Difficult living room layout

12 years ago

I have a long and narrow living room with way too many doors and windows plus a woodburning stove, so basically no wall space. We have tried several different layouts, but nothing seems to work.

The door to the north leads to the bedroom, and east to the kitchen/dining room. To the south are glass doors with a tall window on both sides leading to our study/craft room.

The room is used mainly for tv watching and general hanging around. I need storage for books, dvds and board games. I have two young boys, so we need place to jump and move around also. And I need to seat 4 people comfortably by the tv.

I attached a picture of the current layout. The two large black chairs are my husbands, and he refuses to get rid of them. They are really comfortable, but take up a lot of space. The tv is on top of an ikea besta unit, and to the east are ikea billy bookcases with doors on the lower part.

The current layout is functional, but just does not feel right, and the off center window behind the small couch is driving me crazy.

I am open to buying new furniture.

Thoughts?

Featured Answer

Denise Marchand

12 years ago

3 feet is typical, but the access is to one room and not a walk thru (or Grand Central!), so 2 feet is fine for the space behind the sofa. It's all about inches when designing a difficult space. The nice thing is that furniture can be moved around!
1) Place a game table in front of the window with a low cabinet with doors and drawers for game storage and a big bean bag in the center across from the fireplace for a reading space. The additional lounge chair near the fireplace is also a good reading area with a low bookcase behind.
2) You have plenty of room for a full sized sectional. Define the space with a colorful area rug. Here is a pic for the tv wall system. I think the cabinets should all be low with large art above.
3) A photo wall over the bookcase/reading area is a good place for photos.
4) I would treat both the window and the door to the craft room the same with curtains ceiling to floor to create some kind of unity and order.
5) Put a decorative console table with art above in between the window and craft room door. This wall is important like a beautiful frame around a painting. It will pull the room together. (Trust me!)
Here's the floor plan and some inspiration pics:

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Comments (38)

Denise Marchand
12 years ago
OK, Rikki, you officially have the most difficult room ever. How are the rooms configured on the other side of the walls? How wide is the bedroom on the north wall? The frist inclination is to relocate the wood burning fireplace to the wall with the off centered window, centered as best as possible. And the next would be to relocate the door to the bedroom as far west as possible (24" away from corner). That would then give you a good space to work around.

With that being said, it seems as though you have no intention of doing construction. You basically have two little rooms to fit your needs and the space will always look awkward. Even with interior design magic, there isn't enough room with all the walk throughs you need.

I am going to give it a good look and see what I can come up with.
Sheryll Lyn
12 years ago
Mine is similar but even way worse. I have a rectangle as shown, with a front door, coat closet door, real wood fireplace on one short end by the front door..... more... a bedroom door, a heating unit door, a kitchen door, back door and a hallway entrance...... now try that one!!! Puleeeze?
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lucidos
12 years ago
You have a lot going on in that room. One thing that may make the room feel less "off" is cheating the curtain on the west wall and disguising it so it appears as a double window.

It's evident that your hubby likes viewing TV from "his chair" and your cable is already set up in that spot. I suggest however, putting the TV in the southwest corner on a corner unit. The love seat angled toward the TV and the chairs on the sides of the love seat.

Optionally, a small sectional and moving the TV between the south window and door as per the last image would allow for more use of the room.

As you know, the many doorways and the woodburning stove (set in the logical place for the TV) is and will always be an issue.
Rikke Holmberg
Original Author
12 years ago
Denise: I DO have the most difficult room ever!
The bedroom is so that the door is in the east corner. There are build in closets on the bedroom wall, so moving the door is not really an option... allthough that might also help the bedroom layout... hmmm. Moving the stove would result in a hole in the wooden ceiling. Actually we used to have a door on the north wall east of the fireplace also, but we blocked that.

Sheryll: ok YOU officially have the most difficult room ever ;-)

Lucidos: Yes, he does like his chair - he has to fight for it with the 9-year-old though ;-) I do like the look of the loveseat on an angle, but I have yet to find a corner unit small enough to put the tv in the corner. Like the idea of a sectional, but I worry that the last layout would cause you to see "the back" of everything, as you come in from the dining room, which is the main entrance.
Rikke Holmberg
Original Author
12 years ago
looking at this Picture:
ASAP_Living_room_w copy.jpg · More Info
I feel that I should be able to do something like that. Mirrored maybe. Or with just one of the blue chairs. If I were to place the couch with its back to the glass doors - how much Space would I need behind it?
christina405
12 years ago
Here's one approach. Move the sofa (whichever one fits, large or small) to the wall where the TV is now. Put the TV next to or overlapping the window. Curtain the window and wall to its right to make TV placement look right. Rotate one of the lounge chairs toward the TV.

