Please help with awkward lounge layout
We’ve always struggled with the layout of our lounge. We are planning to redecorate and to change the flooring, and we are also thinking about buying new sofas. So it’s effectively a blank canvas. How would you use this space?
On the floor plan, the conservatory is shown as a family room, and this is where our dining table is. So the lounge only needs to be a lounge (bonus points for incorporating a desk)! The most used route is between the kitchen and the family room.
The photos are from Rightmove from the previous owners and our furniture is very different. We don’t really want to block off the hall door as they had done with the corner sofa.
Any inspiration welcome, thanks!
Comments (9)
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Awkward layout. Please help!
Comments (5)Hi Claire. This does look tricky! I can't see from the pics how much space you have as you come in through the door on the left. Could you have your tv there and add an l shaped sofa to the right of the fireplace? Maybe then a long cabinet in front of the radiator and a separate sofa or chaise in front of the window. You would need to use rugs, coffee tables etc to try and get some furniture in the middle of the room though. Maybe have a rug in front of the fire with either 2 small chairs or stools or a bench style seat....See MorePlease help me decide on my lounge / diner / kitchen layout
Comments (15)Thank-you very much for the comments. I hope it will be a great space, but playing around with it and changing the design at the last minute is getting a bit stressful! This is the design that the build company showed us initially - just their initial thought as it how it would look. I found feeling the area where they had positioned the fridge/freezer very tricky. We want a free-standing french larder style fridge and the doors and level of matching with the rest of the units didn't seem like a good fit. The support pillar for the steel that crosses the island in the attachment below has also been a real annoyance. It sticks out 23cm, so it can only really go through empty-ish cupboards. Clearly anything to the left of that steel is difficult to vent. On the design in my intitial post, I was intending to have a dropped ceiling element that stretched just beyond the steel. This would let me have a powerful extractor and exit the flew onto the flat room (hidden by the drop ceiling 'box'). I like the idea you describe of a full wall of units, then island, then table. I guess Jonathan's proposal is similar to that. While I love the efficiency of the "4 double door" hideaway I just don't like the aesthetic, so will need to think about something else. Bringing it back to what we need... Utility room: enough to stash the washing machine, store the vacuum cleaner and hang a few clothes. No need for a sink. Free Standing, 90cm wide fridge, nicely framed either by wall of kitchen units. Waist height oven with an additional "top oven / grill (broiler)" - so at least one full height column. Good size kitchen island with at least two seats. Approx 90cm induction hob, plus a gas domino hob. Powerful, externally venting extractor over hob. I'm relatively open to moving the kitchen/living area to wherever it works best. I'm also not desperate to have the hob on the island (but that would be nice). As far as I know, the builders haven't done anything that can't be easily adjusted at this stage - but I think that will change in a couple of days - and they are planning for the kitchen to be in the old part of the house. As for rooflights - I thought, perhaps wrongly, that it would be light enough with the big bifold doors. It is an east facing room, and the old room had some sliding paitio doors and it felt bright enough. So I have left roof lights out on the basis that - but I'm also concerned about noise. (Cheaper too!). The biggest window we can gave without incurring significantly more cost is 1800mm x 1000mm - I'm minded to be 2 or 3 of these in that middle section. Thanks!...See MoreLounge/Kitchen/Diner/Basement Layout help please Houzz!
Comments (4)Hi Sandi You have a great space to work with, and a lot of ideas for the space itself which is a great start. Ideally it would be best to sit down with a Designer and really dig into what you want from the space, taking time to really figure out how you want the space to feel as a whole. However, to get you started it's easy enough to create a concept design plan of the space from plans you have of the home, so if you'd be interested I'd be happy to take a look at the plan for both the basement and lounge, and send you something over to give an idea of how the design could look / be laid out, based upon the information you've posted above. (Free of charge of course) My email is - Kerrybryaninteriors@outlook.com If you can ping across the detailed plan (with measurements) for the two floors, I can have a basic drawing over to you by the end of the week, to give you some ideas. Speak soon - Kerry...See MoreHelp please for awkward downstairs layout!
Comments (9)Thank you Eulinea Ltd. Yes the utility is far from the kitchen but I am happy with that as the laundry does not need to be near the kitchen. The architect has had to fit the stairs in there due to existing steels which would be costly to move. His first idea was to move the stairs to the left of the dining room as you mentioned and that would work well as the stairs to the loft will be above that location, however he has since changed the plans as he felt this would take us too far over budget and was trying to scale back the costs for us. I have no idea how much it costs to move a staircase. It is tricky as we can’t get a true idea of costs until the detailed drawings have been done but we don’t want to then have to redo the drawings if the costs are too high!...See More- 5 years ago
5 years agoI haven't had long to look at it, but that is a tricky lounge. A decent size but an awkward shape.
What would really help is knowing the measurements of each and every wall in that lounge.
Moving walls and doors can be expensive and you should always consult a structural engineer.
By moving the doors and walls, even though it makes the room technically smaller, it'll feel more useable. I moved the kitchen door to the corner, which frees up a bit of wall space to hang the TV. You would need to move some kitchen units, so I've put them against the stairs. You could fit more here anyway.
I've moved the hallway door in a bit to square the room. I don't suppose you really NEED to do this, but it will make the room a more standard shape and make better use of the hall storage. Either of the layouts I can think of would equally work with the door where it is though.
Sorry I haven't got the software or the time to draw the layouts but hopefully you can get the idea. The two layouts that spring to mind are 1) an L-shaped sofa in the window corner, with a single elsewhere (where the measurements were maybe?) You might fit a small desk by the double doors. OR 2) an L-shaped sofa partly under the stairs overhang, with the TV on the long wall opposite where it is in the photos. You could maybe put a single seat beside the double doors, and a desk in the corner near the window.
Without moving walls, I'd maybe put an L sofa in the window corner and a single in the corner by the double doors. You might fit a small desk (110mm?) under the stairs.
As I said though, if you could measure every wall, that would help get a better understanding of what could go where.
- 5 years ago
Hi Nicholas, Thank you so much for taking the time to write such a detailed reply. These ideas are great - I can see how moving the kitchen door would give a longer length of wall that would be really useful. I like the idea of a corner sofa, it seems more relaxed and friendly than our current 3seater plus large armchair.
I‘ve taken some very approximate measurements (don’t cross check them - they probably won’t add up!) and have added some photos of the current layout, which is the best we’ve come up with so far, but we still sit a long way from the television! I want to achieve a more intimate feel in this space. Thank you again for you ideas, they are definitely being considered 😀
5 years agoFor a more intimate space I’d maybe try to create a new zone with a large rug then anchor the furniture to it. If I was in your living room I’d be moving your existing sofa around the place as well as using cardboard or newspaper to layout shapes on the floor. I’ve done a terrible drawing to show you what I’d try first.
- 5 years ago
- 5 years ago
Nicholas Scott