Nine different way of arranging furniture around a FOCAL POINT in the corner of a room
Every so often a person comes across a house with characteristics that are not common-everyday. One of those different kinds of features is a fireplace in the corner of a room. Having to arrange furniture around it might be a daunting experience for the amateur decorator. I hope that through this post your uncertainties are erased. I know that once you look at the illustrations you will be inspired, and it will be a snap to arrange your furniture and create a space that is a warm and inviting place to be in.
When it comes to decorating a room with a corner fireplace, I think one, or all three of the following things should be taken into consideration…
#1 ..All or part of your furniture placement should be directed toward the hearth. You want to place your furniture so its angles match / mirror the angle of the fireplace and how it extends out into the room.
#2 ..You want to place furniture so sofas talk to chairs, which promotes easy conversation while seated in the room.
#3 ..If you can, try to introduce furniture (corner cabinets, chests, sofa tables, round drop-leaf tables, etc) or decorative elements (folding screens, artificial potted trees, large urns on pedestals, etc) into the corner(s) of the room to cut off the room’s corners; as the corner fireplace does. 
Now look at the first illustrations 1A-C. In this illustration, and all the other illustrations, notice how the arrows go into the spaces. They show the traffic pattern(s).
Now look at illustration 1A. Notice how the center of the three cushion sofa, which is floating out into the room on an angle, is parallel to the hearth. A sofa table was placed behind the couch to fill in the space (an artificial potted tree, etc could also be used). A folding screen has been placed behind the two upholstered chairs at the top left. (A chest placed on an angle like the screen could also be used). The screen mimics and cuts off the corner of the room at the same angle as the fireplace does. A flat screen TV is mounted on an arm for easy viewing in the room, or a large art work would look nice in that space.
Illustration 1B shows a three cushion sofa on the long wall. Two chairs flank the fireplace, aiming toward the sofa. An upholstered bench (UB) or two are used in the room for supplementary seating that can easily be moved around as needed. A TV or large painting is hung on the wall opposite the sofa.
Illustration 1C shows how two Chinese screens cut off the corners of the room alongside the three cushion sofa. Two upholstered chairs float out in the room across from it, and counter balance the couch. One upholstered chair also floats out into the room away from the front windows. 
In illustrations 2A-C the fireplace has been moved to the upper left corner of the space.
In Illustration 2A the sofa is placed on the diagonal in the bottom left corner. A round drop leaf table is place behind the couch to hold a lamp and some decorative accessories; it also fills in the space. In the upper right corner a corner cabinet which holds a TV is sited. The furniture arrangement in this room leads your eye from the front entrance to the room on the bottom right, to the hearth at the top left.
Illustration 2B has a sofa floating in the center of the room facing the fireplace. A sofa table is placed behind the couch for extra visual interest and a place to possibly have a lamp or two, and some knickknacks. Notice how a tall wing chair is put on an angle in the upper right corner. It cuts off the room’s corner like the fireplace does. Two dining room side chairs (SC) flank a chest by the window. They can be used for extra easily movable seating when needed, and to fill in the space.
Illustration 2C shows two upholstered chairs flanking the fireplace. A sofa is placed in front of the window with a chair by it. Notice how an upholstered bench (UB) is placed between the chairs by the fireplace and the chairs by the sofa. It can easily be moved around the room for extra group seating as needed. A flat screen TV on an arm is hung on the wall by the fireplace. It can be easily turned toward the sofa for viewing if wanted. ALSO notice how two chairs on the right wall counterbalance the chairs on the left wall by the fireplace. 
In illustrations 3A-C the fireplace has now moved to the lower left corner of the space.
In Illustration 3A a three cushion sofa is placed directly opposite the entry way, on an angle with a drop leaf table behind it. In the upper right corner of the room, a tall wing chair would look nice. The chair would add visual height, and cut the room’s corner off like the sofa does; it also faces and counterbalances the fireplace and chair placed next to the sofa. On the wall to the right of the entry, a chair and end table are placed so they look toward the sofa (sofas talking to chairs). Another chair and end table are by the room’s front window aimed toward the sofa.
Illustration 3B has a three cushion sofa on the long wall on the right, it is counterbalanced by two chairs that are floating out from the wall on the left. A corner cabinet is placed in the upper left corner of the room to cut off the room’s corner, as does the fireplace on the lower left side of the room.
