Sofa and dining table placement

last year

last modified: last year

I am trying to decide what type and size of sofa and dining table I can put in my family room and dining room. I came up with two options for family room. One is two sofas facing each other lining up with the island in the kitchen. One of the sofas can also serve as a room divider to separate the kitchen and the family room. This layout is very symmetrical. But this arrangement is kind of tight because the fireplace wall is only 169" long leaving the space between two sofas only about 50". The sofa as a divider is also kind of in the way when we go from upstairs to the door to the garage.

Another way is having a sectional and a chair which seems more open. But there is nothing symmetrical in this layout. I just feel something wrong, but I don't exactly know why.

Regarding to the biggest dining table I can have in my dining room, is it the best that I don't put the dining table and chairs pass the 34" doorway on the right? Do you think the round table could be an option here?

Thank you so much for any suggestions!

Featured Answer

hu818472722

last year

The furniture layout below could work as well. Because you have those lovely floor to ceiling windows I would reverse this plan and have the two open chairs facing out the window. It would also be easier to navigate around two chairs than a full sofa between your kitchen and family room.

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Comments (17)

rrah
last year
Do you have a specific question? While the pictures are nice, they don't tell anyone what kind of advice you're seeking. Context is always important.
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fisherpurdue thanked rrah
fisherpurdue
Original Author
last year
For the room size of my family room, we may not need to put a sofa as a room divider. On the other hand, we probably need to avoid putting a sofa between two rooms, so it gives illusion as one big room.
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Tell your DH that he should be happy he doesn't have to worry about these details..... The beauty of your dilemma is that if you don't like the placement of the table, you can always move it. Remember, options can be our friends. I would wait until the space is finished, place the table in one location, try it out for a week, move it to the other location and see which I like better. Then I would have the light installed. If it costs a bit more for them to come back and install the light that's better than having them move it from one location to the other and having to repair the dry wall and repaint. Then you can post photos of the two options and your equally neurotic GWers can give you input. It could be worse, you could be unsure about kitchen cabinet or appliance placement and that you can't test-drive!
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Really is this for a one time thing or an often needed plan. We need a floor plan with details like measurements for sure. Some pics of the space too.
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it would drive me crazy not having everthing centered. first center the rug under the light and with the windows.. it is NOT centered with either in your first picture. then center the table on the rug. i would prefer the buffet across from the window but would suggest you place it whichever wall leaves you the most room to walk around it. I assume this is not where you eat your everyday meals. how many people regularly sit here? unless you want a new table I think the one you have is fine in the space.
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tracefloyd
last year
Go for the sectional. I don't like the idea of the island and two sofas all parallel. You have room for a 160x120 sectional with a nice big ottoman 84x44. You can put your feet up. Square off the ottoman with the seating arrangement for symmetry. Place a good size tray on the ottoman for coffee.
fisherpurdue thanked tracefloyd
fisherpurdue
Original Author
last year
@tracefloyd Thank you so much for you idea! If I go fir a 160*120 sectional, I don’t think I can have any seating on the other side of the ottoman or coffee table because the fireplace wall is only 169” long. The fireplace wall is the shorter side of the rectangle gives me hard time to arrange sofas in the family room .
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tracefloyd
last year
last modified: last year
I just edited this. That's exactly my thought. Eliminate the chair on the other side of the ottoman. But won't the larger sectional be enough seating? If you need more seating, could two small chairs fit in front of the fireplace somehow, if you scootch the sectional back a bit? I just saw they make 44" square ottomans, use two of those instead of one big one. In a crowd, move the ottomans around for seating.
fisherpurdue thanked tracefloyd
tracefloyd
last year
Two ottomans, Sectionals, Modified L shape seating. Any of these would work in your space. Rotate or tweak and scale to size.

This first one needs your sectional or another sofa.

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Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
I wou ld a sofa and 2 chairs since IMO sectionals are the most expensive way to get the least # of comfy seats and in a FR comfort is the first priority then the chairs could sit btween the kitchen and FR and not feel like a wall. Comfort comes from arm reasts so think about everyone lined up on a sectional and the only people with an arm rest are the 2 end seats everyone else is like sitting in the middle seat on a sofa and all lined up.
fisherpurdue thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
fisherpurdue
Original Author
last year
@hu818472722 Thanks a lot for the suggestion! I like the idea not blocking the windows. We could update the garden in front of that window creating a beautiful view. The only problem is, considering the fireplace wall is only 169" long, if we have a 90" sofa centered to the fireplace wall, we only have about 40" left on each side of the sofa, that is not enough for the chairs if we need to leave some space behind the chairs in order to have enough clearance between the island and the chairs.
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fisherpurdue
Original Author
last year
@tracefloyd We don't need a lot of seating in the FR because we also have another living room with seating and TV.
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tracefloyd
last year
HU818 has the side chair diagonal to the fireplace. I'm sure you must be able to make room somehow, your space is not all that small. With the side chair near the fireplace it looks like there should be plenty of room to pass by the kitchen. Tweak things closer together. If you replace the coffee table with a big ottoman, then you can put your feet up...this is a family room. And it makes extra seating if need be.

We have similar to this seating arrangement, with our swivel chair nearest the window. We love it. Everyone's fave chair is the swivel -- so get two.

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fisherpurdue thanked tracefloyd
fisherpurdue
Original Author
last year
@tracefloyd Is this your house? It is so pretty. The view is amazing! Thank you so much for the pictures!
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tracefloyd
last year
Oh my no! Key word similar to this lol. We did get a cabin, tho, with window sliders looking into the woods. We have three focal points on three walls...TV, fireplace and windows. It took us six months after we moved in to figure out the seating arrangement. We finally realized that a swivel chair by the window could enjoy all three...so I saw this photo and AhHah! Why didn't I think of using our solution for you? Highly recommend a swivel.
kim a
last year
Try 4 swivel chairs.
gdaugsarah
last year
We had a gal from our furniture store come to our house which is a free service. She measured, asked us questions about our TV etc. habits then we met with her at the store a week later. She designed a floor plan and helped us chose the right combination of furniture and correct size area rug and helped with color choices after seeing our style from visiting us in our house. We moved to central Florida last year and our store of choice is Slone Brothers Furniture. Having someone come to your house so they get a feel for the space really helps. Good luck.
gdaugsarah
last year
Hello
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Zap Rey
last year
I don’t have a fully fleshed out suggestion but I have some comments. As much as I appreciate symmetry, I feel that having the two sofas lined up, as you show, with the island would be a mistake. It looks overly symmetrical, not organic (not sure how to explain). In addition, it blocks the beautiful windows, and you would need some sort of console or bench behind the sofa facing the kitchen and that would take even more room, and lastly, it would not be welcoming to enter. So I have a question, you say there is a tv in the other room. So, how do you imagine this room being used on a regular, daily basis? Does your family hang out near the kitchen on their phones after dinner and maybe chat? We do :) I would think about what type of seating you like. We love our sectional. Also, one trick I do to help visualize, is I take whatever furniture I have, kitchen chairs, desk chairs, even cardboard boxes, anything the appropriate size, and I place it around the room to get a feel for what works.