics), if you put the tv on the wall next to the door, or the one at the other end of the room, you could have your sofa perpendicular to the window wall with a small desk at the back of the sofa like a sofa table. Or have the sofa run the other direction and carve out your desk area, either next to the door or on the wall opposite that.
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That sectional is too big and IMO who wants to sit all lined up on a giant sofa not coducive to conversation or TV watching look at a sofa and 2 chairs so much better for both There is lots of space for a TV so why infront of the FP or above it for that matter IMO you never buy furniture for a space you do not live in . Many things pop up in real life that a floor plan cannot deal with. Wai until you are in and have lived in the space for a bit You can watch TV from a dining chir or lawn choiuar until you get it right
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PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
last year
Post a picture of the room if you expect any advice that is actually usable.
Missa Uhlman
Original Author
last year
The room is still under construction, but here are some photos -- the first is taken from the steps and the second is taken from the wall where the tv will go.

I want the fireplace to be the primary focal point, but I also want to comfortably watch tv and be able to seat a lot of people.

The fireplace is high enough that it would be around head level for someone sitting on a daybed in front of it. I was thinking of it as a place to curl up and lounge or, with a few throw pillows, comfortable"overflow" seating, leaning against the wall.
ShannonMarie
last year
If it were my house i would put vt above fireplace with a floating mantel. The room is big enough to handle that. sofa with swivel chairs on each sode or u shaped sofa facing fire/tv. i have that fireplace and even when heat is not on, no one wants to sit in front of it. We all like to sit back and gaze at it. Since you are in construction, you can hide components wiring inside wall, running wires around to another spot where you have components. Mine actually go through wall, into my master closet. In last house it was an office on other side of wall. If you really want chaise under fireplace, you could still do that with my layout ideas
kandrewspa
last year
I vote for the middle drawing except instead of two sofas back to back, put two chairs up against the windows with a table in between which creates a small conversation area. If your family is into games or puzzles maybe you could expand that seating area. I don't like the idea of a sectional that would have part of its back toward the fireplace.

As for the chaise in front of the fireplace, it's worth a try if you're really excited about it. I would want to be able to return it or use it in another room if I didn't like it there. Sometimes you don't know if you're going to like something until you try it.

Hard no for me always on putting the TV over the fireplace. I guess some people are fine with it, but it's not for me and you will find the majority opinion on this forum will run against it. If you don't have anywhere else to put it, it's fine, but you do have another option.
decoenthusiaste
last year
I would want a grouping like this so everyone has at least one arm to lean on and get comfortable. I would put the daybed in front of the large windows, assuming there is a nice view through them, so you could sit and enjoy it. Add a low table for your coffee cup and laptop.
Kiawah Family Home · More Info
PRO
Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
last year
I would go with two couches facing each other layout
PRO
Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
last year

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