I’ve recently had two interior design clients coming to me with the same dilemma. What to do with their long and narrow living room? Is this something you struggle with? I wanted to share my suggestions and why I love a four chair seating group.
My first example are long-time clients who are early retirees. Their house is a center entrance Colonial with front to back long and narrow living room. Four years ago they redid their kitchen and added a large sunroom onto to the back of their house. They have plenty of entertaining space and sofas for casual get togethers and tv watching. Their living room has in the past been used as a formal living room and also as a formal dining room space. Neither of which they really need anymore. Sometimes, we have in our heads how things “should” be. Despite having a large dining and seating area in their new beautiful sunroom, they imagined this space to be updated but still used as it had been used for year. I had to ask – did this make sense for them? In face, they also considered turning it into a master bedroom so they can have one-level living. This would mean a major renovation of their downstairs bathroom to have a shower area however. This may still happen down the road but it’s not something they need at present.
As you will see, the room is constrained by two doors, which swing in, and a fireplace that’s not centered between the doors. We re-imagined this space as a ladies lounge (it was already painted a lovely shade of pink). They needed to keep the china hutch for storage purposes and hoped to keep a pair of vintage pie-shaped side tables as they’d been her mothers. Otherwise, she wanted to clean all the rest out and feel like the room was serene and basically nearly empty. Which is unusual these days, but having breathing room is relaxing.
They have a pretty yard with lots of trees and good privacy. Once she removed the old fusty window treatments, she loved the open windows.
The doors swing into the room, which created a layout challenge in this long and narrow living room. The first door in the image below is nearly opposite the fireplace which made centering the seating area in front of the fireplace tricky. Selecting the right size chairs was very important. The rug, just at the seating area creates a nice “zone” for the space.
When having a large party, this more intimate space on the opposite side of the house will provide a nice cozy area for quiet conversation. How lovely is it at a party when you can find a cozy spot to chat with an old friend – or new! – away from the crowd. This project was done using my custom-bespoke design service level.
This next project, which was done under my QuickQ service level had a very narrow focus – what to do with the long and narrow living room? This family, also in a center entrance Colonial style house, still has children at home and space needs are very much family focused with some entertaining requirements as well. This is a room that’s rarely used in the warm months, but becomes a gathering area in the winter for game playing and hanging by the fireplace. This room is somewhat larger than my first example and there are no doors swinging into the space, getting in the way of things. It also means the living room is more integrated with the rest of the house.
Must keeps in this space were a beautiful antique sideboard and lovely large area rug. Their current space had a sofa to the left of the fireplace with the sideboard placed behind the sofa. There are only two walls the sideboard could be placed on – those flanking the right hand doorway into the space. Another challenge in the space is lighting – it wasn’t sufficient. The sideboard placed in the middle of the room behind the sofa meant no lamps could be placed on it.
When I initially asked about a seating group around the fireplace, my client didn’t love the idea because her husband enjoys a nice lie down by the fire. Who doesn’t on a blustery winters day in New England? She also said she wanted to be able to enjoy the fireplace from the kitchen and family room area, which can be seen from the right hand door opening.
I played around with placement of sofas and sectionals in the space, but it just didn’t work well in a long and narrow living room. It always felt cramped and made navigating the space awkward.
These clients have a lovely bay view off the back of the house so placing a sofa in front of the windows didn’t make a lot of sense. So, I decided to suggest a nice long chaise (he’s tall) under the window so both the fireplace and views could be enjoyed. The chairs would be swivel for flexibility as well.
I think the important thing to keep in mind with a long and narrow living room is to create zones that can feel both separate as well as be a comfortable part of the whole space. With this layout, my clients can have family game time, napping time and have plenty of seating for entertaining.
This project was done via my QuickQ Interior Design Consultation offering. The narrow focus was on the long and narrow living room layout, keeping the sideboard and rug, and enhancing the lighting. Specific furnishings, fabrics and accessories are left to the client to source. If you have a targeted dilemma but otherwise like to do it yourself, this is the plan for you!
Takeaways:
Break the space into distinct zones to create functionality and visual interest.
Avoid pushing all furniture against the walls—floating pieces helps improve flow and coziness.
Add curves and layering with rugs, lighting, and accessories to soften the room’s linear feel.
You may also enjoy: What to do with Awkward Living Rooms?