Illustration 3C shows a couch with a sofa table behind it that is floating in the center back of the room. Two corner cabinets were added in the back of the room to cut the room’s corners off, like the fireplace does. Chairs are placed in front of the fireplace and by the sofa for conversation.
When thinking about buying furniture for your house, always ask the furniture store the dimensions for height, width and depth of the pieces you are possibly considering purchasing. Take newspapers and tape them together to make patterns/templates that are the exact width and depth of the pieces. Lay them on the floor to see how much space the furniture would take up in your room. A sofa, chair, etc that looks regular size in a cavernous furniture store might look/be too big for your room.
Finally.. The different illustrations for the layouts of the rooms were meant to inspire you. Your room’s dimensions might not let you do all the different furniture arrangements I have proposed in this post. Also, some of the groupings might not interest you in the least. This article, and all the articles I’ve written are to stimulate your mind and to get you to think about possibilities that would / can work for you. The premise of Fred Gonsowski Garden Home is to empower people so they can do projects, and as the phrase at the end of each post says “Your eyes deserve to view Beauty, I hope that through FGGH you can turn your visions into a reality”.
Companion Posts…
Fireplace Safety, and Tips for stacking wood to make, what I think is, a picture perfect fire 10-27-2012,
(Arranging Furniture)
It’s EASY to Arrange Furniture in a Square Living Room 11-29-2013,
Arranging Furniture in a 12 foot wide by 24 foot long Living Room 2-5-2014,
When buying living room furniture, FORGET the LOVESEAT, buy two Wing, Club or Occasional Chairs instead 10-13-2012,
Arrange Living Room furniture, so Sofas talk to Chairs, like the Pros do 9-7-2012,
Arrange furniture Twelve different ways in the same room 9-15-2012,
Arranging Furniture in a 15 foot wide by 25 foot long Bedroom 1-24-2015,
(Curtains and Drapes)
The Right Way to Hang Curtains and Drapes 5-3-2011,
Hanging Valances, Curtains and Drapes on Different Kinds of Windows 7-15-2012
(Hanging Pictures and Mirrors)
Picking and Hanging the RIGHT size Picture or Mirror over your Fireplace 6-23-2011,
It’s Easy to Make a Grouping of Pictures 6-29-2011,
Making an Interesting Arrangement of Pictures 7-8-2011,
It’s Easy to Hang Pictures up on the Wall 7-17-2011,
Hanging Pictures around a Room 8-3-2011,
Hanging Pictures over a Sofa 9-12-2011
(Lighting and Decorative Accessories)
The Right Height of Table Lamp for your End Table 5-19-2011,
Matching the Right Size End Table with a Table Lamp 12-12-2011,
Looking at Different Shapes of Lamp Bases 12-20-2013,
The Answer to..”Can you Put a Floor Lamp next to a Sofa?” 10-4-2012
Arranging your Decorative Accessories (Knickknacks and Collectables) 6-7-2011,
A Bridge unites a Tablescape and Wall Decor 6-10-2011
(Color and Fabric)
Pick (Use) Four colors when decorating a room 3-7-2011,
Looking at Patterns used in Interior Decorating on Fabric, Drapes, Wallpaper and Carpeting 3-10-2012,
Looking at the Different Sizes of Patterns used on Wallpaper and Fabric 3-20-2012,
Mixing and Matching Fabric and Wallpaper Patterns 4-13-2012,
Picking the Right Paint Color to go with the Wood in your Home..Color Theory 3-9-2013,
When decorating a Beige Room, think Tones, Texture and Sculptural Interest 3-16-2011,
Picking the Perfect GRAY PAINT..A Popular Color Choice of the Moment 2-15-2014,
Paint a Room a Dark Color, then Add Light Accents 3-27-2011
Interior Decorating is ALL about Equal Balance 2-27-2011.
