How to arrange furniture in a clumsy living room

The art of decoration is complex. How we organize furniture in a room can have an important impact on our behavior and perception of space. However, sometimes it is difficult to stand out from the others, especially with the most extravagant sets. If you don’t know how to efficiently arrange furniture in an uncomfortable living room, we recommend that you continue reading this list of tips.

Although the living room is an important place in our house, its design is sometimes impractical to match with traditional furniture. If we don’t take the time to accommodate it, we will experience a decorative disaster.

Everything would be easier with a traditional living room, but that’s not our case. Since we cannot change the dimensions of our space, we can only adapt to what it offers us. Do not worry, even if it seems impossible, you can also decorate a cumbersome living room layout.

We may not have as much space as others, but our result should leave us enough free space to still be comfortable. Let’s take a look at some of the tricks that designers use to get our dream living room.

How to arrange furniture in a clumsy living room

Image source: Theresa Wallis Interiors

Much of the secret of cumbersome solutions for the design of living spaces depends on the shape of our furniture and its adaptation to the available space.

Since we do not have a standard format, each piece of furniture should be able to serve more than one purpose. In this way, we can discard sets that simply take up additional space without performing a function.

Perhaps the hardest thing is to place a piece of furniture in an irregularly shaped corner, but even these can be decorated with the right choice.

The size is important

Image source: McClellan Architects

We cannot afford to waste space. Although this is a general rule for all living room layouts, it is stricter for people with unfavorable shapes.

We have to choose small pieces of furniture with smaller widths that allow us to gain space to walk. If possible, we should install thin wall lights that expose vertical space to make the room look more comfortable.

To store items, try shelves that are embedded in the walls. Finally, try club chairs and sofas with a narrow backrest, as it is necessary to be able to rest in the living room.

Find chairs strategically

Image source: Urbanspace Interiors

Do not put several large sofas in your living room. Try connecting several areas so that they look like one great environment (like the lobby and living room). One option for this are stools or stools that do not take up a lot of space and are ideal for sitting and relaxing.

Multifunctional furniture saves space

Image source: TZS design

The more functions a piece of furniture fulfills, the better. The stools, which can act as a table, are an example of furniture that is ideal for rooms with unconventional dimensions.

Side tables with wheels are also useful in these rooms because we can move them easily. The expandable tables are perfect for situations where we need more space to place plates and glasses.

Share the room with love seats

Image source: Herrick Design Group

These sofas are also known as two-seater sofas and help us to divide I-shaped living room layouts into several areas that we can decorate individually. It’s as easy as placing a love seat in the middle of the room to create a visual separation.

Accompany each love seat with a few individual sofas to create small conversation areas. You can also place the appropriate coffee tables to create more comfortable areas.

Lots of space? Divide it into small squares

Image source: Chris A Dorsey Photography

Very similar to the previous advice. Sofas are not the only way to share a living room. Shelves, tables and house plants are very well suited to delimit meeting areas. If you place a carpet in every square, each area is visually restricted.

It is better that you start with these partitions from the middle, because this way you can adjust the furniture of the side walls so that there is enough space to walk.

As if it were a dining room

Image source: Studio Sarah Willmer Architecture

A coffee table can be used perfectly as a dining table if we need it. You can easily accommodate four or two seats if we stick it to the wall.

Don’t block the windows

Image source: Debbie Basnett Interiors, LLC

If you know how to arrange furniture in an uncomfortable living room, you need to manage basic concepts like natural light. Blocking the view of the windows is always counterproductive, as this makes the rooms look smaller and cooler.

If possible, avoid completely or partially blocking windows with shelves. The same applies to the visual representation between rooms. It is best to keep the surroundings clear to gain space.

The doors must be free

Image source: Margaret Donaldson Interiors

Under no circumstances can the doors be blocked. If our living room has two entrances on opposite walls, the path between them must be kept clear.

It’s best to use the opposite corners where the doors are to create conversation zones. You can complement the decoration with two armchairs in the corner and central lighting. Remember to leave enough space to go between the armchairs.

Intelligent storage

One of the awkward ideas for designing the living room is that the furniture that we use as tables and chairs has drawers for storing our objects.

A shelf where only things are kept is a waste of useful space in small spaces. Consider upgrading your furniture to a piece of furniture that provides storage in every possible area.

The carpets deceive the view

Image source: Brooke Lang design

Oversized carpets make a room look bigger than it is. This is achieved by anchoring the entire environment in a single design.

Small carpets interrupt the continuity of our decoration and form narrow subdivisions that only tire our eyes.

Do not overload the room

Image source: Deering Design Studio, Inc.

The number of accessories should be kept to a minimum. As a rule, cumbersome solutions for the design of living spaces focus on minimalism, which allows us to emphasize the small space we have.

It is better to hang two large works of art on the walls than many small portraits that will overwhelm us. The same applies to table decorations: focus on quality rather than quantity.

The backless sofa offers us more space

Image source: Tim Barber Ltd architecture

Open spaces benefit greatly from placing furniture in the middle of the room. In these cases, it is better to use a backless sofa that does not interrupt the view of the room.

The great advantage of this type of seats is that we can use them from any side. It is therefore a smart solution when we don’t have a place to sit.

Give meaning to the fireplace

Image source: Brad Ramsey Interiors

If our living room has a fireplace, we have to give it the importance it deserves by placing the furniture around it.

Place the sofas and tables in a semicircle and make sure they are within 8 feet of each other to hold the entire assembly together.

Ottomans for every situation

Image source: SHIFT Interiors

How do I arrange furniture in a cumbersome, space-saving living room? If possible, use stools to replace tables and seats. Simply place a tablecloth and a centerpiece to equate it with the rest of our decoration.

Final thoughts on how to arrange furniture in a clumsy living room

• In addition to lighting and large carpets, mirrors create the feeling that we are in a large room. Place a large mirror on one of your walls to create this optical illusion.
• Use as much vertical space as possible. It is recommended to limit this to the walls so as not to obscure the view.
• Wood creates warmer and heavier environments, while plastics, metals and crystals create light and aerodynamic spaces.
• Remember to use nature with potted plants. These are perfect for decorating the most difficult corners.
• Do not put all the furniture on the wall. Leave small rooms so that the room appears wider.

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