Ideas for this oddly shaped open living/dining room & kitchen?

Cosinity · 2025-05-20T13:05:55+00:00

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Hi there, my girlfriend and I are moving in together for the first time and we both really want to make our new apartment our home. We've signed for a place that has a ton of character already and we're very excited for it, but we're struggling to figure out how to arrange the living room. The difficulties are that: A) it's fairly small, about 15' by 12', and B) because it opens onto the kitchen, has a hallway leading off, a backdoor, and a little back storage area, there's only really one proper corner in the whole room.

I've attached a rough overhead view as well as some images of the actual room (ignore the furniture there, it's just the previous tenant's). We're working through some designs ourselves, but would love other people's ideas!

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Comments

MirandaPriestly

Hello there!

I think it would be helpful to know a few things:

a) what items of furniture you guys are bringing with you, if any

b) how you plan to use the space

c) your personal tastes.

ITSMEBETH2211

It is unfortunate that the kitchen opens into the living room, robbing you of a wall and adding an unwanted view, but I would pretend a wall IS there, and have the couch arranged with its back to the kitchen, facing the opposite wall, where you'd have the TV. (I am presuming you have a couch and have a TV…furniture that needs to be placed was not stated) Put a couple of chairs on either of the end walls, to create a seating area with the couch.

heyjudith

I like Beth's idea of putting your couch across from where their couch is now. This creates separation from the kitchen, plus, you don't have to see it out of the corner of your eye. As to the rest of the room, Miranda is right: how do you plan to use it, and what pieces of furniture will you be bringing along with you?

Cosinity

A) We have a handful of furniture we might bring with us but nothing we're tied to (at least, not for this room). We're pretty much working from a clean slate.

B) Primarily as a living room, so we definitely want seating and a TV. It would also be nice to have a dining area so that we have somewhere to eat besides the kitchen island. We're thinking an expandable table, so that it can be small most of the time for just the two of us and then when we host friends we can expand it- we're willing to move things around as needed.

C) We've both been trying to figure this out as well haha. We're know we're definitely not into minimalism, and we want a space that feels warm and comfy. Regardless, for now we're thinking more about what types of furniture we need and how it will be laid out, and then we can find pieces that fit our tastes and plans.

MirandaPriestly

Well, there is a big wall facing the island, where the other tenants have the gray/blue sofa.

Like Beth and Judith, I also like the idea of floating the couch with its back to the kitchen and use that larger wall for the TV, gallery wall, shelves… the sky's the limit. Floating your furniture frees the walls to do with them as you like.

You could also use a room divider and/or a console table or a shallow set of shelves behind that floated couch to further define the living room area, if you so desire.

Just a few ideas.