The fireplace is the natural focal point of a living room. Flank each side with seating, whether it's two sofas or a sofa and pair of chairs, and place a large coffee table in the middle.
Everything In This Slideshow 1 of 20 Arrange for Face-to-Face Conversation Arranging the seating pieces to face each other over a shared coffee table makes a conversation easy, and the table keeps drinks within easy reach. Plan your perfect furniture arrangement with Arrange-a-Room! 2 of 20 See it in Action! Find out what three things you need to consider when planning your furniture arrangement 3 of 20 Divide the Room with Furniture Divide a large living/dining space into separate zones with furniture placement. A sofa facing away from the dining room defines the conversation area from the rest of this open layout. Plan your perfect furniture arrangement with Arrange-a-Room! 4 of 20 TV vs. Fireplace You have both a TV and a fireplace but aren't a fan of having both on the same wall? Try this arrangement strategy. Watch now! 5 of 20 Seat Four with Chairs If you don't have room for the usual sofas and love seats, four comfy chairs will serve as well--or perhaps better. In this clean, crisp setting, matching white slipcovered chairs define an orderly, compact, yet welcoming seating group. Plan your perfect furniture arrangement with Arrange-a-Room! 6 of 20 Pull Furnishings Together with a Rug Use a large area rug to unify a seating group within a larger space. If the rug isn't large enough to contain all of the seating pieces, make sure that those farthest from the wall are solidly anchored on the "island." 7 of 20 Arranging a Great Room When your living space is part of a larger great room, make sure your arrangement fits the space. Watch and see how to make it happen. 8 of 20 Enlarge the Space with Diagonals Placing the furniture diagonally gives a boxy room some flavor. The diagonal also creates a welcoming pathway into the seating group. Use the sofa and coffee table to establish the diagonal axis and arrange additional seating on the same axis. To subtly anchor the seating group to the room's architecture, align the area rug with the fireplace wall. Plan your perfect furniture arrangement with Arrange-a-Room! 9 of 20 Make Space for Lounging In living rooms where lounging and TV-watching is the main activities, a sectional sofa offers flexible, comfortable seating. Sectionals come in a variety of units, from armless chairs to love seats, ottomans, and chaises that you can combine to fit your space. The sofa in this living room is oriented toward the TV (not shown) and the extra seating is lightweight and can be easily rearranged to face the TV. 10 of 20 Divide Large Spaces with Seating If your living room is the setting for large parties, bring intimacy and a comfortable sense of scale to the room by dividing it into two conversational groupings with a path between them. Placing one sofa with its back to this path underscores the separation between the two groups, as do the area rugs anchoring them. Plan your perfect furniture arrangement with Arrange-a-Room! 11 of 20 Focus on the View An effective room arrangement starts with the focal point, the cornerstone of your living room design. Typically a fireplace plays this role, but in this contemporary cottage space, the view out the French doors takes center stage instead. Orient the main seating piece toward the focal point and arrange the secondary seating pieces around the main piece. In winter, the room could be rearranged to focus on the fireplace. 12 of 20 Create Order with Symmetry Pairs of matching sofas, side tables, and lamps strike a perfect balance on each side of the fireplace in this contemporary living room. Symmetry imposes a sense of order on the space. 13 of 20 Create Activity Zones In a large, open room, use furniture arrangement to divide the space into different activity zones. Here a table and chairs gather on one side of the room, providing a spot for informal meals or games. In the center of the room, a sofa, chairs, and ottoman form a conversational cluster anchored by a rug. 14 of 20 Use Chairs Instead of Sofas In a small living room create a sense of greater space and openness with a collection of chairs instead of using sofas or love seats. The scale of these armchairs suits the smaller living room. 15 of 20 Set Aside a Sunny Corner A pair of chairs with a set of stools converts this well-lit corner into a cozy spot for two. Whether you entertain large groups or small ones, providing guests with paired seating helps ensure that everyone will have at least one conversational partner. Plan your perfect furniture arrangement with Arrange-a-Room! 16 of 20 Arrange in an L Shape In this large living room, a sofa and a love seat form an L framing a large coffee table. This simple arrangement provides a convenient conversational cluster. A single chair on the other side of this group can easily be moved closer to the conversation grouping. 17 of 20 Create Quiet Spot in a Bay Turn a bay window into a quiet spot for two with a pair of comfortable chairs and an ottoman. Provide the chairs with a table and lamp so you'll have light for reading and a place to rest a cup of tea. 18 of 20 Snuggle Up to the Fireplace The fireplace is the natural focal point of a living room. Flank each side with seating, whether it's two sofas or a sofa and a pair of chairs, and place a large coffee table in the middle. 19 of 20 Offer Casual Seating If you're more likely to lounge in front of the fireplace than sit on a sofa, keep a supply of oversize floor pillows and ottomans on hand. Ottomans can move where you need them for seating, or they can stand in as side tables. 20 of 20 Facebook Pinterest Next Slideshow Living Rooms with Open Floor Plans Living Rooms with Open Floor Plans are desired for their hospitable no-walls concept but can present a few decorating challenges. Here's how to link different areas, define zones, add style, and establish flow in open spaces. Begin Slideshow » Related Storage for Open Floor Plans 3-Step Makeover: Arrange a Multiuse Living Room Designs
In living rooms where lounging and TV-watching are the main activities, a sectional sofa offers flexible, comfortable seating. Sectionals come in a variety of units, from armless chairs to love seats, ottomans, and chaises that you can combine to fit your space. The sofa in this living room is oriented toward the TV (not shown) and the extra seating is lightweight and can be easily rearranged to face the TV.
