Looking for design ideas to add more seating in our living room. Currently, the sofa is directly across from the TV. I feel as though the fireplace is hidden with this chase sofa we have, and I would also like to add more accent chairs for additional seating. I'm not opposed to getting a new sofa. I'm feeling a little stuck with the window cut-out area. Any ideas are appreciated!
Maybe it would look nice if you pulled the couch out into the room,
facing the fireplace? Good Luck! Pat
My eyes are immediately drawn to the window nook — so much potential in that area! How do you currently use the space? Do you spend a lot of time watching TV/movies in this room? Do you host a lot? Could you use more storage or room for lounging? Is that a working fireplace/do you want that to be more of a focal point? Think about how you currently use or plan to use the space, and then let that guide your decorating decisions 😊
My suggestions may change once I hear how you use your living room, but I have two initial ideas:
Excited to hear more about how you use the space!
Although I have fairly conventional seating (sofa/easy chairs) in my living room, I decided years ago that I'd never go that way again. Firstly, I find all sofas uncomfortable, easy chairs may be gauche and antisocial, but they provide better individual comfort; and if I want to 'lounge', there's always Bean bags and a nice carpet to lie on. If I ever have to refurnish, no trend will ever convince me to change, unfashionable it may be, but I will furnish with garden chairs, lightweight, easy to move and clean, comfortable, and stackable (10 or 20 chairs can be stacked out of sight ready for almost any number of guests)! If your posterior portions are comfy, who cares what your sitting on?
I agree with nice overstuffed, comfy chairs. So many more options and comfy for everyone. I like a love seat and two easy chairs. I do think that chaise sofa limits you too much. Two easy chairs with a little table for coffee in between would look so nice in the window nook and it would leave room for a small sofa or love seat across from the TV without crowding out the pretty fireplace. Or you could switch and put the small sofa in the window nook and the easy chairs across from the TV. If the chairs swivel, they could face the fire too.
I agree with Daniela, about using the nook for seating. It looks way underutilized for such a great focal point. A comfy loveseat should fit there. Remove the current sofa from the space. It seems to large and in it's place you can put a comfy oversized chair that can be swiveled to join conversations from the loveseat or enjoy the tv or fireplace. If the tv is articulated it can be viewed from any position. It is a lovely space, use it well.
This is a beautiful space it deserves to have a beautiful design and that might take time to develop. Think about a built in window seat with cozy cushions and storage below in that window nook. I have seen some really lovely rooms without any sofa at all. Four comfy swivel chairs arranged around a coffee table can turn the focus to the fire place, the tv or conversation. Consider adding some curtains and a larger rug for softness and color as the budget allows.
Does that sofa set pull apart into 2 seater plus a separate chaise lounge? Put the 2 seater diagonally into the corner where it is now, to get it away from the fireplace a bit, put the chaise lounge in the window nook. If not: a loveseat in that diagonal and 2 easy chairs in the window nook. If the tv does not swivel now, install a tv lift/support that lets you swing it out from the wall. Rotate the area rug so the long side reaches across the entry, to join up the tv and storage unit to the rest of the furniture so it looks cohesive. Put the floor lamp behind the diagonal 2 seater. Move the coffee table to be nearer the repositioned 2 seater. Move the little table to work with the window seating. Once this is all in place, you will know if you can add a low cushioned bench near the tv so that you have more seating when the tv is off, but no obstruction to tv watching. The bench is also good for sitting and accessing inside the storage unit. Add some modern sconces with low wattage that plug in, on either side of the tv. You may also want to consider painting the walls a different light colour but leaving the trim as is. A colour like light warm terracotta or the cool soft blue already on your throw cushions would both work. If you go terracotta for paint then find cushion covers to go over current cushions that has pattern that picks up the terra cotta colour. The window trim has beautiful details and a coloured wall will spotlight this better. You may also want to make the beautiful wood trim on the fireplace a bit lighter, sanding off the current stain and choosing a stain more similar to the medium to dark colour in your beautiful wood floors, this would lighten up that corner. If the wood itself is dark, ask a qualified wood refinisher how to lighten that colour, it may need a bleach treatment. I would also paint the storage unit, probably a darker version of whatever colour you paint the walls. A final detail is to replace the beige outlet covers on the tv wall in the same colour as the light switch upon the wall into the dining room. Love that radiator!
The sofa definitely doesn't work at its current location, but I am having a bit of a challenge defining the shape/size of the room. What I am thinking is that the room is quite small, and you have two focal areas to consider: the fireplace, which is lovely, and the TV, which is not so much so.
I'd consider the window seat idea, as someone else posted. Can you maybe also angle the sofa in the middle of the room, facing the fireplace? The room may bo too small for that, but again, I am having challenges determining the room dimensions.
I'd re-home the coffee table to another family, and get something smaller and lighter/airier for this small room. It is overpowering. And as much as the coffee table is big, the console under the TV seems too small. Would it be possible to build a narrow shelving unit that runs as high as the ceiling, and work your large TV into a portion of that? Or could you relocate the TV to another room? It is hard to have two focal points, and while the TV is the admittedly more popular item to face, the fireplace is much prettier, and both compete with each other directionally.
