Living Room Furniture Arrangement Ideas

If your living room is the setting for large parties, bring intimacy and a comfortable sense of scale to the room by dividing it into two conversational groupings with a path between them. Placing one sofa with its back to this path underscores the separation between the two groups, as do the area rugs anchoring them.

This arrangement offers people inviting places to land and talk face-to-face. Unify the groups by using identical rugs, coffee tables, and sofas in each.

Even without the unusual projecting balcony, this corner of a large living room would have a separate identity as a library. The wall of books anchors the cozy seating arrangement, and the chairs turn their backs on the living area to focus on the sofa. Matching table lamps shed inviting illumination at night, and the center table is tall enough to work as both a coffee table and library table.

If you're more likely to lounge in front of the fireplace than sit on a sofa, keep a supply of oversize floor pillows and ottomans on hand. Stack the pillows on the hearth until you need them. Ottomans can move where you need them for seating, or they can stand in as side tables.

Placing the furniture diagonally gives a boxy room some flavor. The diagonal also creates a welcoming pathway into the seating group.

Use the sofa and coffee table to establish the diagonal axis and arrange additional seating on the same axis. To subtly anchor the seating group to the room's architecture, align the area rug with the fireplace wall.

To create a comfortable setting for gathering, pull furniture away from the walls. Arranging the seating pieces to face each other over a shared upholstered ottoman makes conversation easy, and a tray on the ottoman keeps drinks in easy reach.

This living room is anchored by the fireplace without actually focusing on it. Instead, the fireplace supplies the axis for the furniture arrangement.

In living rooms where lounging and TV-watching are the main activities, a sectional sofa offers flexible, comfortable seating. Sectionals come in a variety of units, from armless chairs to love seats, ottomans, and chaises that you can combine to fit your space.

Arranged in a J shape with a small table in the center, this sectional defines a cozy, inviting seating area at one end of a large, open great-room.

An effective room arrangement starts with the focal point, the cornerstone of your living room design. Typically a fireplace plays this role, but in this contemporary space, the view out the French doors takes center stage instead.

Orient the main seating piece toward the focal point and arrange the secondary seating pieces around the main piece. In winter, the room could be rearranged to focus on the fireplace.

Use a large area rug to unify a seating group within a larger space. If the rug isn't large enough to contain all of the seating pieces, make sure that those farthest from the wall are solidly anchored on the "island."

If you don't have room for the usual sofas and love seats, four comfy chairs will serve as well--or perhaps better. In this clean, contemporary setting, matching white leather chairs (inspired by the iconic Grand Comfort chair by Le Corbusier, Jeanneret, and Perriand in 1928) define an orderly, compact, yet welcoming seating group.

Divide a large living/dining space into separate zones with furniture placement. Positioning the sofa in the center of the room, facing the fireplace, creates a visual barrier and defines the "end wall" of the living room space. Backing it with a tall chest marks the border of the dining area.

A pair of leather club chairs and a piano define one side of a large living area as a corner for music. An area rug pulls the furnishings together on an island of warm color surrounded by ebonized floors.

Pairs of matching sofas, side tables, and lamps strike a perfect balance on each side of the fireplace in this contemporary living room. Symmetry imposes a sense of order on the space.

To keep symmetrical spaces from being stiff and boring, introduce variety--the table shaped like an artist's palette throws a curve into the room's straight lines, and artwork and accessories add a touch of asymmetry.

In a large, open room, use furniture arrangement to divide the space into different activity zones. Here a table and chairs gather on a neutral rug on one side of the room, providing a spot for informal meals or games.

In the center of the room, a sofa, chairs, and upholstered ottoman form a conversational cluster anchored by a blue-green rug. The different color schemes in the two areas further divide them visually.

In a small living room, create a sense of greater space and openness with a collection of chairs instead of using sofas or love seats. The scale of midcentury modern pieces such as the red Womb Chair suits smaller living spaces. The white stacking chair, red ottoman, and upholstered cube are similarly small in scale.

A glass coffee table and the red area rug visually anchor the seating pieces. Allowing these to float on the bare floor enhances the room's feeling of airiness.

A pair of chairs with a lamp and side table convert this well-lit corner into a cozy spot for two. Whether you entertain large groups or small ones, providing guests with paired seating helps ensure that everyone will have at least one conversational partner.

In this large living room, a three-cushion sofa and a love seat form an L framing a large coffee table. This simple arrangement is anchored by the fireplace and provides a convenient conversational cluster. A single chair at the other side of this group easily moves beside the sofa and turns to face the television if TV watching is on the agenda.

Turn a bay window into a quiet spot for two with a pair of comfortable chairs and an ottoman. Provide the chairs with a table and lamp so you'll have light for reading and a place to rest a cup of tea.

The fireplace is the natural focal point of a living room, so what better spot for a pair of chairs and a table? This loft living room may be emptier than the average living room, but it illustrates how effectively the fireplace serves as the cornerstone and gathering spot for a living room in any decorating style.