living room arangment advice

capt_jordi

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Okay so the Beau bought a house. We have been trying to figure out how to arrange the living room/dining room. Its been a hassle! We cannot figure it out! Originally we had the couch facing the tv and the recliner to the left under the window but it was just odd. So we centered the couch with the fireplace and window but then the recliner is either in the dining room area or overlapping the couch and just looks odd. So right now we have the couch moved to the end of the window but it is driving me crazy not centered... Any ideas on how we can make it work? And the beau will not give up his man chair...
Eventually I want to get something more like this but right now we are making due with what he has!
Here are some pics taken with my phone to hopefully explain it a little better than I have!

View from the Kitchen

View from the hall

To the left of the couch

And from the front door

Any suggestions would be great! Thanks guys!
 

sillyitiliangrl

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Does the TV fit above the fireplace? If so I would put the TV there, leave the couch where it is, centered infront of the window move the "man char" to over where the tv is and see if you could get a more substantial coffee table....
 
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capt_jordi

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the mantle is too high for the tv, and it barely fits. (that and the Beau doesnt really trust the mantle enough for his precious...) LOL. Right now the couch isnt centered. Its off to one side of the window.

And yeah the new coffee table is on the list to get! That was just a freebie we got when he first moved up here and needed something to hold him over. Its going to migrate to the man cave and he is getting a nicer one
 

natalie_ca

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I don't really like the sofa under the window. The window is a focal point of the wall, and the couch being the largest piece of furniture is also a focal point. 2 main focal points together make the room look lopsided.

Would it be possible to put the sofa where the chair is by the front door, thus creating kind of a "wall"?

It's too bad that the fireplace is on the wall directly across from the window, that makes arranging difficult.
 
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capt_jordi

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Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

I don't really like the sofa under the window. The window is a focal point of the wall, and the couch being the largest piece of furniture is also a focal point. 2 main focal points together make the room look lopsided.

Would it be possible to put the sofa where the chair is by the front door, thus creating kind of a "wall"?

It's too bad that the fireplace is on the wall directly across from the window, that makes arranging difficult.
We did try it like this and it was okay, but the man chair still makes it awkward. And it almost puts it too close to the fireplace once we put a grill up in front of it... Yeah I agree I wish the fireplace was different! Its an odd narrow little room.
 

februa

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TV diagonally in the corner to the left of the fireplace, couch parallel to TV angle in front of it, man chair in the corner to the right of the window. I assume it swivels so when tv watching is desired, it can be rotated appropriately, and otherwise can face in the room making for better aesthetics?
 

momofmany

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Balance the sofa with a cat condo by the windows and you're all set!!


Seriously, I had a living room like this once and had the same layout problems. If you want to see the TV from all chairs in the living room and also from the dining room, then you have the best layout right now. You might consider moving the TV to the right in the corner on an angle and moving the recliner in the corner to the left of where the TV is right now, then you can center the sofa under the window.

And get a tall cat tree to the right of the fireplace.
 

calico2222

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Originally Posted by Februa

TV diagonally in the corner to the left of the fireplace, couch parallel to TV angle in front of it, man chair in the corner to the right of the window. I assume it swivels so when tv watching is desired, it can be rotated appropriately, and otherwise can face in the room making for better aesthetics?
I was thinking something like that too, setting up the couch and chair in a "V" with the fireplace being the at the center and the TV in the corner. It would clear that wall which is a great place for family pics, artwork, etc, plus would give the allusion of a separate room since it looks like the living room and dining room are basically one. But, I'm not great at decorating...luckily my house is so small I really only have a few options and rearranging furniture is NOT one of them.

He's got a cute house though!!
 

nurseangel

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Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

I don't really like the sofa under the window. The window is a focal point of the wall, and the couch being the largest piece of furniture is also a focal point. 2 main focal points together make the room look lopsided.

Would it be possible to put the sofa where the chair is by the front door, thus creating kind of a "wall"?

