What do you have to work with, furniture-wise?

does it need to have a dining space in it also or just living. Is that a closet there with the mirrors on it?

Hi, For the living room, I have a reclining couch and love seat, a coffee table, end table and entertainment center with a big older 32" TV. That will be replaced with a flat screen and maybe a stand eventually. There will be no dining area there. Yes, those are mirrored closets in the bedroom. I thought of a chair and small table in the corner next to the sliding glass doors would be nice for a reading spot.

why don't you do a long platform couch with a twin mattress base and lots and lots of pillows in the back. and then you could have storage underneath with some great baskets or use a long skirt to hide the things. your choice. you would still have enough seating and then if you have guests they can double as beds. then i would do a set of nesting tables on wheels and get rid of the coffee table. that way you can roll all the tables out when you need them and then roll them under each other when not in use. and use as an end table. i would go with the flat screen but put it on the wall that way you have lots of floor space. I would do a small narrow table right inside your door that way you have a place to put your keys and mail and if you do a big basket under it you can put your shoes and things in there and keep comfy slippers and socks in it to slide right on when you get home. Do hooks on the wall for your keys so you don't lose them i did all the time until i did that. and maybe a small mirror for last minute checks before running out the door and maybe a small bulliton board to pin mail to that needs mailed. it doesn't need to be a big section of the wall you would be suprised what you can fit into a small space. i think in the bedroom i wouldn't put a chair there i would put a small dresser that way you will have plenty of storage and besides you don't want it to become a catchall. if you did a flat screen on the wall at the end in the living room, you could put a big long shelf above it and have that for a book shelf .or depending on how much space there is next to the door in that corner you could do a corner shelf and then put the tv diagonal there and that way you could have two couches and the tv things in one corner. and then still do the book shelf and pics and knicknacks things you love. jsutsit and think of how you are going to use your space. like what is more important to you.

I would paint the two long walls and one side all white and pop it with an accent color perhaps a medium green. I would definately get an area rug with color, greens, reds, blues in it but not too busy. Maybe a solid color with a floral or some kind of print. This room appears to be more of a bedroom than a living room. I would place the flat screen on the side of the sliding doors and put the sofa opposite wall. With all the light from the doors I agree that corner would be great for reading with a comfty chair with table to put things on. I might take advantage of the wall space with pictures but limit the furniture.

I would do a long, platform sofa with lots of pillows and perhaps a prayer bench as a table along with nesting tables as side tables-give the room some depth with an accent color on the wall with the windows and the platform sofa and maybe use a chaise angled into the room for reading-you can do a flat screen TV if you need it for watching in that particular room with a built in cabinet for equipment and a shelf above for books and objects-don't know if I like it on the wall at the end but it must be the only available place-large very comfy pillows are CRITICAL here.

Stain the parquet floors a dark rich colour in both rooms. Paint the living room to match or compliment your furniture. Take the blinds out of the living room. Add shutters if possible or curtains to soften the space. The tv could be placed on the end wall of the living room in corner on angle, paint an accent colour for depth and make the room appear longer. The sofa may be too large for the area, placing it or another small sofa in front of the window (facing the french doors) with small end tables for lamps (choose tall lamps as the roof slants toward the window for added heigth). Your chair could be placed beside the sofa end table on an angle toward the french doors and tv. It may stick out into the room but that is okay. Keep the furniture in this space to a minumum.

I agree with Kimber11's advice except I would not do an accent wall-- you want the room to be united and not broken up by color. Dark flooring will ground the space well and a fairly light, cool color (green-gray-blue mixture) will create an open feel to the somewhat small room. I love reclining furniture, but in this room you may not have space for it unless you put it on the short wall. My best advice: measure the room and your furniture then draw out your ideas on simple graph paper using a scale of 1" = 1'. Be sure to look for furniture arrangements that leave plenty of walking space in your room. As Kimber11 wrote, keep the furniture to a minimum! --and have fun!

I would paint wide horizonal stripes in two soft colors to make the illusion of a wider room. Platform with lots of pillows is great. Stay away from ARMS on furniture pieces. It will be too heavy looking.

Have you thought about opening up the wall to the kitchen? Your room would feel unbelieveably open as the sightlines would be expanded significantly.

