Cant figure out what to do with a long & narrow living room
Hello every1, recently moved to a new house. The house needs a lot of work and we are trying to start getting it into a slightly better shape. So starting with the living room. The challenge is that the room is fairly long & narrow (20 feet x 12'). It has a fireplace and has multiple doors and windows on everyside which makes placement of the furniture and TV difficult.
The ask... The room will be a sitting room and will have a new wood burning stove and the TV. It will also have some shevling for regular nick-nack. The rest is all up for a refresh.. The sofa/couch, lights, wall hangings, fireplaces have seen better days. As part of the the building works, we can block the double doors that lead to dining room - though i prefer not to. I was considering putting the TV on top of the fireplace, but the shape of the room wont allow it. The things that cant move are the patio doors, main door and front windows. We like a modern (not minimalist) look and have a young one who will run around.
The ceilings are decent height (i think about 10 feet). We might end up with White walls with darker furniture or slighty grey walls. The carpets will be replaced with wood-like finish
All ideas welcome.
Comments (21)
8 years agoYes , you have a tight fit, mostly because of the fireplace. I tried some different set ups and this worked best. I wall mounted your TV across from the fireplace and put a media cabinet under it. I placed 2 loveseats facing each other with an oval ottoman in the middle ( for additional seating). I put a console table under your front window . I can see your picture on the wall is TOO small and hung way too high. Same for clock. Get a huge clock or some nice artwork to hang over the fireplace and maybe a photo gallery of the kids to the left and right of the fireplace on the wall ( or on a shelf on the wall.). Your drapes should touch the floor but I can see you have both a radiator and a heating (??) unit that prevents that. You might want to look into roman shades instead on those windows. Also to help tie in your seating area , you could add an area rug to help add color. Make sure it is large enough that you can put both loveseats ( front legs) on the rug.
Fireplace on left, TV wall mount on right wall.
wokman_77 thanked Diane Land
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Living room interior design ideas - 3m x 7x size (long and narrow)!
Comments (2)Could we see some more pics of the room?...See MoreLong and narrow living room, please help!
Comments (10)It might be worth looking into a stove with a faux chimney breast. Just looking at your sofa, lamps etc it looks as if you like a classical/transitional style? If you did opt for that and it's feasible to install again I might position it off centre. http://www.woodburners.com/installations/no-chimney,-no-problem.html you may hate this idea but I have a large oriental wardrobe next to my fire which houses the tv. Your tv doesn't look huge so it may be an option if of course you like it. I only know of this one which is an actual tv cabinet or you could do as we did and drill holes in the back of the wardrobe (it obviously needn't be an oriental one but one that doesn't scream wardrobe!) https://www.oka.com/peking-handpainted-chinoiserie-tv-cabinet.aspx Although if you had a fire as the focal point you may find the tv fades into the background or paint the alcoves a darker shade etc. Re rug I suppose it depends if you move the leather seats into the play room but something with a subtle pattern might look nice? Have you looked for anything else to replace the leather? I like the storage unit you've found. It looks as if your side tables would work the other way round so you could have a media cabinet for cd's and dvds where the toys are currently stored or an apothecary cabinet may work well....See MoreSold my living room suite, now what do I do?!
