Difficult Living Room

jms2001

10 years ago

I have a open sunken living room that opens up to dining room and entry. I took down an old railing and will be building a step from entry to living room. Will also be replacing carpet so ignore that. One wall also has large windows that use the whole wall space almost from floor on up. Basically I only have one wall to work with and I need sitting spaces, storage, and an upright piano that I need to place in this approximately 11x16 ft space. I've been thinking window seat with storage underneath, storage built into step, placing piano on wall with bookshelves on either side, piano used as divider between living and dining room, etc...But nothing I can come up with allows for seating, storage, and piano!

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HCD Group Corp

10 years ago

I definitely agree with Nancy's suggestion of IKEA. They have really good bookcases that are reasonably priced, and have different ways on installing them. Some can even be installed hanging on the wall, so you can use the height of the room without taking any space from the floor which in this case you need to use wisely. By dividing the room, I think you are limiting the "visual space" of the room, making the room seem smaller and more crammed in. Maybe you could put the storage hanging on the wall, have the piano in a corner of the room by a window, and then if its in your budget, new furniture that is not as big as the one you have now, but that it has enough space for everyone that needs to use it. L-shaped couches are usually good, they can sit a lot of people and not take up so much room, and this will make your living room/dinning room look big and open. Hope this helps!

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Comments (8)

Nancy Ingram
10 years ago
So here's a suggestion. Get rid of the desk. I would look to IKEA for bookcases, reasonable price, they go up to 96" tall and lots of options. With this layout-no built-in bench.
justbeckyg
10 years ago
You are asking for a lot of this room! The desk really needs to go but if you must keep it then I would try this arrangement. Move the desk to the sofa location, as far left as possible. Place the piano where the desk currently sits. Put the sofa where the piano is and tuck the dog cage behind it close to the wall. Put the recliner on an angle where the dog cage was. And move the other chair closer to the sofa. Replacing the open desk with and armoire style that can be closed when not in use would help a lot. I don't know what kind of storage you need but try a coffee table with big drawers.
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decoenthusiaste
10 years ago
The upright should be on an interior wall for its health, so where would that be? The desk is the item I would eliminate. The china in the dining is looking crushed beneath the ceiling. Would you be willing to bring it to the tall LR wall where it can breathe and add presence to your LR? A lovely collection of something large and pretty inside it would add a lot to your room.
jms2001
Original Author
10 years ago
I Agree...desk will be gone as well as dog kennel. I'm intrigued by the idea of putting the China cabinet in living room with tall ceilings but then where would I put the piano? I know pianos should be on interior wall but I don't have any in my house! I don't need all those chairs-I just have them there while I figure things out
susan2494
10 years ago

I agree with others that you are overcrowding the room. Here is an arrangement w/o the desk. I have placed a sofa table behind sofa, but you could also use a cabinet or a low book case for storage there.

Perhaps move the china down on the wall and place your desk (minus the storage unit) by the window. You do need some tables and lamps.
susan2494
10 years ago
If you are moving the desk and dog kennel, then above arrangement would work nicely.
decoenthusiaste
10 years ago
One solution might be to build a pony wall between LR and DR. The piano could stay in its current location with the pony wall behind it.