Arranging furniture in an open plan living and dining room

Welcome

Buy the Books

*NEW*FREE* Interactive Design Tool

How to Design

Choose a Look

Room by Room

Fixtures and How-to

More Design Info

Designing Your Garden

Chill 'n' Chat

Resources

My Site & Me

Business Stuff

[?] Subscribe To This Site

Arranging furniture in an open plan living and dining room

by Luke
(Spain)

It is 20 feet by 9ft11. I have a small chocolate brown sofa and dark wood coffee table.

The TV is on a long beech unit and there is a small beech 2 drawer unit as side table or lamp table.

Also have small square pine dining table with 4 chairs which have to stay as I am renting.

My problem is arranging the furniture as it is open plan as you walk thro front door.

Patio doors at far end with kitchen to the left leading to bedroom and bathroom.

Comments for
Arranging furniture in an open plan living and dining room

Average Rating

Click here to add your own comments

Jan 11, 2011
Rating

Use furniture to partition the spaces
by: Charlotte

Hi Luke

You seem to have quite a long, narrow room, which can be quite awkward as an open plan space.

It sounds very much like the lounge-diner we had at our old home - which was full of furniture arrangement challenges.

The biggest thing to avoid - although it might seem to make sense - is to line up all your furniture in long lines either side along the walls.

Instead try to bring furniture into the room a little more, either by positioning at right angles to the wall, or simply by bringing it away from the wall a foot or two.

Positioning your sofa at a right angle to the wall can help partition off the living and dining spaces - and help to create a more cosy and intimate living/seating area for relaxing, watching TV etc.

I think your dining table and chairs would probably be best at the end with the patio doors - it's very popular to have a dining table close to patio doors (something to look at while you are eating!), and it would be conveniently close to the kitchen.

Also you would not have to navigate around the table every time you come in the front door!

Some of these tips for decorating narrow rooms could help.

Also take a look at my page on open plan living and dining

It might really help you to draw a quick layout plan when trying to decide how to arrange your furniture - once it's on paper and you are just playing around with shapes, it suddenly becomes much easier to think of new ideas and be creative with arrangement.

It's not so difficult to do as you might think - click here to find out how to do it, simply and easily!

I hope some of these ideas help, Luke.

Let us know how you get on.

Best wishes

Charlotte :o)

Furniture Arrangement Tips

How to Draw a Layout Plan

Tips for Open Plan Living-Dining Rooms

Interior Design Priciples for Long Narrow Rooms

Return to the main page for arranging furniture

Return to the main page for Living Room Decorating Ideas

Return to the Home Page

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to Layout and Furniture Arrangement Q&A

Use the information on this site entirely at your own risk. No responsibility is accepted for any reliance on information contained in this site. Click here for the disclaimer. Your use of this site indicates acceptance of its terms.
© Copyright 2007-2012 Charlotte Brown t/a Charlotte Sneddon
www.interior-design-it-yourself.com All rights reserved

SBI!

Search My Site:

Custom Search

“This practical guide is a must for any DIY decorator!”

Interior Design It Yourself - Volume 1 - Back to Basics - out now

"If you have no idea how to decorate your house or apartment or you're just not sure what you should put in which room...

"...Charlotte shows you, in an easy-to-understand way, how to tackle any project."

says David - New Hampshire, USA

-----------

"Love, love, love your site! I bought your ebooks and find them helpful and inspiring."

says Linda - United States

CLICK HERE to order the
Interior Design It Yourself Book

Charlotte - author of the Interior Design It Yourself website and books

AROUND 1 MILLION READERS LAST YEAR (2011)

Read what you say about us:

'I just love your web page it is fantastic for people who don't really have the design skills...'

Elizabeth - Scotland - UK

'You are the first entry on my favorite places. Beautiful work, well (very well) written.'

Shirley - Laurinburg NC - USA

'U can't believe how happy I'm to find such a helpful website! it's over than great, really!!'

Lama - Sydney

'I really appreciate this amazing website & ur helpful tips... you really give us so much attention & I loved your advice...'

Mostafa - Cairo - Egypt

Thank you so much to all my lovely and loyal readers!

OUT NOW - THE INTERIOR DESIGN IT YOURSELF BOOKS

The books teach you how to use professional interior design techniques in your own home...

...to get a home you love, that's also the envy of family and friends!

THE INTERIOR DESIGN IT YOURSELF BOOK LIBRARY

Paperback and E-book versions available

Click here for more info
Interior Design It Yourself
Vol. I: Back to Basics
Available as:
Paperback Book
E-book Version - Save 47%
Bonus Edition E-book - Save 30%
Click here for more info about Vol I
Interior Design It Yourself
Vol. II: Room by Room
LAUNCH DATE: 1st Feb 2012
Available as:
Paperback Book
E-book Version - Save 65%
Click here for more info about Vol. II
Interior Design It Yourself
Vol. III: Styles by Design
NOT YET AVAILABLE - COMING SOON
Click here for more info about Vol. III
Interior Design It Yourself
Perfect Personality Palettes
Available as:
E-book Version - Save 44%
Click here for more info about 'Perfect Personality Palettes'
Interior Design It Yourself
Vol. I Bonus Edition
Available as:
E-book Version - Save 30%
Click here for more info about the Bonus Edition
The Books - Out Now!

Click here for more about the books

You might also like:

How to Design

Color Workshop

Room Layout

Stuck for Ideas?
Ask a Question

Recommended Books

Sign up for my e-zine below to stay updated:

Enter your E-mail Address

Enter your First Name (optional)

Then

Don't worry -- your e-mail address is totally secure.
I promise to use it only to send you Interior Design It Yourself E-zine.

GET THE BOOKS
Paperback and E-book versions available

Click here for more info

Interior Design It Yourself
Vol. I: Back to Basics
Available as:
Paperback Book
E-book Version - Save 47%
Bonus Edition E-book - Save 30%
Click here for more info about Vol I
Interior Design It Yourself
Vol. II: Room by Room
LAUNCH DATE: 1st Feb 2012
Available as:
Paperback Book
E-book Version - Save 65%
Click here for more info about Vol. II
Interior Design It Yourself
Vol. III: Styles by Design
NOT YET AVAILABLE - COMING SOON
Click here for more info about Vol. III
Interior Design It Yourself
Perfect Personality Palettes
Available as:
E-book Version - Save 44%
Click here for more info about 'Perfect Personality Palettes'
Interior Design It Yourself
Vol. I Bonus Edition
Available as:
E-book Version - Save 30%
Click here for more info about the Bonus Edition

The Books - Out Now!

Click here for more about the books

Arranging furniture in an open plan living and dining room

Comments for Arranging furniture in an open plan living and dining room

Comments for
Arranging furniture in an open plan living and dining room