Thread: Number and Size of Sitting Pieces for home with flow thru Living room/Kitchen

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are struggling with the optimal furniture arrangement for our living room which is connected to our kitchen. We currently have a La-Z-Boy reclining sofa that is 90 inches, a stationary 87 inch sofa, and a la-Z-Boy recliner that is 38 inches wide. Both of the couches will go but we will likely hold onto the recliner but it would go in another room.

I have attached photos of the room and two different furniture configurations that we tried living with for a week. I'm not sure how to best place new furniture in the room. I worry that if 2 couches or even 1 couch and 1 love seat will be too much for the room. The Your Way couches seem like a great value but we haven't sat in them yet....we did sit in a your way motion recliner and did not like it.

We live in Florida and are planning to fly up to visit Fearless Leader the first weekend in March. Definitely want leather and would like to consider a green piece but not sure if that works with the current color scheme.

My wife and I have no decorating sense and the previous owners had a great deal of it...hence that chandler choice lol.

Any advice or thoughts to consider would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Jason

I have ideas for that space, but the question is how far do you wan to go with it? Total clean slate? Or leave all "as is" and just do furniture?

How many people use the room on a day-to-day basis?

What are the approximate dimension of the room? (to the edge of the entry door on room depth)

What is the size of the TV?

Haha...how far...well we moved into this home in May and we have a bonus room over the garage that needs to be finished. That being said. The floor is not going to be changed. The carpet and coffee table can easily be gone. The end tables can also go but we still like them. The wallpaper and curtains match well currently but we don't love them...we would need guidance on where we would be going with them. All sitting furniture can go.

People use the room on a day-to-day basis: Just my wife and I currently although there is likely to be a little inconceivable running around here by the end of the year. This space is also our primary entertaining area and all of our friends have young children. No cats, no dogs, and no plans on getting one in the future.

Approximate dimension of the room: The wall behind the TV (wallpapered) measures 201 inches, the perpendicular external wall (with windows) measures 190 inches to the entry way from the main foyer. On the perpendicular internal wall there is a cutout for the entryway into the dining room which measures 87 inches long (including pillars) and is 57 inches from the main foyer entryway. There is a fireplace behind the TV measuring 75.5 inches wide and 58 inches tall.

Size of the TV: currently 65 inches but...I dream of larger haha...but that is low on the list but will be a TV of 75 inches or up when it does happen. The speakers on the floor (white fabric squares in the photo) also need space and there are 2 large Mon-block amplifiers, a A/V amp, and a blue ray player on the TV stand.

We are almost certainly going to go with a protected leather since we will likely have a small child in the house, our friends have small children, and most importantly that I am a sloppy eater and find ways to make a mess wherever possible. And since I have trouble wearing shirts that have stains on them (of which there are many), I don’t want to have that feeling of disgust every time I sit on my couch and see the stains. Also my wife is opposed to blues as she finds the color to be cold and a bit depressing.

Very much looking forward to meeting you in March...getting an in person experience with the leather....have to think that reading about it can only get you so far. Any tips for ways we can prepare for our visit? we do need to order some leather samples before our visit.

Thanks,

Jason

Let's start with Clean Slate, just for fun and like all things, advice is worth what you pay for it and this doesn't take the place of being on-site and actually in the space. Photos can be deceiving but its what we have to work with.

Primary goals in your 17' x 16' room would be to 1) make it appear larger 2) get everything off the floor 3) clean up the overall look and get a more cohesive flow. Challenges are the very wide open entry to the dining room which would be too costly to close up, and two windows on the opposite side that we have to put pieces in front of as we have no other options.

1) Clean Up. The Wallpaper and dark brown walls go as do the curtains and rods - they are awful quite frankly. You have blinds on the windows, that's all you need. Use just one color in the room, a neutral off-white as you have on the other walls. As you have (4) light cans already, remove the chandelier and install another can there. The chandelier is bringing the room "down" and is not adding any kind of architectural interest. The rug would go. Wood floor are excellent as they are, and the decorative moldings are very nice.

