ᐅ Living Room: How to Arrange Sofa, TV, and Cabinets?

Created on: 30 Jul 2016 16:00
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bluminger
Hello.

After we finally agreed on an open kitchen, the living room layout has been causing quite a headache for my wife and me for some time.

Our ground floor layout:

Floor plan: Open kitchen/dining/living area, hallway, room, WC, storage room, and terrace.

The kitchen area is on the right (east), the dining table is centered in the bay window, and the living room is planned on the left (west). The plan shows the approximate kitchen layout as well as a fireplace with a wood-burning stove.

In our sketches below, I marked the sofa in green and the TV in blue.

My initial idea was to place the sofa facing southeast, with the TV and cabinets along the north wall of the living room:
Floor plan of a house: room, hallway, kitchen/dining/living area, WC/shower, storage room, entrance, terrace.

I like how this keeps the room open and gives our two young children space to play. I would have placed cabinets on either side of the TV.

Unfortunately, my wife doesn’t like this arrangement at all. She prefers to look out the window to the south, and her suggestion looks like this:
Floor plan of a house: kitchen/dining/living, hallway, room, WC/shower, storage room, entrance, terrace.

She wants to build a half-height drywall partition behind the TV. For me, this is a bit unfortunate because it divides the room and, in my opinion, makes it harder to access. Also, I wonder about the cable management for the TV (I’m doubtful about drilling a hole in the floor if the drywall partition is removed later). Cabinets would still be along the north wall here.

Another idea is similar to the second but with the TV along the west wall. This would at least simplify cable management, though I still find the room less open and inviting:
Floor plan of a house: kitchen/living, hallway, room, terrace, entrance; marked in green/blue


It would be great if you had any suggestions on how to improve this. Currently, this is one of the biggest uncertainties in our project.
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ypg
30 Jul 2016 16:41
I would widen the west window and eliminate the south window. Only a small amount of light comes through there anyway, since the roof extends over it, and you can’t furnish the terrace in that area.

Grundriss eines Hauses: Zimmer, Küche/Essen/Wohnen, Flur, WC/Dusche, Abstellraum, Eingang, Terr.
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kbt09
30 Jul 2016 16:43
@ypg ... and where will the wall unit go? And removing the south-facing windows completely ... no, I wouldn’t do that.
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Baufie
30 Jul 2016 16:53
I would place the sofa facing southeast, and set the window on the south side at sill height, level with the back of the sofa. That’s how it is currently arranged in our apartment, and we’re happy with it.

In the dining room bay, I would install a sliding door.
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ypg
30 Jul 2016 17:28
kbt09 schrieb:
@ypg ... and where will the wall unit go? And completely remove the south-facing windows ... no, I wouldn’t do that.

Wall unit??? I’m out.

Edit: The wall unit can go next to the TV. You can also swap the sides. However, I would never place a sofa under a window if there is another option.
bluminger31 Jul 2016 14:36
@kbt09
We have noted the change for the stairs (riser 17 cm (6.7 inches), tread 29 cm (11.4 inches)), but unfortunately, we have not yet received an updated plan.
bluminger31 Jul 2016 15:35
@ypg

I like your suggestion quite a bit.

However, we do expect sunlight to come in through the living room window facing south. The roof is not lowered here.

Wouldn't the exterior view also be ruined if the south-facing window is simply painted over?

Regarding the comment about not placing the sofa under the window if possible: I don’t like the sofa positioned with its back to the window, even if the window is floor-to-ceiling, so I like your proposal. Compared to mine, it has the advantage that the room remains open, which was my husband’s wish. However, I’m not sure if we want to paint over the south window...