(Unrelated, but Really Popular Seasonal Posts)
Putting Lights on a Christmas Tree..The EASY WAY 11-3-2011,
How to Decorate a Christmas Tree with Tulle 10-20-2012,
Cutting / Making Paper Snowflakes 10-27-2011,
Christmas Tree Decorating..Step by Step, Like a Pro 11-13-2011
Fred Gonsowski Garden Home 
Hi there Everyone. The San Francisco Chronicle used this post as a reference for their article titled How to Arrange Furniture with a Corner Fireplace, it was written by Melanie Aves; here is the direct link to that piece http://homeguides.sfgate.com/arrange-furniture-corner-fireplace-103924.html
**************************************************************************************
I really tried not to respond! This is another great post that I’m sure will be really helpful to many, especially those living in newer houses dating from the 80’s onward when this trend really go going.The first place I owned was a condo whose fireplace had the exact configuration except it had 4!!! openings, 1 at @ each corner and large sliding doors next to the FP. At least it was a huge rectangle. I struggled with it and think I did get it right finally similar to 3C with a large coromandel screen in one corner, but some help would have been nice!CTD
An Earlier comment made by Teresa 9-17-2012 on Arranging furniture 12 different ways....They said you didn’t get my first attempt at a reply, so….. Thanks for the personal replies! I can’t believe no one else comments, ’cause your blog rocks. �So many other design blogs just deal with what’s trendy as opposed to the underlying rules that structure things
My Earlier comment to Teresa ..Hi there Teresa, I really don’t care if people reply to my blog posts. I get tens of thousands of people world wide reading my articles each month, and I feel if my information helped people, and it empowers them to do a project, that is all that matters. The people who have commented, most of the times, had a question about something I did not address in the post. If I am able to answer it, than the next person who reads the article will most likely go through the comments, and maybe the information will help them. When I decided to start Fred Gonsowski Garden Home, I was not interested in entertaining people with fluff. I wanted to let out information that I learned in art school and from about 40 years of gardening, that I have inside of me, and hopefully it will help people who find my blog. Thank you for your comment ;-]
The New comment to Teresa’s most recent comment ..
Hi Teresa, First of all you can comment any time you want, I think it is great of you to do so. When I first started the blog, I thought I would get people commenting but that did not happen. I’ve had the San Francisco Chronicle use my articles three times, here are two pertained to hanging curtains and drapes, I am one of the references for both articles http://homeguides.sfgate.com/put-up-drapes-long-window-31308.html and this article http://homeguides.sfgate.com/hang-drapes-window-wide-molding-31554.html eHow used me twice also. Here is the article that they use me as an interior decorating reference http://www.ehow.com/info_12180343_things-painting-wall-dark-color.html Neither of those sources ever made a comment, I just found that they were really nice enough to use my posts while looking at the domain. From this side of the computer I can see how many of each post are read each day, and from what countries. I can NOT see who reads them, unless a person makes a comment. I’ve had people from every country in the world read an article at one time or another, and have seen my posts, many times, turned into different languages with Google Translate. The Past Wonderful Pinterest people have pinned me so many times, I feel like a Prom King. I have a great following of readers and have had hundreds of thousands of page views (read articles/posts), but they are just a quiet bunch. My readers don’t just read my current posts, I constantly have past articles read from when I started almost two years ago. So things are fine here at FGGH. Thank you Teresa for being so nice ;-}
This is awesome!! Lots of great ideas, here. I wonder if you could give me some advice on my own space. I have a corner fireplace and a TV that needs to stay put. I know I need smaller couches, because the room is SO small. Any suggestions as to how I should arrange my space? http://kelleighratzlaff.com/life/design-dilemma-vaulted-ceilings/
Hi there Kelleigh, I hope the things I addressed on your web site were of help, and got you thinking about how to improve on your room. If you have a moment look at the categories on the right side of this blog. Decorating Principles covers a lot of things that might be of interest to you. Happy 2013
Your web site has got to be the best decorating advice website I’ve ever come across. It is both exciting and innovative. Thank you for sharing your talent and style with us and inspiring me with ideas I never thought possible.
Hi there Kirsten, glad you like my site. I don’t know if you found it yet, but on the right side of the screen is the word Categories. Under it is Interior Decorating Principles, all of my past design articles are there. If you have a moment look at the titles of the articles, there might be something there that might interest you.
Thanks so much for the information on your website. I’m currently battling with a lounge room that has 4 doorways, a window, a corner fireplace and a piano that should go on an internal wall. This has given me somewhere to start. I appreciate your generosity in sharing your information. A quick question – should I angle my rug with the fireplace or with the room.
Hi Alison, Not seeing the room, I think you will have to angle the rug to see how it looks, and then put it straight in the room to see which way you like it. If the rug fits on an angle, it would be the perfect extension of the fireplace set on an angle in the corner of the room.