I love the idea of staining the floors dark. I would definately bring the wall color in the livingroom to a lighter color that contrasts less with the ceiling. The color contrast now, causes the room to feel even longer from this angle, as the eye follows the length of the room then up the angle of the paint contrast. Perhaps a more subtle pale blue, yellow or off white. I would also stain the window trim to match the flooring if staining dark.

The French doors, while beautiful, seem like they are really going to get in the way when you start furnishing. Will they have to remain just about "always open" or always closed? I would consider removing the French doors and trimming the doorway out? If the doorways are the same size, perhaps replace the sliding glass doors in the bedroom with the French doors for a more elegant entry way. (though, these doors might not be appropriate for an exterior entrance. - security, etc.)

While I'm not a fan of the blinds, if you plan on using this room as a tv room, you will definately need something to cut the glare. Perhaps a combo of wood slat blinds and roman shades?

I wish I has more advice ideas. I too have a long narrow room like this.

I'd remove / replace the mirrored closet doors and again stain dark floor & trim, and lighten the wall color/ contrast.

I like the idea of an oversized comfy chair and a smaller side table by the sliding glass door. A nice place to sit and read, or have a cup of coffee if the weather is not so fair.

Wow, so many great ideas!! Fun to visualize all your descriptions! I knew great minds hung out here! I think my friend has a platform couch with lots of pillows. While it is nice looking, its not the most comfortable thing I've ever sat on. I do luv my recliners but agree they will prob need to be replaced. The living room will be used for TV so I want it to be comfortable. I agree with many of the suggestions but some I would've never thought of like staining the floor or opening that wall by the kitchen, great ideas. Thanks for taking the time to help the design challenged :)

PLEASE DO MAKE ABSOLUTELY sure the wall is not a retaining wall. Ask a professional befor you touch it.

Can your bedroom become the living room? If it is off the kitchen as well and has the doors to the patio it might make a better living room. You could close up the double door way to the other room to use as a bedroom or office area off kitchen, We just turned a family room into our master because it worked better and I thought you could do the opposite here with good results....

Curlygirl, I'm not sure if I could switch the living rm and bedroom as the front door leads right to the living rm. It would be like walking into the house and seeing a bdrom.

Lynn Oxenford, I like your link to that room. Won't be used for dining, but I like the idea. I think that is the way I will have to go, smaller couches and some chairs instead of my current sofa and love seat.

Would a sectional sofa work here? I thought it might kind of square off the room a bit to make a walk-through along the wall to the french doors that lead to the kitchen. Here are a few examples:

11 X18 ft I don't think you will find a sectional sofa that would fit on the french door end of the room and for sure not the other end because of the sliding glass mirror doors and the sliding in/out doors.

The French doors are in the living room. The sliding and glass doors are in the bedroom.

OK, the French door need to open and they open out into the living room. But no matter how you cut the cake 11 ft wide is not very wide and with a sectional I do not think you could fit it into a 11 ft wide area but you would be walking into the sectional. I like the idea of knocking out the wall if it is not a retaining wall. Not to say your sectional idea is not a good one but I just do not think it would fit.

Candice Olsen uses sectionals in her small size living/ dining rooms all the time. I think it is a matter of careful measuring to make sure you get one that is the right size and shape. Check out her website. Also, she uses sofas with chaises (similar to the sectional idea as it creates a l-shape and seats more people, or allows for lounging better than a regular sofa) Also, if you open the wall, you would have a little more room to play with. I think the best bang for your buck is to open the wall.

That would be the best solution if it is not a retaining wall. The sectional would definately work then although I personally am not into them as I do not entertain a whole lot of people at my house.

Do you have a family room somewhere in the house as well? Do you need this room to be a living room. You mentioned in your response that this room is also the entry way into the house. It seems to me its a lot to ask of an 11*18 room to be an entry way, living room, double entry way into the kitchen etc. Some kind of reconfiguration of this space seems necessary to make it usable.

Hi back for an update, to those who mentioned taking out that wall in the living room, I found that will be not possible as the bathroom is on the other side of that wall. There is no family room, just LR, kitchen and 2 br. I will just wait until I get in there and get a feel for the place and how I would like to design it. Thanks to all for your ideas!

You might try using blue painter's tape to mark off the size of the furniture on the floor. That way, you can carefully ensure that the furniture is the right scale and that it all works together before you purchase anything new. Goodluck!!