living/ reading room ideas help please

last month

Hi everyone! We’ve recently moved into a new house ( rented, so cannot make hard changes) and, while we’ve more or less figured out the other rooms, we’re really struggling with what to do with our living room and would love some fresh ideas.

The room is approximately 5.2m x 4m, but the layout is a little awkward, with the door on one of the side walls and two tiny windows on the opposite side.

We have two large wooden bookcases that definitely need to fit into this room as we have tons of books and nowhere else to put them. Our initial thought was therefore to make it a cosy reading / sitting room, but we also need to fit a dining table, ideally for 6 people and occasionally 7–8.

The sofa you can see in the photos is quite old, so we’re absolutely happy to get rid of it and replace it with something different - another smaller sofa, armchairs, or whatever would work best for the space.

We’re very open to ideas and would particularly love advice on the overall layout, where to position the bookcases and dining area, and what type/size of seating and dining table would work best without making the room feel cosy.

Thank you - I’d love to hear what you would do with this room.

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Comments (12)

Betty Boo
last month
So I’m sure Sarah and Minnie will be happy to give you some visuals but here’s my idea. Place the bookcases opposite each other on each side of the bay window, position your table and chairs longways adjacent to the bay so you have a view of the garden whilst dining and buy an L shaped sofa to fit into the corner opposite the bay window. Add a floor lamp for reading, a side table for your coffee and a large footstool for comfort.
Sarah L
last month
Here goes 😀 I've used a 2m x 1m dining table
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Have you thought of rearranging the furniture so the tv isn't the focal point? Furniture against walls can make a room appear smaller. If the budget permits I would add a coffee table to bring furniture into the middle of the room. I would also add a mirror to the dining area to bounce light and maybe install a low hanging pendant light over the table. I would also choose a neutral coloured rug as using a single colour for an item becomes the focal point. Grey is a good modern neutral for walls. If you want to use paper on a smaller wall choose a small pattern that won't date unless you don't mind repapering to keep it up to date. There are some really fantastic papers around at the moment such as chinoiserie, bold contemporary and typography but it depends on your preferred style? Maybe use plain (not patterned as this may date or your taste will change) velvet or silk curtains to soften the room. Use different colours and textures for the accessories to avoid block colours as per comment above. Pattern/interest can also be added in the form of wall art.
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Well it's great to have the comments. It's actually taken away my anxiety about the room and I can think clearly now. Sandra your advice about what makes you happy in a room made me smile.. you are right. You also confirmed my thoughts on a cast iron fireplace, it would be too imposing, and I think a wood burner would become a burden after a while as well as being a bit "cottagy," I have thought about a gas stove, a slightly more contemporary looking one in a rendered, painted recess, with a reclaimed surround, or open gas fire? I'd love to see your fireplace Sandra when you get the time to post a photo. Minnie, thank you for the link. The ideas are so good I do like the white fireplace, and the nod to the 1930's is good advice. I think now I will start to enjoy this renovation. I am going to try the tv in another area of the room, although my husband doesn't like them on the wall. It is a good idea on the wall near the alcove though, I need to have a good look at the room with fresh eyes. Love the idea of the curtains and slimline sofas. It's all great advice and Nicola thank you for your offer with information regarding the bay pole from Fabricant. I am based in the South East so I will be very interested when it comes to doing the curtains... which I think will be a long way off yet. I feel I'm getting somewhere now by eliminating the wood burner and the cast iron fireplace. I am so glad I posted on here! I'll be planning and researching this week end. Much appreciated.
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Grey is a great base colour, I think your new palette looks lovely and that any one of these accent colours would look great not just on soft furnishings but perhaps look out for objects like a vase in that colour to put on the dining table? Have you thought about painting coffee table a bold grey colour? Have you tried rearranging the furniture? It's hard to tell if there is space but you could move the dining table and chairs to left of door as you come in and put sofa in the L-shaped space left by table, in the corner. It would mean the sofa does not block the light coming in the room through the door. If you do keep the table where it is, perhaps move the mirror along to behind the table. It would catch light and brighten that corner too. Good luck!
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In some ways it’s good to have such a large TV. Let’s face it you are sitting a very long way from it in your lovely big room! You are wondering how to make the door end of the room look used. I think we are talking trade offs with the design here, in terms of cost and layout. If you can spend a bit of money it might be worth investigating how to design a new fireplace that incorporates the TV. Sounds horrendous I know, but because you have a large tv it might work, though you’d have to be VERY careful about balance in the positioning and get specialist advice on insulating the tv from the heat from the fire. You also need to consider how much time you spend watching tv and if the upwards angle of view might give you a stiff neck from where you place the sofa...BUT... this would enable you to bring Carolina’s room layout back towards the door, making the room look more occupied, you could then also use celery girls idea to put a sort of separate more intimate seating area in the bay window - two statement chairs and a little table, maybe flanked by a pair of enormous table lamps in front of the curtains to fill the corners and highlight the curtains at night.
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Anastasia K
Original Author
last month
Thanks a lot! I’m now thinking of ditching the dining table altogether and making this room more of a living/reading room. Any thoughts on that?

I definitely need to use the bookshelves, but I can’t fit both of them on the same wall. I’d have to split them between two walls, and because the other wall has those small windows, the bookshelf can only go in the middle between them. That means the two bookshelves won’t be positioned symmetrically, which is driving me nuts! 😅
Sarah L
last month
How large are your bookshelves? Do you want a TV in the room too?
Anastasia K
Original Author
last month
They are 140cm wide, 170cm tall, - looks like this (I have 2 of this)
Anastasia K
Original Author
last month
No Tv, I have it in a different room. The layout is a bit strange in his house, 2 not big rooms instead of one large leaving space.
Anastasia K
Original Author
last month
I am now thinking of selling these bookcases and buying a different one. To have it on that wall on the left side of bay window. But I am not sure what style of bookshelves will be good there, my current one looks too heavy/ bulky and short
Betty Boo
last month
In the first photo you posted the two bookcases next to each other look like they fit the space quite well. Is there a reason you don’t want them there? Have you considered painting them in your wall colour to help them ‘disappear’?
Anastasia K
Original Author
last month
In close proximity they are not identical and does not look nice when one next to another, and they also looks too too bulky.
minnie101
last month
I think i’d put a bookcase where the existing one is, leave 15cm either side between the door and corner for breathing soace.

AI isn’t behaving but if it fits, try with existing sofa, position it equally between the windows. Hang art between the windows. Then have a chair where the sofa currently is and one in the bay if it fits angled towards the sofa
Sarah L
last month
You could use Ikea billy bookcases. I used them in my image. I have one still going strong after 30+ years.
Anastasia K
Original Author
last month
Thank you very much all! !Like the bookcases! And the layout!

living/ reading room ideas help please

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