Thanks Fred. Can I send you the floor plan to ask your opinion on layout?
Hi there Alison, sad to say but I can’t give individual help to my readers, other than making a comment. If I helped you, I would probably be deluged with requests from the thousands of people who read my blog daily.
My living room is very similar to 3 a-c except left wall window is almost the whole wall and the top wall is open to dining room and the bottom corner adjacent to fireplace is a little bigger. Big enough for tv. Which is where we have it. But overall room design is hard. This gives me some ideas. It’s quite a large room 20 by 26 with a vaulted ceiling. The fireplace mantel is very high 5-6 ft. Too high for tv. Just wondering where you would put tv? Also right now we have sofa and love seat and a lazy boy. When we buy furniture I think 2 chairs would be better then love seat and i would like to burn the lazy boy but i also like my marriage so I may have to buy a second one to make it even out. Just wondering if you had any ideas…
Hi there Heather, first of all I want you to read my post (if you haven’t already) titled When buying Living room furniture, FORGET the Loveseat, buy two Wing, Club or Occasional chairs instead I think you should take newspapers and tape them together to form the exact dimensions of your TV, and then think of your TV as a picture on the wall. Walk that template around the room, taping it up with low tack painters tape here and there until you find a spot in the room where you like it. If you can mount your TV up above the fireplace, you should be able to have a mounting device, with a movable extension arm for turning/angling placed on the wall. I really hate the modern notion of putting a TV over a fireplace, you have to wrench you neck up to see it. When TV’s were first introduced into rooms, they were at straight eye level that you had when looking form a sofa or chair. Also, with a room that is 20×26 foot, I know there are many places in it to group furniture, but I am not there to see it in true life, just to try to inspire you and my many readers with my articles. Good Luck with your project and Happy New Year.
my livingroom has a corner fireplace on the left side…Trying to arrange furniture is difficult due to such a difficult space… We have cathedral ceilings with slanted cellings…when you walk in the front door the fireplace is in front on the left with the opeining for the tv /mantel above…to the left of that is a flat wall…to the right of the fireplace is the opening going into the kitchen… on the other side of the oval entrance is another short wall then comes the long wall with 1 single window (which is on the slanted side of the ceiling)… then the other wall is 1 large double window and then a small wall space… need to know how to arrange the fiurniture to flow throughtout the space… need help please ..thank you
Hi there Lori, sorry to have take soo long giving my response. First of all you did not give me any dimensions for the room, so I don’t know how wide or long it is. My first bit of advice is to read my post titled It’s Easy to Arrange Furniture in a Square Living Room, some ideas that will inspire You. (I’m telling everyone that now). In it I talk about making the graph of one inch squares that represent one square floor of space in your room and about making templates that represent your furniture, and then playing around with it. At the end of all of my articles are companion posts which also cover other parts of design that I feel go along with what you have already read. You can see all the interior decorating articles under Categories at the right side of the screen, click on Interior Decorating Principles, and go from there.
My one bit of advice for you is to figure out where you want the sofa, as it is the biggest piece of furniture in the room, and then group furniture (chairs) around it to make the conversation group. Also don’t think chairs or sofas have to be up against wall. Floating furniture out in the room is both a necessity for some people (because of too many door ways/archways), and is down right stylish in the decorating world. Good luck with your project.
Thank you so much for this post! This is very helpful. What would you recommend to people who have a corner fireplace in rooms with open floor concept? Our fireplace is in a family room which is open to a kitchen and dinette. So in your scheme, in the layouts 2a-2b-2c, instead of the right wall where you placed arm chairs, we have an island table/bar and a kitchen behind it. The family room is 12*19 and the kitchen with dinette is 10*21. There is no wall between them so it looks like one big room. It has been very challenging to arrange furniture around the fireplace. Part of the complexity is also a TV that we hang over the fireplace (my DH’s must-have). Not sure if it was a good idea.
Thank you so much in advance!
Hi there Ksenia, I would say buy a decorative area rug in a size like 8×10′ or 9×12′ (better yet, first make a large newspaper template for those sizes, and lay them on the floor to see how shapes that large look in your room) Try them laying straight and then see if you can put the templates on an angle, lining them up with the fireplace wall. The rug will define your space in that part of the room, and suggest the family room. If the rug idea works, make sure you bring samples of your sofa, chair, and any other upholstery/drapery fabrics you have, as well as paint or wallpaper and stone or ceramic tiles when you go rug hunting, so you will find something that works perfectly with what you already have. ALSO when you have open concept spaces, you have to treat all the different spaces as one. Try to work three or four different colors from one space to another. Read my post Pick (Use) Four Colors when Decorating a Room, that will help you. Good luck with your decorating project.