2) TV comes off that stand and gets wall mounted above the fireplace. You can use a pivot or drop down mount as a option if you want to bring the TV down to watch. The speakers that are wall mounted are fine, but will have to come up. The two subwoofers would go on top of cabinets, you would need two of each of this or something similar to flank each side of the fireplace. This is by Hooker and is 46" long. All your stereo and TV components go in here as well, No larger on the TV.

https://www.mantelmount.com/products...4aAsjkEALw_wcB



3) A natural fiber sisal style rug in the colors of the inserts of the above cabinets would look great, and not be that large. About a 5' square.



4) Furniture. Your room should have an "L-shaped Sectional" and possible a recliner built into a segment facing the TV over the fireplace, the LONG part of the sectional would be in front of the two window, the short part extending into the room. Then a single chair in the left corner of the fireplace area, brought closer to the sectional. The Coffee table you currently have may be too large, and possibly replaced with a square ottoman that can nest up into the sectional corner.

That's it for starters!

Attachment 14345Attachment 14345

What an in-depth plan!! Lots of great ideas!

We hadn't noticed how much the light fixture was bringing down the size of the room....so we will look into removing that from the space. Thank you for bringing that to our attention. We re-arranged the furniture last night (pictures attached)...think it definitely opens the room up. I added one extra picture from the dining room into the living room for spacial context. I also added a picture from where the TV is looking back into the living room and into the kitchen so you can see the full space.

My wife and I have gone back and forth on the sectional discussion...we think we would rather have two separate pieces (a couch and love seat or 2 love seats) with a recliner potentially. This would allow for a corner table and make it easier to lose the current center coffee table and put an ottoman in its place. Also it would give us flexibility in the future if we want to have more pieces that allow for reclining as we are currently giving up a reclining sofa for potentially 0 reclining options.

What do you think of couch under the windows and then love seat facing TV with a recliner next to it? Seems like we have the room for it currently as the full length couch and lazy boy recliner allow for enough passage from dining room into the kitchen.

Thanks,

Jason

Two pieces instead of a sectional is doable, however I don't think you can successfully place a recliner at the end of the one sofa. If you want to set the room in that manner, I would use a loveseat-based sectional with dual recliners and console in the middle instead, with a stationary sofa on the window side for the other piece.

This concept (not necessarily the style or color) give you two very comfortable recliners with armrest (console) for the TV and stereo enjoyment, and there are USB ports aplenty in that storage area. Headrests are articulating in this series as well. Can be battery powered if no outlet if nearby or if you would have to run wires across the floor.

Is that a BY design? I have not seen that in the H&M line.

And just to make sure I am understanding your response, you think a typical love seat (minus the console) with a recliner next to it would look strange?

Thanks!

Yes, that is Bradington Young, they make consoles for their motion Sectionals (Hancock and Moore does not). Motion loveseats can be ordered, but the consoles give you an armrest for your inside arm.

Correct, I definitely would not place a recliner next to a loveseat as per your picture, you don't have enough room for that and it appears awkward - that's not a good look.

I would also want two couches instead of a sectional there so I could have a corner table. I think the plan of a sofa under the windows and then another across the room makes sense. You seem to have plenty of room for a full size sofa there, or a longer love seat like the one Duane mentioned.

I would not put a recliner next to them, that just looks weird and it makes that walkway narrow. Recliner can go in the corner by the dining room, or if you REALLY want a recliner facing the TV and don't want the reclining sofa or loveseat option, you can get two chairs and put them there instead of the second sofa.

Thank you for the feedback and insight. The stationary sofa and reclining love seat combo seems like a good one for the space.

Our concerns with the reclining love seat

1. We sat in in a your way motion recliner and did not like it....I'm not sure if the sit of the recliner in this series is predictive of the sit in the love seat...or if there are different seat or back cushion options that could improve the comfort for us.
2. I have read on the forum multiple times about the weight of these your way motion sofas being a big problem...requiring four guys for delivery and being a real pain if moving...is this not the case for the love seat?
3. I have also read on the forum about concern for children playing with the buttons and/or pinching their fingers....is this a real thing or just theoretical?

One of the reason we were thinking about a recliner is to avoid the issues with #2 and #3 but perhaps these aren' that big of a deal anyways.

Thanks,

Jason