Living Room Design, Part 1: Planning, Position and Proportions
Things to consider when designing a living room, from the position and proportion of the living room to how it synchronises with your family lifestyle
By London Interior Design Expert, Irene Gunter
The Living Room is the heart and soul of the overall style and concept of your home. It may be that there is more than one living room – or perhaps you have an extra-long or wide living room that can be divided into two, depending on the season and how many family members or guests are present. Each home is different, but many prefer to go down the traditional route of having the main living room at the front of the house and the kitchen at the back of the house, looking out over the ‘back’ garden. We’re here to challenge that tradition and question why before settling for any ‘obvious’ solution.
Planning and positioning the living room
Interior and exterior design has become so much more adventurous in recent years, particularly since the popularity of super-contemporary extensions on traditional and period homes. We are all now used to seeing modern glass structures containing a beautiful kitchen-dining-family living space, extending outwards from a Victorian or Edwardian home, as well as internal courtyards which literally bring the outside in. In those cases, it is very often the case that the original ‘living room’ is still positioned at the front of the house as that’s what people are used to seeing. For a full-house redesign, it is very much possible to change the position of the main rooms - which often impacts the staircase position and layout too, something that really requires the help of a professional! The result can be better ‘flow’ throughout the home, better use of individual rooms, and more enjoyment of light and sunshine in the most-used rooms.
From experience, I always bring up alternative possibilities when redesigning the entire floor plan of a house. If there are creative options on where to put the main living room, I discuss with our clients where they spend most time. If all the rooms have great daylight, then that opens up the possibilities, of course! If it’s possible to maximize the ceiling height, that’s always worth talking about, by digging down a few generous full width steps when walking into your living room this can also add a lovely sense of ‘arrival’ and can completely transform a living room. Adding traditional french doors or modern sliding windows define the overall look, which in turn affects furniture choices and positions – should the seating face towards the view or the fireplace? We always fight for the best view of the garden as subconsciously that provides the most calming effect, with the view to the TV being something that needs to be carefully considered (e.g. a hidden pop-up mechanism in a cabinet).
We know that most of the time, living rooms are positioned at the front of the house, and kitchens at the back. That works for many, many families, but I like to analyse how the rooms are used. Do you really spend most of every evening in the kitchen, even if it’s a big kitchen with a seating area? Or do you prefer sitting in the living room on the sofa with a book? I especially dislike how you always need to close your curtains in a street facing living room at night-time, making you feel very ‘boxed -in’, an inconvenience you won’t have when facing the garden. In those cases, it may make sense to put the main living room at the back of the house where you can enjoy the view of the garden. (In our terribly unpredictable British climate it may not always be possible to spend that much time in the garden, but it is still nice to look at a pretty garden!). And there are restful, peaceful and meditative effects that soothe the soul when looking at a beautiful green view, too. Arranging the layout so that the living room has a nice view and a focal point – whether it’s a fireplace or an artwork disguising a TV, is one of the first priorities we tackle when looking at a redesign.
Creating a focus point
Once the position of the living room has been confirmed – often, of course, it doesn’t move anywhere – we have to be very precise about how our client wants to use it. Will it be a family relaxing room? How many sofas and chairs will be needed? Will it be used for formal entertaining? How important is the TV in the daily life of the family? Is there a fireplace? Will a new fireplace be required? What will the installation requirements and more importantly, restrictions, be?
Gunter & Co’s Top Stoves and Fireplaces from Focus fireplaces
The fireplace and the TV are important technical factors in the planning of a living room. A real fire or stove will need a flue so there are structural matters to consider, and even installing a new type of fire into an existing fireplace can involve specialist installation requirements. The position of the TV also has an impact on the living room layout, especially if it’s generously sized or to be hung above the mantel, which often proves to be too high for comfort. We go the extra mile to hide the TV from view - something that usually comes with the introduction of an automated mechanism, but that can also be quite simply disguised behind a moving artwork/mirror or wall panel which can be operated manually.
The fireplace is a key consideration for most people, it’s an important structural feature that ‘anchors’ the design of the room. It can become a central design motif – whether it’s an ornate traditional mantelpiece from Jamb Fireplaces, an old-fashioned inglenook, or a suspended see-through stove, such as those from Focus Fireplaces.
Sofa designs
Once the fireplace decision is made, the furniture and circulation requirements can be tackled! How many sofas are needed? Will there be an L-Shaped sofa, and if so, which way round will it go? Will there be separate armchairs as well? Can we accommodate the right amounts of moving-around and circulation floor space? Don’t forget, it’s vital that everyone can move from room to room easily, whilst not having furniture or footstools in the way, especially when a living room may lead into a study or another living room or family room.
Gunter & Co’s Top three sofa brands: George Smith, Sedilia and Minotti
Join us in our next blog post in this Living Room Design Series where we’ll look at the best ways to incorporate storage and furniture into a living room design along with some of our top design tips and favourite living room furniture brands.
Irene Gunter’s Top LIVING ROOM DESIGN Tips:
The proportionate size of the furniture has to work with the proportion of the room. Visually, it’s better to have a piece that is slightly too big than something that is slightly too small – and that is where an experienced interior designer can guide you through the options.
If we are working with existing items of furniture we’re always willing to move them around and try out different layouts. This helps with assessing the circulation space, distance from the fireplace and TV, and so on. Consider that side tables and coffee tables are required too – are they within easy reach?
Paper templates are very useful to gauge the best size of furniture as the tendency is always to choose furniture that is slightly too small. Use lining paper or even newspaper or just masking tape directly onto the floor - low tack to protect any timber flooring finishes! This helps judge the space, size, and proportion of yet-to-be-purchased items, especially sofas, armchairs, and occasional tables.
Next Time: Living Room Design Part 2: Storage and Furniture