Hello –
We live in a 100+ year old American Foursquare. What would you do with a room that is about 13’x15′ (not counting bay window) with a fireplace in one corner (10-11 o’clock position); French doors leading into the dinning room (12 o’clock position); picture window (3 o’clock position); floor to ceiling bay window (3/4 of the wall, centered, at the 6 o’clock position) and a columned entry between living room and living room (8 o’clock position)?
Thanks,
Larry
Hi there Larry, have you looked at my post titled Arranging Furniture in a 12 foot wide and 24 foot long living room? If you look at half of the space in each room you will be seeing how furniture can be placed in a 12×12 foot room. Not all rooms can have a sofa in them. Three or four comfortable chairs floating in the center of the space, some floor lamps in corners here and there, possibly a coffee table and TV, hung on the will, is all that can me used. An area rug, in the center of the room will also be needed to anchor the chairs and add an extra bit of visual interest. Some builders, past and present have no idea about positioning furniture in spaces, the just build rooms that are hard, if not impossible to really decorate. If you go with just upholstered chairs, have them all in matching fabric, but you can go different for shapes. You could also, lets say, have two chairs in one fabric, and two chairs in another, but the fabrics should work together. An upholstered bench or two could also be added to the room if space allows for extra seating. Good luck with your project, thanks for the question ;-}
Hello Fred,
We recently moved in to a house that is about 30 years old that has an odd living room / dinning room. It is really hard arranging furniture in this room its a 12 x 24 room with with a large window on one end and french patio doors on the other end. We have a 6 foot opening to the foyer about 6 feet from the front window and another opening standard door size that goes in to the kitchen about 3 feet from the patio doors. How do i arrange / furnish this room for entertaining? Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Hi there Ruhaina, have you looked at my posts titled Arranging furniture in a 12 foot wide by 24 foot long living room, or Arranging furniture TWELVE different ways in the Same room? There might be something in those two articles that could be of help. Good luck with your decorating dilemma!
My living room has a weird set up with a half wall, sliding door and a window with a corner wood stove. Any ideas on how to arrange the furniture? I could post a picture if that’d be helpful to you? Thanks
Hi there Kenna, post your picture to the comments(a few others have done that in the past) and I will give you my opinion. Show all four sides of the room, and tell me your room’s dimensions so I can better, hopefully, answer your question.
Hello,
I’m not able to send you the sketch I drew. It’s not copy and pasteing. Do you possibly have an email I can send it to you on? I have it on my email and I can’t get it to this comment section. Let me know. Thanks
Hello,
So I’m just going to try an explain the layout of my living room. It’s a 22 x 13 ft space with the wood stove in the upper left corner ( similar to 2a). To the left of the wood stove is a window then about three feet to the left of the window is the sliding French doors. To the right of the wood stove is about seven feet of wall that turns right and then becomes a half wall (across from the wood stove, the right opposite wall) that’s about four feet in length and about four feet tall. The living room is carpeted and it’s all open concept that flows in to the dining room. No walls separate the dining from living area. Just the carpet that’s 22 x13 from the tiled (9×13) dining room and in front of the sliding doors is more tile that connects to the kitchen tile. Sliding door tile area is about 3x6ft. I hope that makes sense. It’s just hard cuz of the shape that the carpet is cut. The bottom right corner of the carpet, diagonal to the wood stove, is like cut off so that the tile angles into the dining room from the hallway which runs on the right side of the living area going straight into the dining area. Again there are no walls except for the outer walls on the left of the wood stove and a full wall to the right of the stove. An upside down L are the full walls. K sorry that’s lengthy and I’m probably repeating myself. Hope it shows you what I’m working with. Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
I just found your blog today, and I have to say the information and examples you provide has been the single most helpful resource for decorating our new house.
If you are still reading these I would like to ask a question. We have a corner fireplace like you described above, but I was wondering if any of the layouts wouls change if there were only one opening in the room. Our very tall corner fireplace which goes to the top of our 15 foot ceiling is in the far corner. The room is about 16 feet wide and 19 long.
