Duane: Layout help in Connecticut!!! High-traffic family room/office.

Hi Duane, just started reading your wonderful site last week, very informative, and I'm trying to guess what you'd do in my bare 18 X 18 room (redone after ceiling leak).

Considerations: need enough seating for family of 5 (kids ages 7,9,12); need room to access built-in desk to left of fireplace; sliding door is the middle of the 3 doors and will be used a lot; white door to right of sliders is a bathroom; and...don't want to block much of the view to our nice backyard.

Questions: Would a sectional work for this space? Would you float the furniture around the fireplace to avoid traffic running through the seating area, or put it against the walls to keep the room feeling more spacious (but have people walk past you all the time)? And one last thing...[I]if[I] we put a TV in the room, where????

THANKS SO MUCH!

Eve

p.s. we had to take out one of the built-ins (to right of fireplace) to put in a wall a/c/heater. I will paint the one on the left the same color of the wall in a semi-gloss, and maybe add a smaller desk/bookcase on the right...maybe.

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I'd not do a sectional in that room, I think you have too many walkways that need to keep clear. Large sofa on the free wall, perhaps one 90 to 100". A lower height loveseat on the wall by the passthrough (unless you have other plans for that) and perhaps some raised panel shutters on that pass-through to visually close it off if wanted, and then a swivel chair out on the floor area floating. TV to the right of the fireplace on a corner stand. Good luck!

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Originally Posted by drcollie

I'd not do a sectional in that room, I think you have too many walkways that need to keep clear. Large sofa on the free wall, perhaps one 90 to 100". A lower height loveseat on the wall by the passthrough (unless you have other plans for that) and perhaps some raised panel shutters on that pass-through to visually close it off if wanted, and then a swivel chair out on the floor area floating. TV to the right of the fireplace on a corner stand. Good luck!

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THANKS, DUANE, FOR THE QUICK REPLY! I am just wondering what to do with coffee table or ottoman (for putting feet up) in such a big central space between furniture pieces? Is it awkward to have a big space like that in an 18x18 room? Should I do side tables instead? Your arrangement seems to make sense for traffic but doesn't feel as cozy as I'd like. How would you address that? Any other options?
thanks,

eve

It you want to 'tighten' up the room layout a little, then a sofa with matching loveseat in an "L" configuration will preserve the walkway and give you a near-sectional feel. Keep the main sofa a little shorter and then bring the loveseat into the room another two feet away from the passthrough. You can use a small square cocktail ottoman to share between the two pieces, just don't go beyond 39" square. And then the single swivel chair with a low back profile I think. Putting a rug down will help define the space as well.

That's the best recommendation I can make based on a photo set. The next step is to do a blue-print layout of the room on graph paper, to scale, with cutouts (also to scale) of the pieces you want to use.

Thank you so much! I will try it on graph paper next! I really appreciate you taking the time to answer me!

eve