Empty space

11 years ago

We have a natural walkway in our living room that I feel cuts the room off by 3-4 ft on the side. I want to find a way to incorporate the path into the room without interfering with the functionality. The path goes from where you see the steps end all the way to the kitchen where we have a half wall (see other pic to see). We have rearranged the furniture from the pic of the half wall so don't mind that.

My ultimate goal is to make that pathway and the wall with the 3 doors feel like a part of the room and make the room feel larger.

But you can see that that 3-4 ft is naturally going to be the only way to get from the foyer/steps/etc. to the kitchen.

So, what can we do? Do I keep the little table the the Orange lamp or move it? (I like to put something to block the site of the A/C vent but can't put anything too big that blocks it completely since that is a no-no to block the vent). And I do not like those painted welcome mats that I've seen on Pinterest that they hang over the vent.

I'm not sure if we should get a runner rug since we have the jute rug.

Any ideas?

Featured Answer

decoenthusiaste

11 years ago

I think the use of a smaller rug, which doesn't scream, "That's a hallway there, watch your step!" will make the difference and allow you to use the arrangement above right. If the rug just comes under the first 1/3 of the sofa and the table stands on the flooring, you will see a difference. The long rug is the biggest part of the dilemma, IMO. Go for a patterned rug so the attention will be drawn to the FP and rug, not the sofa or walkway.

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Comments (10)

decoenthusiaste
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
The furniture arrangement has changed in these two photos. Is the TV over the FP now or at the mirrored end? Please post current ones and show us all of the walls in the room.
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Dytecture
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
The option on the left takes the 'hallway' more into consideration.
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jcwright34
Original Author
11 years ago
Current arrangement is the pic on the left but here is another showing the living room. As I said before, I want to make the "hallway" feel like it's a part of the room (thus making it feel bigger) without interfering with its purpose as a pathway.
jcwright34
Original Author
11 years ago
On a somewhat related note: I want to add lamps to the side of the room with the mirror wall (all lamps are by the couch). What are the thoughts of two lamps on either side of the white table?
decoenthusiaste
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
I think the mirror end of the room is much too busy, and certainly wouldn't add to it. Perhaps those pieces could work nicely in a similar arrangement going up your stairwell. If it were my room, I'd want the sofa in front of the FP with a much smaller rug about one foot from the hearth, sitting under the first 1/3 of the sofa and extending one foot past the ends of the sofa. Place the hassock/coffee 18" from the sofa and put the two chairs on the half wall end of the space. Place TV on a low credenza, perhaps painting the TV wall in an accent color. You could add a pair of wall sconces flanking it if you wish. I would put a sofa table behind the sofa and decorate it to draw the attention of those passing through the space. Leave the stair wall bare so as not to draw attention to the large return air vent, which I'd paint to match the wall so it fades away. Don't think we're seeing all your furniture, as there appears to be another table or a chest behind the sofa. Take a photo of the half wall portion and let's see if we can work in any more pieces.
jcwright34
Original Author
11 years ago
We used to have it laid out in a similar way. The useable depth of the room is limited due to the pathway taking up 3-4 feet. If you see these pics, it used to be this way. I love the way it feels, but prefer not to see the back of the sofa when I walk in the room. But if I put a sofa table behind it, it puts the couch really close to the fireplace...I think the room is 15x17, but with the walkway, it becomes more like 11 or 12 feet x 17 ft long.
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Kennedy Painting
11 years ago
I like the layout with the sofa facing the fireplace, and the table behind it. You could pull it back slightly though, there is no reason it has to be flush with the post on the half wall. You can also pull the 2 chairs at the half wall, slightly away from the wall. I do agree that the mirror wall is a bit busy. If it is something you would like to keep, I suggest doing a hard-cased piece of furniture with a substantial weight to it, to keep with he scale of the other pieces. Then display the mirrors over it. Any sort of "collection" always looks best grouped tightly too.
harrycage
11 years ago
I agree with decoenthusiaste, a centerpiece rug would do the trick to remove the "boundary" aura of the large carpet. A patterned one with complementing colors would do. You can also convert that unused under-stair space as a shelf.
acm
11 years ago
I like your current furniture arrangement, but was also going to say the rug -- right now it basically acts to "exclude" the uncarpeted area from the living space, marking it as hallway. If you had a smaller rug that just fit under the front legs of your couch and chairs and maybe ended just past the couch arm, it would focus more on uniting the cozy seating area, leaving the location of the "border" more vague and thus more fluid. I hope I'm saying this in a way that's comprehensible! :)