Five Layouts Designers Love
The Formal Layout—give your room a sense of luxury Place your sofa perpendicular to the fireplace with two love seats directly across from the sofa. This creates a U-shape that screams elegance and formality. Armchairs can replace the loveseats if you would prefer or if space is limited. You can “close” the space off by putting the loveseats in front to face the fireplace and then set two identical sofas on the sides. This is best if you have a very large living room and the U-shape makes it feel too empty.
The Casual Configuration—embrace asymmetry to emphasize comfort This arrangement begins with the sofa, as this is typically the largest piece of furniture. Place it perpendicular to the fireplace. This one-sided seating arrangement makes it easier to entertain large groups and opens up the other half of your room. Opposite the couch, put some small chairs or a large ottoman. If you want the room to feel cozier and more sectioned off from the rest of the living room, orient the couch so the back is facing the door or opening to the kitchen.
The Intimate Partition—create zones by sectioning the fireplace off Center the couch to face the fireplace directly. Put a coffee table in between the sofa and the fireplace, then set all of your remaining seating on the sides so that they’re facing the coffee table. This will make sitting in the area more intimate and private from the rest of the space around you. This is likely an ideal option for you if you have a more open layout but nothing seems to fill the space the right way because your furniture isn’t especially large.
The Family Space—encourage conversation by keeping things open For this layout, set the sofa on the opposite side of the most open area. Then, set your loveseats or chairs opposite the sofa, but at an angle facing the second-most open space. This will encourage people who sit to face anyone standing up in the room, which will encourage more open interactions and socialization. With this configuration, consider putting a small chair or beanbag next to the fireplace, facing the middle of the room. Sending overflow seating to the fireplace will avoid making things feel too stuffy and formal when you’re entertaining.
The Two-for-One—keep the TV and fireplace together for dual uses This layout requires two sofas or an L-shaped couch. Mount the TV on the wall adjacent to the fireplace. Position the L-shaped couch or two sofas so that one side is facing the TV and the other side is facing the fireplace. This way, you can change where you sit based on whether you’re relaxing or watching TV. Variation: If you don’t have an open wall for the TV adjacent to the fireplace, you can set the two sofas to face one another and put the TV on the wall opposite the fireplace.
Guidance on TV Placement
Avoid putting the TV over the fireplace unless necessary. The fireplace is a huge focal point in most rooms that have one. Your eye naturally wants to gravitate there because it’s a feature with texture, character, and energy. Putting the TV over the fireplace only makes the fireplace feel cluttered and busy. A TV that high is also usually too high up on the wall to make for comfortable viewing—even if you angle it downward. This is such a common mistake with fireplaces that it gets a special tag on the TV Too High Subreddit, a subreddit dedicated to poking fun at bad TV mounting decisions.
Set the TV as far from the fireplace as possible. Still scratching your head trying to find the ideal spot for your TV without detracting from the fireplace? If so, ask yourself, “How far away can I put the TV without ruining the functionality of the room?” The answer to that question is probably the best location for the TV. TVs and fireplaces look clunky when they’re too close together, and it can make the rest of the room feel empty and under-designed if the TV and fireplace are close together.
Disguise the TV by purchasing a TV designed to serve as art. There are a few TVs on the market that are supposed to look like art when you turn them off. They have sleek frames designed to replicate a framed canvas and a setting that will display a painting or photo when the TV is off. These are perfect for rooms where you don’t want to draw attention away from the fireplace. The most popular art TV is easily the Samsung Frame, although there are cheaper generic variations on the market.
Design Tips and Rules of Thumb
Arrange your room based on the flow of traffic. Inspect the room with a bird’s eye view and identify where people would naturally walk in and out of the room. Keep the paths clear and tilt seating to point away from these walkways for a closed-off feeling, or toward them for a more open vibe. The fewer “detours” a person needs to make by walking around furniture, the more naturally comfortable and intuitive your home will feel.
Treat the fireplace like it’s a piece of furniture. It’s extremely easy to overcrowd a room with a fireplace. If you treat the fireplace kind of like a big piece of furniture against your wall, you may have an easier time figuring out how you want to set up the room.
Furnish according to room shape. Open or square living rooms allow for more flexibility with furnishings. Pull furniture to the center of the room and arrange it around a small coffee table, for instance. If you have a long, narrow room instead, place furniture against the walls to make the space look larger. Don’t put the furniture against the walls in a square room, as this can make the space feel awkward and uninviting.
Frame the fireplace with plants to enhance the ambiance. Plants or flowers on either side of the fireplace can add a soothing feel to the room. Your guests will be able to breathe easier and will feel more relaxed around these reminders of nature, even if the plants are fake.
Put a mirror or beautiful work of art over the fireplace. Use a mirror to highlight your focal point and make the room appear bigger. Alternatively, put a large and beautiful painting on the mantle. Your guests will assume that the room’s main attraction is wherever a large mirror or painting is hung, if one exists in the room. Place one directly above or beside your fireplace to highlight its role as the room’s focal point. Choose something with cohesive colors to pull the room together. Try not to overdo the décor, as your fireplace will be the center of attention. Take advantage of this by placing your favorite photographs on the mantle. If you have a particular painting you would like to feature, hang it above the fireplace.
Position the seating at a comfortable distance from the fireplace. You want to allow for a comfortable level of heat on a chilly night, so keep at least 2–3 feet (0.61–0.91 m) of space between seating and the fire. Keeping some space between the fireplace and your furniture will emphasize the fireplace as the focal point.
Rearrange things if you feel the space isn’t working. Professional organizer Julie Naylon says, “I've always encouraged people to move furniture around. It's amazing. People think that just the way the layout is, it always has to be that way. I love pushing furniture around and moving things that really give them instant change, and also can spark your creativity for other areas.” Chip and Joanna Gaines Chip and Joanna Gaines, Remodel & Interior Design Experts Your home should fit your lifestyle. "A few years ago, I realized I was decorating and designing my house around what was beautiful rather than practical for my family. When I made that realization, everything kind of clicked for me. I started being intentional about designing spaces with my kids in mind rather than picture-perfect rooms."
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