My living room is 25 ft x 15 ft. It has two wide arches with a small fireplace between and a row of three windows on the opposite wall. I’m not complaining and plan to use a central seating area using swivel chairs to allow tv watching and/ or conversation. My problem is a sofa that is 110” wide. I’m trying to keep the cost down by using much of what I have. If I position the sofa running between the fifteen ft space or between the 25 ft walls, it’s just looking ordinary. Can I place it as only one piece of furniture between the 15 ft walls? That would leave 32.5 inches on both sides of the sofa free from any pieces of furniture.
I have a very similar layout to these rooms with a 23’x12.5′ dimensions and found these ideas to be really helpful. What is challenging is that in our home, this is our only living/family room space so it needs to be multi purpose with space for watching tv, relaxing, hosting friends/family, etc. We are thinking about putting a sofa next to the fireplace and the tv on the wall opposite and then making another zone additional chairs on the others side of the room but are hesitant for several reasons including some concerns you mention above (putting furniture against walls, no longer having the fireplace as the focal point, having too much going on making the room feel cramped/cluttered). Any recommendations?
What about living room like like your clients’, where watching TV is the main activity, and that has four entrances in addition to a wall of windows and a fireplace? I saw your other links here but a) the fireplace is on a “long” wall (the room is technically square but the fireplace is high-profile and makes the room shallower) and b) there’s a limit to how far we can set back sofas and chairs from the hearth, especially without blocking the doorways.
Excellent insights! Your recommendations—like zoning the space, floating furniture, and using area rugs—beautifully illustrate The Right Way to Style a Long Living Room
. Highlighting furniture placement along longer walls and incorporating vertical storage really transforms awkward layouts into purposeful, inviting areas. Thanks for such a thoughtful and practical guide!
Great tips for optimizing a long and narrow living room! I especially love the suggestions for furniture placement and color schemes to create a cozy feel. Your ideas will definitely help make the most of the space. Thanks for sharing!
Hi there
I have stairs leading up into the lounge area with windows aligning the East side of the room and opposite the stairs double french doors lead outside..
I have one wall to use and the space is a thoroughfare..
Do you have any ideas to furnish this space..
Hi Naomi – it’s hard to offer concrete recommendations without dimensions etc.I am offering a special service to help with this which is listed above.
We have that living room but there isn’t a fire place and the bay window has sliding glass doors instead.
Hi Amy – Having a fireplace is nice – but not having one probably makes the furniture layout easier – not forced focal point.
Love your idea. Can you give a frame of reference on the room dimensions you were working with? I have same problem and thought to solve it same way but my room, though shaped like yours (doors, off centered fireplace, etc) mine is 15x 30 but only about 9 ft in are available in front of the fireplace
Hi Morse – Good question and I should have included these dimensions in the post! The pink living room is 23’9″ x 11′. So that one is about 9′ available space in front of the fireplace. The gray living room is larger at 27′ x 12’4″.
Hi, I have a 1200 sq. Ft. house with one living room and a large TV- that is watched everyday. In your solutions, people are to never recline or lay down?? There are 3 tall adults and one child as my young daughter became a widow. Could you show a practical example?
Hi Anna – Thanks for your question. I do have another post here with a sofa and chairs that may be helpful. layout https://lindamerrill.com/2023/07/10/what-to-do-with-an-awkward-living-room/
There is only one possible layout for my living room as you enter it from foyer, fireplace is off center and it connects openly to the dining room which has a wide door to the hearth kitchen. I have facing sofas, two side chairs angled from the larger chaise sofa and a silly slipper chair off by itself. Traffic patterns are a bit tight but workable as I have a very large family.
Hi Irene – thanks for sharing how you make your living room work! Sounds like you’ve come up with a good and workable plan.
Interesting article. I have this same issue. However, ours is king and narrow with the fireplace in the middle of the king wall and French doors on each of the narrow ends. Would love ideas this type of setting.
Hi Mary – Thanks for reading. I posted about a similar scenario to your here: https://lindamerrill.com/2023/07/10/what-to-do-with-an-awkward-living-room/
I have the same issue.. (would love to submit some photos for referrence). I also decided to open up the wall which helped with the space, but now I have an awkward “room/space” in the floor plan that just slightly baffles me on what to do with it. Would love your feedback on what you might consider! This was such a great read!! Thank you!!
What if the fireplace is on the narrow side, where their bay window is? This is the main living room in my home and nothing is centered!
Hi Kathy – ooh – thanks for an idea for a new post! Those weird rooms can be so hard to deal with!
I love the two solutions your came up with for your clients, and I especially like the chaise solution!
Thanks so much Lora! I was pleased when I hit upon the chaise idea.
I also love a 4 chair seating group! Great solutions here to this all too common room shape!
Thanks Janet!