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Thread: Layout Help and Furniture Selection Help for Living Room that Opens to Family Room

  1. #1
    Grant Guest

    Default Layout Help and Furniture Selection Help for Living Room that Opens to Family Room

    I am finally getting around to buying new living room furniture, and after spending time researching the options, I would really like to order some Hancock and Moore pieces from the Keeping Room. I have played around with some layouts, but wanted to see if those of you with a better design eye than me had some different thoughts.

    The house is a small colonial with the dining room to your left when you walk in the front door, and the living room to your right. The family room is behind the living room, and the kitchen is behind the dining room. The previous owners opened up the wall between the living room and family room which makes both rooms seem bigger and is nice for entertaining, but in my opinion, makes the furniture layout more challenging.

    My wife loves the Chantal sofa http://www.hancockandmoore.com/Produ...s/Chantal-Sofa and I am a big fan of the Baron Wing Chair with the Tufting http://www.hancockandmoore.com/Produ...n-Tufted-Chair

    We both also like the Chesterfield loveseat http://www.hancockandmoore.com/Produ...field-Loveseat, but prefer the loose cushions rather than the tufting on the seat for cleaning purposes like on this sofa: http://www.hancockandmoore.com/Produ...sterfield-Sofa Does anyone know if the Chesterfield loveseat can be ordered with loose seat cushions?

    Goals would be to have 5 seats (not including the old mahogany chair), with at least one of them being a wing chair. Any stand-alone sofa or loveseat under the window would need to be centered because anything off-centered is noticeable when sitting in the family room chair that looks into the living room. Looking to do something a little more formal than a sectional.

    Here are pictures of the existing room:

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    I will post one more picture and the two layouts we were contemplating in the next post.

    Any and all thoughts are most welcome!
    Thanks in advance.
    Last edited by Grant; 01-28-2017 at 05:17 PM.

  2. #2
    Grant Guest

    Default Re: Layout Help and Furniture Selection Help for Living Room that Opens to Family Roo

    Here is one more picture of the existing room, along with layouts of the two options were were considering:

    Click image for larger version. 

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    I was intending to keep the secretary desk, the old mahogany chair that I use at the secretary desk (fairly infrequently), and the coffee/end tables, but am potentially open to options involving moving and/or replacing those pieces as well.
    Thanks again for any advice and thoughts.

  3. #3
    MJM_CA Guest

    Default Re: Layout Help and Furniture Selection Help for Living Room that Opens to Family Roo

    I would center the sofa on your long (non-window) wall.
    Then float the pair of chairs in the room - either opposite from or adjacent to the sofa.

    Lower your artwork - the bottom edge of the frame should be 1' max from the top of your sofa.

    Another option is to put a swivel chair in between your two rooms. You can then swivel it to watch TV or swivel to have a conversation in the living room.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Posts
    563

    Default Re: Layout Help and Furniture Selection Help for Living Room that Opens to Family Roo

    I think it would be annoying to have an arm chair floating out in the middle of that space that you have to walk around to get to the living room, but I am not sure how you get around it if you want five seats. Between the desk and staircase is an opening right, not a wall?

    I suggest two loveseats like you have in your second floorplan, and the Chesterfields will upscale the look vs the sectional you have. Your tables might look a little diminutive though, especially the coffee table, just see how it looks to you in person. For the fifth seat if it were me I would see if I had room between the end of the love seat on the non-window wall and the living room to kind of angle a chair into the living room, like a 45 degree angle facing into the room with the back corner tucked between the loveseat and the wall. Or even just put it there taking up half of the opening between the rooms with it's back to the family room and front parallel with the window. Not sure if that is possible with the space but it would help to break up the rooms a bit while leaving the open spaces and walkways.

    If all of that works out you now have the big open space and you can put in a bigger coffee table, or a nice big tufted square ottoman, if that gives you the more formal look you are going for.

    Also, a rug would be nice to tie it all together.

  5. #5
    Grant Guest

    Default Re: Layout Help and Furniture Selection Help for Living Room that Opens to Family Roo

    Thank you for the feedback! The couch would fit nicely centered on the wall, and I would have just enough room for an end table on each side. If I do that though, and had the chairs facing it (third picture), it would cut off my aisle into the room from the front door I think. If I put the sofa on that wall but move it off-center nearer the window (first picture--I didn't show an end table by the couch but would probably do that in this scenario), I can probably preserve the aisle into the room by the secretary desk, but I worry that it would look odd being off-center like that. Another option of putting the couch on that wall would be to cheat it to the opposite wall, and then have the chairs split by the window (second picture). In a vacuum, I like your suggestion and the third picture, but I worry the lack of an aisle into the room and having to go around through the family room would get old. I don't think I like the first pictuure set up. What do you think about the second picture?

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    You are absolutely right about the artwork. My wife has been on me to lower that. Good of time as any to get around to it I suppose.

    A swivel chair probably makes good sense, but I just don't like the styles as much as the stationary wing chairs.
    Last edited by Grant; 01-30-2017 at 11:36 PM.

  6. #6
    Grant Guest

    Default Re: Layout Help and Furniture Selection Help for Living Room that Opens to Family Roo

    Danw99-Yes, between the desk and the staircase is an opening (the original hallway that was the only way into the family room before the wall was opened up). Your point is well taken on the coffee table. It definitely looks small to be now with what I have, but I was going to see how it looks with the contemplated new furniture before adding another item to the "to be purchased" list

    I tried to diagram what I think the chair would look like with your suggestion (and I added a larger coffee table to the diagram ). I like the seating arrangement. Would it be okay to have someone with their back to those seated in the family room? That would be my only concern Is it too ridiculous to have two loveseats facing one another with the chair tucked more in the corner per your suggestion (attached)? The rug is a good idea. I figured once I get the furniture in place, I would get the right size rug.

    I thought picking out the brand and style of furniture would be hard, but laying out a room is proving to be more challenging than I had originally thought!

    Thanks for the advice, it is all appreciated.Click image for larger version. 

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  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    Columbus, OH
    Posts
    563

    Default Re: Layout Help and Furniture Selection Help for Living Room that Opens to Family Roo

    I think the facing loveseats will make it feel closed off and cramped, especially for walking around. You walk in the front door and bam, back of a couch.

    The last picture you posted is like what I had in mind. It is hard to say with the dimensions if that will work. I don't think there is anything wrong with the chair back being to the family room, and if it is a taller chair like most recliners you might not even see the person's head anyway. Or because of the space you might want to go for a smaller chair that won't stick out so much and draw your eye, especially versus the height of the chesterfield sofas (something like the H&M Richmond chair).

  8. #8
    MJM_CA Guest

    Default Re: Layout Help and Furniture Selection Help for Living Room that Opens to Family Roo

    Grant, your 3rd layout with the couch centered on the wall and the chairs opposite may work. However, it would probably work best with smaller scale chairs.

    Another option is to center one chair under your window. Center the sofa on the back wall. It's okay if the chair sticks out a bit past the corners of the sofa and they "overlap" a bit.

    Place the 2nd chair in the corner between your two rooms, as you show in your last layout. This will preserve more entry space into your rooms.

  9. #9
    Grant Guest

    Default Re: Layout Help and Furniture Selection Help for Living Room that Opens to Family Roo

    MJM_CA--I am going to try either taping off the floors or moving the pieces of the sectional around this weekend to simulate some of these recommended looks. Thank you very much for the feedback and advice.

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