Thank you very much. Please know you have inspired me to take chances with paint and decor.
Hi there Allysn, my blog posts and illustration are meant to inspire you. I would say start moving your furniture in ways like I’ve shown, and see if something smiles at you, and you get one of those Aah Ha moments, and you know at once something is working right for you. Even though I know design, I sometimes have to try different things in different places until I see something that looks right to me. I have walked things around both inside and outside my house. There was a famous decorator named Sister Parish, she picked things for rooms, but even though she kind of knew where things should go, she still moved things around to see if there were even better possibilities, than what she first imagined. Good Luck with your project.
Pingback: Furniture Arranging Tricks – Kosip
Oh Fred! Such a wealth of information! I love the way you describe gardening and decorating.
In one of your posts you said, “Some builders, past and present have no idea about positioning furniture in spaces, they just build rooms that are hard, if not impossible to really decorate.” My home has one of those rooms. I am hopeful you have a few ideas to share about my problem room that will help others with rooms-of-many-doors-and awkward-features.
We bought a 30 yr old home a year ago. I had trouble with furniture layout, so I had a local interior designer come to my home to help out. Most of the house has gone together well, but one room is a real problem. The designer said about the room, “it’s as if it were just one big hallway”. And it does seem that way; a hallway with a fireplace and 20 foot ceilings.
The room is 13ft 9 in wide and 23 ft long; much of this space is unusable as the room has
a fireplace, a double patio door, an entrance to the kitchen, an entrance to the foyer, and an entrance to the back hallway (to bedrooms, etc.). Right now we have bookcases along the walls, but I want to make it attractive and functional, maybe as a small library.
Can you offer some resources or ideas?
I’d like to post a photo but I don’t see how to do that here.
Hi there Kathleen, some people have been able to add a link to a photo when they made a comment, if they can, I have something to look at. I don’t give out my e-mail address because I don’t get paid for my work, and I’m not interested in taking on everybody’s decorating problems; this blog is a hobby for me, that I write articles for when and if I have time. Have you read my post titled Arranging furniture in a 12 foot wide by 24 foot long living room. That article shows how to arrange furniture in a room with many mantle pieces/fireplaces, doors and windows. Maybe that piece will inspire you, as your room size has similar dimensions. Good luck with your decorating project;-}
Pingback: FURNITURE ARRANGING TRICKS
Hello, I’m so disappointed with my living room. It is so hard to decorate. you walk into the front door and there’s a small wall on the left and a smaller wall to the right. There is a pretty good size foyer. Then the carpet going into the living room.you are facing a wall to the left with a corner fireplace and next to the fireplace is double patio doors. the wall at the left is where the plugs are for my tv, right next to the fireplace which is an elcetric gas heater fireplace that goes from floor to cealing and is half brick then wood panel up to the cealing. To the right next to my patio doors are dining room and kitchen with bar. So my only wall is the one at the left of fireplace. How can I decorate? I bought the house in 2003 new.Please help me
Hi there Maxine, I tried to draw out your room from your description, buy I can’t envision how it would possibly look from your description. You also did not tell the dimensions of the room. Could you try describing it again, and think of the four walls as directions. First try to describe the south wall, then tell what is on the west wall, followed by the north and then the east. Maybe after that I can envision you space.
If I draw you a picture of my living room with the fireplace on an angle could you give me an example of where to place my furniture? None of the pictures above have any doorways close to where mine are. I am at a loss! thanks!
Hi there Jennifer, could you link the drawing to you comment? If you can, i will take a look. I don’t list my e-mail address as I am not paid for my opinions, and don’t want everyone who looks at my blog to type me motes.
Inspired by your article regarding corner fireplaces and furniture placement. So happy to have found it! Embarrassing, but I’ve lived in my house for more than 20 years and have yet to figure out how to arrange the living room furniture. After reading and studying your illustrations, pretty sure my scenario is closest to 3a, except that I don’t have a wall on the East side/right side. My living room is separated from kitchen and dining areas not by a wall but by a bar height peninsula (bar on living room side and lower cabinets on kitchen side). Nearly finished with remodel – just the flooring to go. Ready for furniture, but not sure what/where to buy. Though, this article and Sofas Talk to Chairs makes it seem at least possible. I’ll try to attach drawing of my room layout. If unable, I will describe each wall.