Use the east (right side of diagram) wall for a bookcase/storage unit. It would be especially cool to have the middle portion project a bit further into the room than the sides, say, 18" vs. 12". Run shelves to the ceiling with a display shelf above the door on that wall.

Then, instead of the sofa in that part of the room, how about a table and chairs for board games? Rotate the other lounge chair toward the wood stove (very cozy).
lucidos
12 years ago
Typically 3 feet clearance for main walk areas.

I can see the image you posted working for you which is similar to my second option. With a Living Room, orientation either way is fine, it's a matter of personal preference. If you have an acceptable view out of those windows it would be logical to embrace it, the doors in your case lead to the study. With a back presenting living room, sofa tables are normally put in place - some great ones even have seating tucked under them for additional seating or storage.

A neat trick to view your items in the room spatially is mark the floor with your furniture outlines using green tape then actually walk around and see if the layout flows for you. If you are planning to purchase new furnishings remember that sofas come in many sizes and depths be sure to plot for your max size or you will be back to square one.

As for the corner TV any standard sized corner unit with the tricked window dressing may work fine for you.
Rikke Holmberg
Original Author
12 years ago
last modified: 12 years ago
Wow Denise. You might just have redesigned my living room. I will definately give this some serious thought. Hubbys objection would be that the chair is now too close to the tv.

My only objection is the chair next to the fireplace. Afraid that it would melt. And you just can't sit there when the fire's on.

Also I am not sure what you mean by a game table? We have a large table in the dining room and in the craft room, where we ususally sit. What sort of table are you thinking about? A "game table" is not a thing in Denmark ;-)

Curtains on the entire south wall sound like a really good idea. Never crossed my mind to curtain the doors, but that really might get some symmetry into the place.
Rikke Holmberg
Original Author
12 years ago
ok, so Denise - I went and put your floor plan into icovica with my actual measurements. It just looks like I have less space, no?

Also I have a question. When you pull the sofa away from the wall, what do you guys do about lighting. How would you get light for the reading-beanbag-space?
Cords across the floor do not sound like a good idea when you have young boys running about ;-)
christina405
12 years ago
Looks to me as though one of your husband's chairs would be enough for this room. Maybe there is room in the bedroom or elsewhere for the other one? Without that chair by the wood stove (a fire hazard?), the room works well and there could be a bit more space between the sectional and the remaining lounge chair.
groveraxle
12 years ago
Move the TV.
gauloises
12 years ago
I would get a new Sofa and put the TV between the door and the window, maybe on a TV board with rolls so you can change the angle of the TV in direction to the Sofa or the chair if necessary (tried to illustrate that with the red double arrow :-)) on the wall to the right you would have plenty of space left to put shelves for storage.
Denise Marchand
12 years ago
gauloises-husbands like to be right across from the tv-ugh!
Denise Marchand
12 years ago
Rikke - I'm glad you like the concept! I scaled the lounge chairs to a larger size and scaled down the bean bags. I love a sectional with a chaise, but you can use a decent size sofa with an ottoman also. The game table is for checkers, jigsaw puzzles, chess, backgammon. It could be a smaller size than originally planned and you could even have a high table with counter stools. I think a room this size should be multifunctional and fun for everyone.

About the electrical cords, tape them down and they can run under the sofa. That's what I do. One of my pet peeves is to see cords! Drives me crazy!
Denise Marchand
12 years ago
Another idea is angling everything.
Rikke Holmberg
Original Author
12 years ago
I do like the concept of a sectional. I think i will try moving my larger sofa in front of the doors facing the tv and se how that works. Still feels like i would be blocking the walklines too much, but i'll give it a go. Hubby won't be happy, he thinks the current setup is perfect ;-) His room (he's a musician and works from home a lot) is through the study/craft room. So edging behind a sofa to get there won't do. But I'll try it and se how it feels

Earlier we have had both sofas in the west end of the room, and the tv between the glass doors and the window to the south. But that was cramped and left the east end weirdly empty.

Very much agree with you on the "must be multi functional"-part, but I'm not buying the game table idea. I really need seating options and floor space more than tables in the middle of the room. the main walkline is from the kitchen to the bedroom, as the bathroom is through there also.

