It can be difficult to arrange the furniture in a living room with a TV. Filling a room around your gadgets in a way that is both functional and visually beautiful can seem like a daunting challenge when you are presented with an empty space. But through time, interior designers have learned a few straightforward, practical rules that help your TV appear beautiful in your living room. If you simply adhere to these common sense guidelines, you'll discover that placing furniture—TV included or not—isn't quite as intimidating as you might have thought.
Consider The Most Popular Furniture Layouts
Consider classic living room designs that designers frequently use to create the most attractive spaces to narrow down your possibilities. Here are a few examples of how to arrange furniture in a living room.
- Symmetrical Layout: Because it visually balances the area, a symmetrical layout works in any size or form of room. A symmetrical arrangement would have two sofas facing one another, separated by a table. A symmetrical couch is one that has matching side chairs on either side of it.
- Floating Layout: Choose a floating furniture layout if your living room has a lot of windows but not enough wall space to attach your furniture. To create an island in the middle of the room with a TV installed on one wall, place your furniture a few feet away from the walls.
- L-shaped Layout: An L-shaped living room and dining room combo is regarded as an awkward area and comes with its own set of difficulties, including a lack of available wall space for placing furniture and a TV. The sofa sits on the long wall and the TV can be placed on the wall directly in front of the sofa in rooms with two walls that can be used for furniture placement.
- Layouts for Irregular Rooms: Asymmetrical or awkward-shaped rooms include those that are narrow, have nooks and crannies, or have fireplaces that are at an angle. Create zones with furniture by placing it on area rugs in awkwardly shaped living rooms. A striking floor lamp or another large statement piece can serve as an additional anchor for a space.
- Layouts for Long, Narrow Rectangular Living Rooms: Since there are two long walls available, it's typical to position the sofa against one wall and the TV—whether mounted or on a stand—against the other.
Decide on a Focal Point
Never undervalue a room's main point's influence. They can be created intentionally, like with TV stands and televisions, or they might come organically, like if you have a large window or a built-in fireplace mantel. Decide on a focus point and stay with it, whatever that may be. Furniture should be placed as closely as feasible to it.
Avoid Pushing Furniture Up Against Walls
The size of the room will determine how far you can draw your furniture away from the walls, but even in a small room, you should leave a few inches between the backs of furniture pieces and the walls to give the items some breathing room. Contrary to popular assumption, this little piece of area might really provide the illusion that a room is larger. Naturally, if you have a larger room, feel free to arrange the furniture so that conversation areas are made in the middle of the space, allowing a few feet between the furniture and the walls.
Identify TV Position
The size of your TV and a few other things may affect where you put it in your living room. Here are some pointers:
- The area of your living room where the TV is to be positioned should not be exposed to direct sunlight or glare from other types of illumination.
- Keep your TV away from busy places. Nothing is more annoying than attempting to watch TV while people are constantly passing by.
- Generally speaking, your TV should face your sitting so you can watch it comfortably from your couch or chairs.
- There are advantages and disadvantages to mounting a TV over a fireplace, but if done properly, it can free up floor space in a tiny living room layout.
Make Conversational Spaces
Without having to strain their necks or shout across the room, people ought to be able to naturally communicate with one another. Place the couches and chairs close enough to one another so that people can talk without raising their voices, but not necessarily facing one another directly. Create additional chat spaces if the space is too vast.
Find Balance When Arranging Furniture
When placing furniture and other items in your living room, balance is especially crucial for décor. A room can feel uneven and a little disturbing if all the large or little pieces are grouped in one spot or on one side of the room, so take into account the size and location of the various components. Make sure the shapes are varied as well; if your seating is straight, for instance, think about a spherical coffee table.
Think about Traffic Flow
Traffic flow is one of the most crucial factors to take into account when placing furniture in any room. To move through the room, people shouldn't have to trip over the furniture or each other. A few feet, give or take a few inches, should be left between the coffee table and sofa as well as between the chairs. Make a path that is clear so that people may easily move from one end of the room to the other.
Use Rugs of the Correct Size
Area rugs should be placed below all of the furniture, if possible. It's acceptable to expose some flooring at the room's edges, but if you use an area rug, make sure it's large enough to accommodate all the furniture in a seating arrangement. Large pieces should at the very least have their front legs resting on the rug.
Choose a Large Coffee Table
Larger is usually preferable when it comes to coffee tables. A big coffee table in the middle of a seating area serves both practical and aesthetic purposes. It serves as the room's focal point and provides lots of room for people to set their drinks down or for you to display your favorite accessories. Large tables are also simpler to get to from the chairs surrounding them. In light of this, be certain to leave enough space for traffic to pass between the furniture and the coffee table. Additionally, two smaller tables or other coffee table options can work well as a substitute if you can't find a large coffee table that suits your needs.
Place Tables at a Safe Distance
A side or coffee table should be easily reachable from every seat. Avoid seating arrangements that require people to get up from their chairs to place things down or get drinks. In relation to table height:
- If it's not possible to have side or end tables at the same height as the nearest chair arms, lower is preferable.
- Coffee tables should be at least as high as the seat of a chair or sofa.
Allow for Light
One of any room's most crucial components, lighting is frequently disregarded. Use a variety of floor lamps, table lamps, and overhead lighting at all times (and sconces, if you can). A floor light looks fantastic behind an accent chair or at the end of a sofa. On side tables, bookcases, and even mantels, table lamps look charming. Use a range of fixtures widely all throughout your room as balanced lighting requires placement at various levels.
Use the Appropriate Art Size
Whether they are pieces of art, mirrors, or sculptural sculptures, anything that hang on walls need to be positioned thoughtfully and in proportion to the furniture. Instead of hanging a tiny photo over the back of your sofa, for instance, use a huge piece that is around two-thirds its length or a collection of pieces. If you must use a piece of art that is too little, enclose it in a wider frame and a larger matte so it may stand out when placed next to a huge piece of furniture.
Bringing Everything Together
If your plan involves purchasing new items, it is best to plan ahead when it comes to furniture and accessories arrangement. To draft your ideal floor plan, use either a traditional piece of graph paper or an online floor planner. The only surefire way to determine whether or not things will work out as you want is to do it.
