The hardest part of designing a living room is the layout, especially how to match form and function and how to optimize for traffic flow. It’s easy to know when a layout isn’t working. Fixing it is the hard part.
We recently wrapped the virtual design phase of a project with a retired couple in Portland. They are looking to update their finished basement to create a guest suite for their adult children. At present, it didn’t fit with the house from a design perspective, nor was the layout functional for use.
What Wasn’t Working: Common living room Layout Mistakes
There are three key reasons why the original living room layout (top) wasn’t working.
- Furniture in the flow of traffic. Before, the path from the interior of the house to the backyard required walking around the sofa.
- Placing the TV in the flow of traffic. To get to the bathroom, you walk directly in front of the TV, which makes the space less conducive to hosting (good luck having a Super Bowl party).
- Using a large area rug without intention. The large rug didn’t anchor or define any spaces in the room. It makes the layout feel flat and confusing as it stretches from entertainment zone to walkway to music area.
How to fix this living room layout:
From talking to the clients, we knew they valued a clear entertainment zone and making the space a pleasant and functional pass through to their backyard. Here are the three steps we took to fix the layout:
- Reorient the couch area to create a clear walking path. Now, there is a straight path from the stairs outside vs having to walk around the couch.
- Move the TV to create a clear path to the bathroom.
- Replace the couches and rug with a larger section to serve as the divider to create two zones within the room: walkway and entertainment area.
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