I really appreciate everybody taking time to help me with this :-)
Rikke Holmberg
Original Author
12 years ago
gauloises : we had that exact setup for a while, only with two sofas, but the space between the door and window is really too small for the tv.

groveraxle: that will probably not work because of a radiator in front of the window, but i might try it!
Rikke Holmberg
Original Author
12 years ago
So i got around to making some pictures of the actual room as it is now.
Rikke Holmberg
Original Author
12 years ago
and the last one
gauloises
12 years ago
What about replacing the black furniture next to the woodburning stove with the TV board? there seems to be enough space. You could also replace the door to the right with a sliding door or a curtain if there needs to be more space between the oven and the TV.
gauloises
12 years ago
I also like the angled layout Denise made. If you are concerned about the cords for the lightening on the floor, you could hang ceiling lamps low over the coffee tables instead of using table lamps.
nancyjmorrell
12 years ago
float all of your furniture try not putting any against the walls ..tv on the same wall as the stove make it your focal point
Rikke Holmberg
Original Author
12 years ago
last modified: 12 years ago
actually we tried that also galoises, but there are no outlets on that wall - and it did not feel right with the tv next to the fireplace. It made the main walkline in the room right between the tv and the viewers and felt like it blocked the door to the kitchen
gauloises
12 years ago
well, seems by now we moved the TV to every wall, except one :-) ... how about this option?
Rikke Holmberg
Original Author
12 years ago
I do think we covered every possible option now :-D

Problem is, the room feels too small for two sitting groups and too long and narrow for one. The last one looks great on paper, but in reality leaves one end of the room weirdly empty and the other one too crowded. but it might work if i got another sofa. the lounge chair in front of the door to the kitchen just doesn't work for me. I need open space there
Bette P
12 years ago
Try removing one of the black chairs and ottomans, just as a test. Hubby can only sit in one set, right? He should be willing to sacrifice a pair. Put the larger sofa under the odd window, lining up the left side of the sofa with the left side of the window and add more art to the wall to balance the window. Basically, the wall art grouping should equal the size of the window to balance the wall. Maybe the bookcases should be at this end of the room and the TV at the opposite end. If you buy a sectional for the TV end, look for a compact condo size instead of a huge monster sectional. Do you ever close the door to the kitchen?, consider removing it entirely so the entry to this room feels more open.
lucidos
12 years ago
last modified: 12 years ago
Actually by pulling the furniture in you won't have that "spread out" feeling. I did a 3d rendering of the backwards sofa or sectional to see if that gives you a better visual. It would allow for everyone to comfortably view the TV. The Sofa and chair area can be flipped.
Rikke Holmberg
Original Author
12 years ago
last modified: 12 years ago
interesting lucidos. It looks great, but it would put the tv partly in front of the window, and there is a radiator there. might try it though. What software do you use to make rendering like that ?

Also the musician I'm married to would definately see a problem with where to put the speakers. And I would be sorry to have everyones back to the fireplace. And again, what would you do for lighting the chair area? I have no floor outlets, and can't have cords across the floor.

I'm a difficult case, I know, sorry ;-)
lucidos
12 years ago
HomeStyler...it's free and will also do photo quality. Baseboard radiator? You can always wall mount the TV on a swivel and do a floating console or shelves under it. There are great ways to inexpensively hide the wires. Depending on the size of the TV the wall mounts run between $ 30 and $70 - check Walmart for them.

http://www.homestyler.com/
Rikke Holmberg
Original Author
12 years ago
I'm in Denmark, so Wallmart's a bit far ;-) Guess we could find something like that though
Rikke Holmberg
Original Author
12 years ago
can you change the direction of the 3d rendering lucidos? i would really like to see it from the opposite angle
lucidos
12 years ago
This is the view from the other presentation with the wall down. Note that the TV pictured is a 60". Sofa is 120".

Each square on the background of the second image is 1 sq. foot.
lucidos
12 years ago
I have made some actual renderings of the room
Rikke Holmberg
Original Author
12 years ago
wow this is fun :-) i have the homestyler app, but can't figure out how to enter my own measurements for a room. Does it have to be the pc version maybe?
Rikke Holmberg
Original Author
12 years ago
and i do wish i had a view of the sea like that :-)
lucidos
12 years ago
Ha :) On the PC version it's click hold and drag the "room" to the proper dimension. There is a tutorial and help forum where you can get info on working with your device. The program itself has a small learning curve.

And yes, I want that view too!! All that being, said if you want me to add or tweak something let me know.
christina405
12 years ago
Y'all have inspired me to play with homestyler. So here's my attempt at a two-zone design. Features: double armoires, one for the TV (so it may need to be larger than what homestyler allowed) and one for storage of games, etc; a buffet to right of wood stove; open shelving (not necessarily in these colors); a bench under the window (kids like benches as do pets); two non-matching area rugs to define the zones (again, best choices I could find in home styler). The Noguchi coffee table has a glass top so is hard to see on top of the rug. If the right side seems like it has too much furniture, one of the red chairs could be eliminated. I could not get doors or windows to orient properly to end walls, so abandoned getting them into the scheme. Would love advice on how to get it to do what the youtube tutorial shows it should do.