Comments (6)Hi Rumkini, Thanks for that. I’m not sure you picked up on all the doorways and walkways?, so I've put red arrows on the crucial well worn routes, one being the Kitchen, and the other the main entrance/central walkway. I thought about an “L” arrangement, but as you say, you cant recline onto each-other, it creates “premium/preferred seating”, and less routes to get around. I’ve looked at your plan, and by moving the tv facing couch much further back, may work, but only with slim or no end tables as I think the coffee table would end up too far away, and it really restricts the main walkthrough. I’m looking to level the playing field on the seating options and certainly in favour of the idea that everyone will have the same view, not fighting over “the” TV junky spot (or rather Elite Dangerous on the Xbox spot when it comes to my 13 year old along with wires, laptop controllers...sufficed to say I'm moving the boy OUT of the living area). Re, view of the tv, the further away you are is the better view, it’s a compromise, optimum viewing vs facing eachother, but to be honest, I don’t think many ever sit on the end of a sofa with a comfy arm rest in a regimented position. The odd thing is, being a curved tv helps me out a bit, genuinely, with the angles. The Dining table is a 6 seater 1800x900, and I have a foldaway 900x900 catering table to extend it for Christmas. I did put it to scale on the plan, but showing it all out on this next picture, and I’m not concerned about that at all, it has space elsewhere for now. Besides, I “will” have room to put it here, but not yet. After trawling through sofa options, I find it is possible to have a true 3 seater at 205x98 rather than nearer 230x210 with reclining ends. Also, I can sell my 600x600 oversized lamp tables to opt for 200x600 slim end tables. The rug I've put in for scale is 2000x1400. With or without the smaller couches, I'm finding that perhaps the TV should actually stay right where it is after all, plus reducing glare from the window especially at this time of the year with the low sun. If I took the top picture, keeping the tv where it is, and take on board your idea that I do have the room to move them further apart/more into the dining area, I can fit something inbetween too. I red circled the couch over the corner of the window/radiator... it sets off something OCD in me. Even if the couch was to be pulled away from the wall, it restricts the main walkthrough whether it is this way or the L plan suggested....See MoreHelp please. I just can’t figure out where to position downlights
Comments (9)I would consider having something other than downlights - either in addition to them or instead of - in the dining/living area Downlights especially LEDs can be an unforgiving light and don't provide any options. In my kitchen I have LED downlights, however, I have dimmable halogens in the dining bit, with a pair of wall lights, which make it feel warmer, cosier and more relaxing. I would have liked a pendant light fitting but the downlights were already there and we didn't want to go to the bother of redoing the ceiling. I would agree with Jonathan on under cupboard lighting - don't underestimate how much light you need in a kitchen and utility room. We have under cupboard lights and also in-cupboard lighting in the glass fronted wall cabinets. We have 18 downlights in the kitchen part (roughly 4.5m x 5.5m) of our kitchen/diner on two different switches (the diner bit is on a third switch/dimmer and wall lights on a fourth ) which proves most useful. Our utility is a separate room approx 3.5M x 3.5m and we have 6 downlights in there. Probably obvious, but don't have the downlights situated directly above the worktops/cabinets, if you have wall cupboards. Try to ensure you get full coverage of light over the room, to avoid dark patches, that can be aided by having tiltable downlights....See More- 8 years ago
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8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoIf I may, I really feel you'd be backing yourself into a corner (literally) by trying to use L shaped sectionals in this room. I think Diane has the best idea, although I would consider a smaller sofa and two chairs. If you really want the television on the same side, I would put it left of the fireplace. I'd wall mount it on an articulating arm and place a floating shelf with just enough width to put your components on-something like this:
I have a 70" Flexsteel sofa that is a two cushion sofa and more than large enough for two people to sit and converse. Clean lined furniture with taller legs will give your room the illusion of more space. If there's room, it could go between the two doors opposite the fireplace with two smaller scale but comfortable chairs to its right. Woven blind on your shorter windows would also be a nice change over the short curtains. Hope this helps!
- 8 years ago
Since posting the pic.. had a slightly left field idea on how to keep TV & fireplace on the same wall (but not on top of each other).
We could rehang the door into the other room and that gives a bit more space on the near side.. (i have reused Diane's picture
The fireplace wall can then house a floor to ceiling shelving unit that is not symmetric and houses the TV, fireplace and the windown/radiator units. The wall can be painted in grey shade while the shelf will be lacqured white. Sample like
[https://www.houzz.com/photos/open-family-space-eclectic-family-room-toronto-phvw-vp~594515[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/open-family-space-eclectic-family-room-toronto-phvw-vp~594515)http://urbanwardrobes.co.uk/projects/fitted-bookcase-chelsea/
https://www.houzz.com/photos/open-family-space-eclectic-family-room-toronto-phvw-vp~594515
http://www.gomodern.co.uk/store/pombal-bookcase-tv-unit-with-black-glass-doors.html
http://www.hgtv.ca/blog/flickr-round-up-against-the-wall/http://www.slipnet.org/modern-fireplace-wall-unit-ideas-inside-exquisite-warm-living-room/
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Diane Land