Struggling to show you illustration/desperate for help. Hahaha. I drew an illustration of my living room with large corner fireplace, and included dimensions. However, the only way I could figure out how to show you illustrations was to creat a WordPress account and upload there. My account is “http://lovepasos.wordpress.com.” And my (only) post is titled “living room illustrations with dimensions.”
So anxious to figure out a layout that will work for room! Thank you in advance if you are able to provide feedback, and thank you for the informative articles!
Hi there Betsy, hope my comments on your site are a starting place. Again, look at the different articles that I’ve written under Categories, which you will see on the right side of the screen. If I’ve written an article on something on decorating that might inspire you, you will find it there. Thanks for your comment.
These illustrations are amazing! I need help with my living room, my fireplace is in the lower left corner. Except the doorways to the room are different. There would be one on the bottom wall (if looking from above down into the room, which is 15’x15′) and the right wall, with two windows on the top wall. I’ve just bought the most beautiful chair (originally for my bedroom, where it was too big) and now I’m trying to find a way to rearrange the living room so that it will work in there with a three cushion seat sofa, a love seat and a recliner. Please help!
Hi there Jennifer, I’m working on a post that is about floating furniture in a square living room, and it features a corner fireplace. Look for it soon. Maybe there will be something in the 12 room illustrations that I’ve made that will inspire you. Just have a few more drawings to make and to write the piece, and it will be ready to upload; hopefully next week it will be ready.
Awesome! I’ll definitely take a look! We got our new furniture and that’s exactly what I did-floats it off the wall.
Well, I keep getting these follow up questions and was assuming that you weren’t posting. Now I’ve come to your site and realize the notifications must have been hitting my spam for some reason. : ( Looks like I have a lot of catching up to do! I’ll keep looking for your new post to make sure I read it. This post really has legs!
Hi there Teresa, I’m working on a new post now, and will hopefully have it up in the next few days, it is about floating furniture in a room. I’ve made all the illustrations, which is the most time consuming part. It is kind of an extension of “Arranging furniture with a fireplace in the corner of the room”.
Hi Fred,
I was looking for ideas for a corner fireplace room when I found your blog. Needless to say, I was intrigued with your posts and kept looking at article after article…. You are a gifted writer with a talent for detailed descriptions. Thank you so much for your blog, I look forward to paging through all your posts in the near future. I’m still trying to find a solution for my odd family room which has a corner fireplace, but one that is situated square to the room along the wall next to a set of patio doors, instead of in the corner. It’s the design frustration of my home. We haven’t used it for years, and I’m thinking of placing a sofa up very close to it as my room is so tiny. I’ve combed the internet for ideas, and nobody really posts ugly stuff like this scenario. If you have any ideas at all, I’d welcome them!
Hi there Doris, have you looked at my post titled Floating (Arranging) furniture in a 20 foot long by 20 wide Living Room, also look at Arranging furniture in a 12 foot wide by 24 foot long Living Room. Look at the 12×24 foot space as two 12×12 small spaces. Also look at Arranging Living Room furniture so Sofas talk to Chairs, like the Pros do. Those three posts might be inspiring in some way. As for reading my posts, look at Categories, seen on the right side of the screen, the different decorating topics that I’ve written about are listed there. Good luck with your project, and Thanks for your comment.
Help!!! I have a very angular living room with many factors. Corner fireplace. Two French doors to porch, bay window alcove with radiator in it. Arched wall into dining room. And narrow waking space from front door to dining room.
This is so helpful. I saw where you also made suggestions to a reader based on her specific living room. Could you do the same for us? I’m having a heck of a time with our great room that features a corner fireplace and tons of windows. I have some ideas but my husband is not convinced!
Hey, we just sold out home with a corner fireplace. If you’d like to see how we arranged our furniture in that room you can look up 0S646 Ellithorp alone Geneva IL on Zillow. My designer friend came and rearranged my furniture for the showings. Before she arranged it we had the loveseat facing towards the back wall (the darker side where the sun is not coming through the windows) the two gray chairs were angled facing the long sofa and the wickerish coffee table was in the middle. The buffet was tucked into the recessed window.
Hi there Kelly B, I will be in touch with you in a few days.
Hi Fred,
I discovered your website today after searching for ideas on how to deal with corner fireplaces. I’ve spent much of the day exploring your blog, and I’ve been learning so much! There’s such a generous spirit to your blog; you are giving so freely of your knowledge and expertise. I just wanted to sincerely thank you.
