LAYOUT CONSIDERATIONS IN THE
LIVING ROOM
Planning
the layout of your living room is all about creating zones for different
activities – from relaxing around the fireplace or watching television to
reading or listening to music. This can be achieved with the positioning of
furniture. However, in getting the functionality of the room right, you also
need to ensure that the room looks both attractive and welcoming. Follow these
layout tips to find out how.
FIRE
If
your room is a blank canvas and you can choose where to put a fireplace, establish
which will be your focal wall. If your room is square, place the fireplace
centrally on the wall. If you have a long thin room divided into a seating area
and a dining area, place the fire centrally in one half of the room.
SOFA
If
your living room has a fireplace, it is natural to group the seating around it.
In many modern homes, the fire as a focal point of the room has now been
replaced by a TV, and sofas and chairs are usually gathered around it in the
same way. Whichever is the case in your home, a single sofa is best placed
opposite the focal wall in a central position. A pair of sofas look best
adjacent to the focal wall at either side of the fireplace or TV, or at right
angles to each other (in a square room, one sofa could sit opposite the focal
wall and the other opposite the window). Ensure that the sofas are the correct
proportions for the room and that there is enough space between them to maneuver
around easily
COFFEE TABLE
Adding
a coffee table to a living room does more than just create a surface to put
things on: it makes a second focal point or zone for sociable relaxation. The
best place for a coffee table is centrally in front of the most used seat in
the room, whether a sofa or a pair of armchairs, and within reach of any other
seats. Do not be tempted to squeeze in a large table that won’t let you move
around comfortably
TV/MEDIA UNIT
If there
is no fireplace in your living space, it’s likely that your TV will form the
focal point of the room. If the room is small and there’s little space for a
large TV, a wall-hung model is a good, if not particularly attractive, option.
Before you choose which wall to put it on, decide how to group your seating.
Then choose a spot where everyone can see the screen when seated. Do not hang
it too high since you will be sitting or lying down to watch the TV. If you
have enough space, or you have a fireplace in the room, the TV will fit better
in a corner
ARMCHAIR
Two
sofas are preferable to a sofa and an armchair, since they are more comfortable,
but if you only have space for a sofa and an extra armchair or two, the trick
is to position them correctly. Create a comfortable arrangement around your
focal point so that when people are seated everyone else is visible. In a long,
thin room, an armchair can also be positioned separately from this central
grouping to create a reading zone in a corner or at the end of the room.
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