Just moved in, confused on how to utilize my living room. Ideas?

8 years ago

Hi there!

We just moved into our new condo and trying to figure out how to best setup our living room. What you see in the photos is all the furniture we have now (basically couch, coffee and end tables, and TV). We still need to buy a TV stand / mount and a dining set, but we are stuck on two things:

1) Where to place the TV and position the couches. We have a fireplace in the corner which is nice focal point, but putting the TV on the wall near it (where we have it now, put it on a stand) would block the windows, and I think our 75" TV is too big to put on top of the fireplace. Alternatively, we could wall mount it on the opposite wall (and turn couch the other way), but then it takes away from the fireplace and the longer couch will get close to it. Any ideas, what would you do?

2) We're not sure how to fit in a dining area with our setup, it feels like adding a dining table will make it too cluttered. We haven't purchased a dining set yet - do you have any clever ideas to make it all "flow"?

We're trying to go for a modern / contemporary look and starting fresh so budget is not a huge issue, up for suggestions!

Full living room + end of kitchen counter. TV on left (on the floor now) + fireplace in the corner.

Take 2, showing the current setup

Here's the other wall, thinking of potentially wall mounting TV here and turning the couches:

Featured Answer

M H

8 years ago

Is the fireplace in working order? I'm not crazy about it, but some people mount their t.v. above their fireplace, so that's an idea, versus mounting to the opposite wall. I'm also thinking that if you move the two loveseats closer to the fireplace, you'd have room for a small dining table behind them, so that you wouldn't have to always eat at the kitchen counters/ kitchen area. Also, I think by the time you put a lamp on the small glass table, it will stick up in such a way that it's the first thing your eye goes to, versus going further beyond. I might put a palm or other plant there that wouldn't come up as high and then put two end tables, one on each side opposite the plant. If you keep the table there, I think you'll definitely want to hang something, maybe a mirror, above the fireplace, to draw your eye higher and all the way across the room.

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Comments (14)

jck910
8 years ago
How much space is behind the counter stools?
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l pinkmountain
8 years ago
I think TV is ok where you have it. Find a low TV stand with maybe just one shelf below. That's what we have and our TV is in a similar spot, kitty corner from the fireplace, below some high windows.
A B thanked l pinkmountain
groveraxle
8 years ago
You have the seating and TV arranged right now. Agree to a low TV stand, and as long as you can get it, to keep the top of the TV below or at the bottoms of the windows (which are actually only good for bringing light into the room).

It looks like a dining table will have to go between the bar stools and the opposite wall. You could get less bulky bar stools to make it feel like you have more space there if it's not very wide.
A B thanked groveraxle
A B
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Thanks for your suggestions! Yes the fireplace is working and unfortunately I think the TV is too big to put on the fireplace (it sticks out at the end, is that okay?). As for the dining table, there is no real space behind the bar stools. That is the entrance to our home and it's just a narrow hallway. The other thing I'm worried about with putting the TV where it is now is that the space behind the couch feels under-utilized...

I was thinking of getting this TV stand, is this too high up do you think?: [https://www.houzz.com/products/tv-stand-milano-200-black-body-modern-90-tv-stand-led-gray-black-prvw-vr~104115228[(https://www.houzz.com/products/tv-stand-milano-200-black-body-modern-90-tv-stand-led-gray-black-prvw-vr~104115228)
groveraxle
8 years ago
With luck, you can find a media cabinet that is this long and this low. I couldn't find one (I didn't really look, to be honest), so I took two Ikea PS cabinets and stuck them together.

Don't line a bunch of small stuff up on the mantel, ever. Looks like you have art you can hang.
groveraxle
8 years ago
You'll have to measure to see how much space there is between windows and floor and how tall your TV is. Normally I wouldn't put a TV in front of windows, but these aren't functional windows, so I wouldn't worry too much. Try to block them as little as possible.

You may feel the area behind the sofas is underutilized, but it is your walkway. There really is no other practical seating arrangement for this room without either occluding the fireplace and/or creating a traffic pattern through the TV viewing area
groveraxle
8 years ago
It appears you don't really have a dining area, so you'll be taking your meals at the counter or the coffee table or the patio table outside.
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Original Author
8 years ago
Good idea, thanks. Do you think I could wall mount it if I can't find a suitable tv stand?

re this: "Don't line a bunch of small stuff up on the mantel" - why, is that a design no-no, never heard of this before
l pinkmountain
8 years ago
You could mount the TV but it might look a tad weird. Get two friends to hold it up and see. I think having a long low stand gives some additional weight to that side of the room to balance the fireplace wall. I'd try to find something that sort of compliments/goes with the fireplace surround style.

The reason for no little things on your fireplace mantle in your case has to do with scale. With a TV that large, you want accessories that are to scale, meaning on the large side. Otherwise, both the small accessories and the large TV will look disharmonious, the high degree of contrast will draw attention to their relative sizes.
groveraxle
8 years ago
Pinkmountain is right about scale, but it would apply even with a smaller TV. The space over your mantel requires art and/or objects that are in scale with the fireplace and the wall above. A bunch of objects, all the same size, lined up and evenly spaced like little soldiers will NEVER look good.

Here is your TV mounted without a media cabinet. You can do it, but it would be better with a console underneath.
groveraxle
8 years ago
Something like this at 79" could work. If it's too tall, you could take off the legs.
Wade Logan Beallsville 79" TV Stand & Reviews | Wayfair · More Info
Dawn Stout
8 years ago
Yes I agree. Buy a great console piece instead of a tv stand. You will have extra storage too.
Dawn Stout
8 years ago
Maybe you could face sofas towards each other with tv on a low profile buffet under the windows. Or get rid of one sofa and get 2 chairs instead.