It's too bad that the fireplace is on the wall directly across from the window, that makes arranging difficult.
I agree...if it's possible to move the sofa where the chair is, then you'd have a "conversation area." Congratulations on the new house!
 

c1atsite

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Originally Posted by nurseangel

Congratulations on the new house!
Yeah that


Maybe the TV can be shifted slightly so it's in front of the floor vent at a slight angle? (Wiring issues can make this a headache)

I think doing this might make swapping the couch & recliner positions easier?

From experience, I've found angling furniture can be helpful in so many ways
 

natalie_ca

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How about the couch were the TV currently is.

A sofa table with some ornments/statues under the window.

Where you currently have the chair by the front door, how about a small entertainment unit. The back will act as a wall blocking the immediate view into the living room from the front door. Creating, sort of a small hallway.

Not sure about the chair. Move it around until you find some spot that looks good with the above arrangement.
 
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capt_jordi

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the angle idea would be great, but wont work. To the left of the fireplace is the hallway door so we couldnt use that and the only other corner in the room would put the couch in front of the fireplace.
We had the couch where the man chair was and it made it sort of awkward to walk around. I think its going to be a lot of changing and rearranging in the next few months! LOL!

I really am stumped, we have tried so many ways! Right now looks a little awkward but works the best for usability!

His family owns an auction house and they deal with the display furniture and slightly damaged furniture so we are probably going to keep them on the look out for a nice L shaped sofa. That and play in Photoshop and see if we can make it work!

And as for the cat condo idea, yeah... that may actually happen, the Beau may be taking Joey
So who knows!

On a completely different note, how would a medium-dark teal Like the pattern on this look for a wall color? We would keep the trim crisp white and use beige and brown accents. Yes no maybe?
 

3catsn1dog

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IMHO...I dont know if I would go for teal from floor to ceiling...what about doing like a half and half type thing..teal on the bottom and then a border across the paint line between the teal and white top that matches the accent colors you would like to use and the teal to kind of break it up. I might have a man complex going on being afraid of color though..lol...But I like the darker color teal in the picture and I strongly dislike teal to begin with but your choice is very nice looking it almost has a regal feel to it
 
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capt_jordi

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Originally Posted by 3CatsN1Dog

IMHO...I dont know if I would go for teal from floor to ceiling...what about doing like a half and half type thing..teal on the bottom and then a border across the paint line between the teal and white top that matches the accent colors you would like to use and the teal to kind of break it up. I might have a man complex going on being afraid of color though..lol...But I like the darker color teal in the picture and I strongly dislike teal to begin with but your choice is very nice looking it almost has a regal feel to it
I was kind of thinking about doing some white wainscoting on the bottom possibly! Dunno though!
 

ut0pia

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you can put the TV in the empty corner that forms with the wall where the fireplace is and the wall the TV is on right now, and then put the recliner where the TV is but more towards the left and closer to the couch.
 

goldenkitty45

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Hubby came up with this and it really helps. Take a piece of paper and then cut out color squares/rectangles to represent the different pieces of furniture in the room.

Then play on paper how you want it arranged. Saves a heck of a lot of physical moving the pieces around.
 
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capt_jordi

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Originally Posted by ut0pia

you can put the TV in the empty corner that forms with the wall where the fireplace is and the wall the TV is on right now, and then put the recliner where the TV is but more towards the left and closer to the couch.
its hard to tell in the pics but that is actually where the hallway door is

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Hubby came up with this and it really helps. Take a piece of paper and then cut out color squares/rectangles to represent the different pieces of furniture in the room.

Then play on paper how you want it arranged. Saves a heck of a lot of physical moving the pieces around.
Hmm we may have to try this. I'm hoping to come up with some ideas before I go up this weekend! We are thinking about buying a sofa a lot sooner than we thought. We are thinking a nice sectional with a chaise would be great and hopefully would replace the man chair!
 

calico2222

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Yeah, sometimes it isn't really the room as much as the furniture you are trying to squeeze in there. We found that out when I saved my mom's sectional when we cleaned out her house. It's still in great shape, just needs to be cleaned after 4 years of storage...but there was NO way it would fit into our family room! So it's sitting in the basement waiting until we have the time and money to finish the basement (yeah, we're probably looking at years!). Hey....wanna trade???
 
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