Determining how to design a narrow living room, especially around a TV or fireplace, is hard. Beautiful photos of magazine-worthy rooms are easy to come by – but how do you actually lay out your small space? What are the most important things to consider?
Here are some tactical tips to design a narrow living room (or any living room layout):
- Write down what you want to use the space for. Is it a more formal place for post-dinner conversation and board games? Is hosting for football games a priority?
- Tip: be realistic about how you actually live. Aspirational design is just that – aspirational – and results in wasted space.
- Get your dimensions and create a layout mockup, including windows, doors and any structural elements like beams or fireplaces. To start, here’s a list of budget design tools.
- Refer back to your wishlist, and start to play around with where things could go.
- When designing a client’s narrow living room the husband was very adamant that he wanted a large TV, while the wife wanted it more tucked away. After doing structural layout sketches, it was clear that only one wall could fit both needs. This became the jumping off point for the whole space.
- Choose a focal point. As demonstrated above, the fireplace draws you in and the furniture arrangement leads your towards it.
- Use rugs and furniture to create clear zones. Large rugs can be used to either link or define spaces. For example, you want to create a cozy TV area, and a more formal area for post dinner drinks and games here are two layout options:
