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Living area furniture placement

Deborah Shepherd

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

We are buying new sofas, chairs, rugs etc. for our villa's open plan living area, which is grouped around the fireplace end of the room. We want to incorporate comfortable day to day living for the two of us, with a bit of formality as we entertain quite often. We are anxious not to block the beautiful view. It's not a massive area (looks smaller in the photos) and I would welcome some advice on sofas (1 or 2?) and chairs layout. If possible we would like a chair by the window with a footstool. We have bought a square coffee table and fitted units for the alcoves.

You can see our preferred colour palette with furniture finishes in photo, though an option would be the coral mixed with greys.

Thank you!

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Comments (4)

angelboyman
7 years ago
To me, it looks like the most important aspect of the room is the glorious view. So, move the sofa from in front of the patio window and have it at 90 degrees to the sofa on the wall, looking directly towards the fire. This means you're dividing the room from the kitchen area (which also has it's great views anyway) but also keeps the living area sofas in a position to entertain, plus everyone benefits from the view - rather than having their back to it or from it being reduced by a sofa in the way. You can sit in front of the fire on a night and still soak up the wonderful views.
Deborah Shepherd
Original Author
7 years ago
Hi Angelboyman. Thank you for your comments. Very helpful.
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How about putting the chest of drawers under the window so it is visible when you first walk into the room. Then put the desk where the chest of drawers is currently. I would then get a large storage TV unit for the end wall where the dark furniture is. This would be best in white or taupe to keep it light in that end of the room. You could even get this made in the same units as the kitchen cupboards. I would buy new 3 seater sofas in a traditional or classic style to suit the antiques in a beige colour linen and then two armchairs in a patterned material - floral or stripe to suit your personal taste. I would keep the sofas in the same position and place the two armchairs facing the TV unit, side by side. You would need to make sure the armchairs were placed so they were easy to walk around and they would need to be small but comfortable. Keep the table where it is and update the lamp to a more statement piece. An orchid (fake or real) on the chest of drawers would add a touch of class. I quite like the rug that is there as it goes nicely with the antiques and you could bring out the blues with a few duck egg blue coloured cushions, and a duck egg blue roman blind would soften the window. Just some ideas.... I'd love to see photos when you've finished, it's a lovely space!
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Hi LTS, The sketch plan your architect has come up with is not what I would expect from a 'qualified' architect. If you didn't request a study why is it included? The dining table is orientated such that three of the eight seats do not allow a view of the garden but face the kitchen. The door to the utility room is in the wrong location which should be adjacent the kitchen and I'm not sure you need anything like the length of the utility room as shown. There could have been a little more thought given to structural matters at this stage - eg: the beam above kitchen will be large, expensive and cumbersome to install correctly. On the plus side the overall planning principles are OK - but the whole plan needs to be prepared to a larger scale (1:50) and to indicate clearly where each piece of furniture is to be placed and how the kitchen functions (worktop/cooker/worktop/sink sequence) before you make any commitments to the architect's proposal. Get into the whole detail of the plan now and avoid the headaches of having to alter designs as the work proceeds. There should be no charge from the architect for requesting this second stage work by the way. You should also insist on receiving an elevation and a section drawing at this stage together with a clear indication of how the extension will look when viewed from the garden and, most importantly what the architect thinks the whole of the work will cost and how long will it take. (If you have already received this information my apologies)
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Can you post a floor plan - a rough drawing would do - so we can get an idea of how the room works? I want desperately to say "turn the chair round so it faces the fireplace and door/window" but perhaps there's a reason why the chair has to be in the middle of the room facing a wall? I feel all items in the room are fighting against each other instead of working in harmony. If you have a sofa, where is it - or is that something you are waiting to buy once you've worked out how to make the room work? What is the furniture peeking out on the left in the third photo and why is it there where my logic says should be where the sofa goes? Why is the rug behind the chair? It all seems a bit plonked and that if it were all moved slightly, it might be brilliant. A floor plan would really help!
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Joanna Biddolph
7 years ago
The layout in the second photo down is my preferred option. Opening up that view is essential. I would pull the sofa facing the fire back a bit - it feels a little confined - just to make it all feel open. I'm a big fan of having two sofas and am not sure why you want a chair with a foot stool - it would block that view, unless it sits at an angle in front of the corner where the television is (but which will be a fitted unit). Is the issue that you can only sit four if you only have two sofas? It looks as if you haven't got space for an L-shaped sofa on the left, because of the door, but if you have that would free up space for chairs. Otherwise have three sofas and, if they are a more open style (with legs rather than upholstered down to the floor), the view would not be so blocked. I love your colour palette!
Deborah Shepherd thanked Joanna Biddolph
PRO
User
7 years ago
I agree with Angelboyman. Move the sofa nearest the doors 90 degrees to face the fireplace and then if you want you can have your armchair and footstool, Your square coffee table will mean that you can go slightly nearer to the fireplace than you have currently. I'd go for greys and then sagey greens as you need to strike a balance inside and out, because of the beautiful view, stick to colours that you can also see outside. You have a grey / white striped canopy so grey is a good colour, trees, plants etc are green so everything will blend well. You can if you wish have a few accessories such as the cushions, vases in another accent colour, but i'd stay away from anything to heavy such as the terracotta. Just grey and greens will look lovely with the wooden doors, the coffee table, the dining table, the attractive planter by the fireplace etc. Choosing colours from nature mean that you will not be competing with the view, rather more blending with it. I'd change the black picture frames though.
Grey / Green - LIght and Airy with the touch of green
Green / Grey ( personally prefer the first combo )
Greige with darker grey accent - best combo
Green and Terracotta, don't know about you, but hate it.
Deborah Shepherd thanked User

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