Best wishes,
Elizabeth
Hi there Elizabeth, glad to have been helpful with my posts. If you have not yet, look on the right side of the screen for Categories and under that there are titles of topics that I’ve written about so far. Click on the titles and you will see all the different posts that I’ve written on the topic.
Man, this blog is awesome and packed full of ideas. But I’m still scratching my head on how to arrange our very small living room with a corner fireplace. Here’s the layout of our living room:
It’s absolutely small. Looks like we just need a love seat or just club chairs? I appreciate any suggestions!
Hi there Ada, with a small space like yours I would go for a sectional sofa and one club chair. Go to a furniture store and see how much of a sectional can fit in your 96 1/2 by 114 1/4 inch space, on those two walls, and don’t get armed ends, just the center and corner piece. Don’t buy it until you get the exact measurements, for length, width and height and bring them home and either tape off the space with painters tape the size of the sectional or make a paper template the size of the sectional and lay it on the floor to see how it fits. Read my post posts, The Answer to …”Can you put a Floor Lamp next to a sofa” , When buying Living Room Furniture, FORGET the LOVESEAT, buy two Wing, Club or Occasional Chairs instead, and Arranging furniture in a 12 foot wide by 24 foot long living room . In that post you will see how it is to work with a small space.
Thinking about it, Ada, I would get a solid colored sectional, in a color close to the color of your walls. Is your place in colors like beige or gray? By being a solid color and matching the walls, it would kind of blend into the background. For color think about a colorful area rug and sofa pillows pulling the colors from the rug. Also read my posts Picking Paint colors for a Small House, Condominium or Apartment and Pick (Use) four colors when Decorating a Room. Being that your space is small, you want all the rooms to work as one, not separate spaces. Good luck with your decorating dilemma ;-}
Thank you so much for your reply! Indeed a dilemma as we’re also struggling where to place the TV. The closest layout I found from all your blog posts is half of the Illustration no. 9 from the 12 x 24 post but the struggle is still there as we don’t know the perfect place for the TV. But I’m happy with what you’ve said here and I’m really grateful! Your blog is making me take an interior or fine arts course, you’re an inspiration!
Hi there Ada, put the TV on the 81 inch wall next to the fireplace. If you do the sectional, you will be able to see it from there and if you float a club chair in the space you will be able to see it from the club chair. If you get a club chair get one that swivels, so you can spin it 360 degrees so it points in any direction you want. Just make sure you get the measurements for the chair and make a paper template so you can see how much space it takes up in your room before buying it.
As for an interior decorating course, you could take it, but to me decorating comes from within, and if you read my blog posts, you will be able to understand the principles of design, without paying for some drawn out course. Look at the work Categories on the right side of the screen. Under that are titles of topics that I’ve written about. Click on them and you will see everything that I wrote on the different topics there. Look at my things, and go through decorating magazines and try to see what I’ve written about in the magazines. If you can understand what I wrote and see in in print, you will hopefully be a quick study and be on your way.
Fred, you’re the genuinely the most generous man I’ve seen in the blogosphere! Again, thank you so much and I can’t wait to re-arrange and test through paper template everything in here! Cheers from San Diego, CA!
Hi Fred! I have absolutely no decorating skills whatsoever. Thank you so much for your easy to understand blogs in how to decorate. I was wondering if you provide interior design services. I would love to hire you to help me decorate my home.
Hi there Vanessa, at this point in time, I just inspire my readers. But if you read enough of my articles you probably will be able to do it yourself, or know what the decorator you hire is doing. Thanks for your comment;-}
Hi Fred,
You have a wonderful talent for layout and I’m wondering if you can help inspire me on a particularly tough room. We have a family room off the kitchen that is approximately 15′ x 17′ and a connecting area to the side that is approximately 15′ x 7′ for a total space of roughly 15′ x 24′. It’s particularly tricky because the TV is centered on the 17′ wall across from the kitchen counter stools, leaving only about 12′ in front of the TV. There are multiple entrances and exits, so I’m in a quandry over where to put the furniture without it being in the way! If I sent pictures and/or a template of the space, could you provide some layout ideas? It would be much appreciated!
Pingback: Furniture Arranging Ideas & Tricks • The Budget Decorator – TUNPAL