Serena Ibiza Sitting Room This Ibiza living room features local-limestone floors covered in custom Spanish esparto rugs from Antonia Molina. Walls covered in a sandy lime plaster, and a wood-beam ceiling set a rustic tone in the living room. Custom sofas by Atelier Tapissier Seigneur and curtains in a quilted Braquenié fabric; the Oil cocktail table by Pierre Chapo is vintage, the lacquered-coral sculpture is by Maurizio Epifani, and the painting over the mantel is by Alex Katz.
In the living room of an Upper West Side apartment, the custom sectional is upholstered in a Le Manach print and the custom sofa in a Loro Piana fabric is topped with a pillow in an Osborne & Little fabric. The table lamp is by Niermann Weeks, the floor lamp is by Aero, the rug is Persian, and the cashmere throw is by Pratesi.
3 of 35 Stephen Kent Johnson Cozy Hudson Valley Living Room In the great room of a Hudson Valley farmhouse, a row of French doors affords panoramic views of the Hudson Valley. The couple’s French spaniel, Georgie, rests on a custom velvet sofa. Collins purchased the antique console, wooden chest, and wingback chairs on trips to Italy. The 19th-century limestone columns are from New Delhi, the custom lanterns and laurel reed–and-leather rug are from Morocco, the pendant above the sofa was fashioned from an antique Italian tole lantern, and the curtains are of a Jim Thompson fabric.
Persian Rug Designer Celerie Kemble treats rugs as works of art and chooses them at the end as a finishing touch, as she did with a Manhattan living room's antique Tabriz. The pair of Serpentine sofas, by Kemble for Henredon, is covered in Duke mohair velvet by Pierre Frey. A vintage rope mirror from John Rosselli Antiques bounces light into the room. The curtains are in Scalamandré's Savanna silk blend, and the plaster walls were custom tinted to resemble the inside of a seashell.
WINDOW INSPIRATION Add some layers for daydreams and meanderings Yes, it’s true. The flexibility that two, three layers of curtains give you, it’s well-being. You can filter the light or shut it out, keep your living room warm or cool, stop reflections on screens and create both privacy and views. Or, just make you feel a sense of balance at the end of a super-busy day. View all layered window solutions
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01 Of 51Low FurnitureLow FurnitureShort pieces, like this tufted couch, keep an open floor plan cozy. Use area rugs to define individual "rooms" within the space. Jason Hartog
In the living area of a New Orleans loft, the 19th-century screen with a painted scene of Venice defines the color scheme. Designer Lynne Uhalt looked for furnishings that would reflect light, including a pair of French mirrors and iron coffee tables with antiqued mirrored tops. A Louis XVI bergère, seen at right, is accessorized with a B. Viz Design Pillow. At left, an antique French chair is covered in a Zoffany fabric. The rug is an antique Oushak.
Leather Sofa "The mandate was to get the biggest, most comfortable and indestructible sofa that would fit in the space," says designer Frances Merrill of a California living room. The perfect solution was a Fulham leather sectional, paired with a Martens round coffee table, both by Restoration Hardware.
Seat Four with Chairs If you don't have room for the usual sofas and love seats, four comfy chairs will serve as well--or perhaps better. In this clean, crisp setting, matching white slipcovered chairs define an orderly, compact, yet welcoming seating group. Plan your perfect furniture arrangement with Arrange-a-Room!
Amanda Lindroth commissioned British artist Aldous Bertram to transform her nondescript Pied-à-Terre. The trompe l'oeil paintings, such as the scrolls that frame the original Addison Mizner windows, help break up the large expanses of wall.
If you're more likely to lounge in front of the fireplace than sit on a sofa, keep a supply of oversize floor pillows and ottomans on hand. Ottomans can move where you need them for seating, or they can stand in as side tables.
Add some layers of daydreams and meanderings Yes, it’s true. The flexibility that two, three layers of curtains give you, it’s well-being. You can filter the light or shut it out, keep your living room warm or cool, stop reflections on screens and create both privacy and views. Or, just make you feel a sense of balance at the end of a super-busy day. View all layered window solutions
A former barn now serves as guest quarters at actress Amanda Seyfried’s weekend retreat in the Catskills region of New York. In the living area, the sofa is by West Elm, the wool rug is by Restoration Hardware, the flooring is reclaimed oak, and the wall is painted in Benjamin Moore’s White Dove; the photograph is by Sarah Bailey.
13 of 148 Trevor Tondro Gold Accents A great room designed by Matthew Quinn has a Napoleon gas fireplace with a mantel in polished Calacatta Nuvo Caesarstone. The seating area fits a crowd comfortably with a pair of eight-foot-long Macalester sofas and two cowhide-covered Lind ottomans, along with a cocktail table, console and tripod lamp, all from Room & Board. Transparent side tables from Ballard Designs create an uncluttered look.
