Layout Tips & Decorating Ideas For Long Living Rooms
Here are 7 tips to make the most of this sometimes awkwardly shaped space
Long living rooms can be tough to design around. Do you line up furniture all along the wall only to have it emphasise the shape of the room, making it look longer, or do you fill it up with furniture and accessories, resulting in a crammed, claustrophobic look? These living room layout ideas and decor tricks help you rise to the challenge and minimise the feeling of living in a train carriage.
Separating the room into distinct spaces eliminates the tunnel-like look a long, narrow room can acquire. Here, the dining table is placed at an angle that follows the curvature of the room, creating an impression of distinct zones while making the most of the constricted space at the end of the room.
Tip: Use area rugs to define each zone. Another option is to use furniture as a separator, such as a console table or a tall bookshelf.
Look for rugs on Houzz
Tip: Use area rugs to define each zone. Another option is to use furniture as a separator, such as a console table or a tall bookshelf.
Look for rugs on Houzz
2. Carve out a straight pathway
Getting from point A to B should not involve clearing hurdle-like furniture. To avoid this, carve a pathway for foot traffic by arranging the seating on one side of the long wall of your living room. Here, a long sofa runs along the wall, while two chairs have been pulled up to face the couch, creating a cosy atmosphere while leaving a clear path on the side opposite the couch. The result is a well-thought-out sitting area that isn’t interrupted by foot traffic.
Getting from point A to B should not involve clearing hurdle-like furniture. To avoid this, carve a pathway for foot traffic by arranging the seating on one side of the long wall of your living room. Here, a long sofa runs along the wall, while two chairs have been pulled up to face the couch, creating a cosy atmosphere while leaving a clear path on the side opposite the couch. The result is a well-thought-out sitting area that isn’t interrupted by foot traffic.
3. Create a focus at the end of the room
Placing a piece of furniture or a large-scale piece of art at the end of the room will fill the space and shorten the linear aspect of the room. In this living room, the swing at the end of this room draws the gaze only to stop at it. Without it, the room would look long and unending.
Browse through images of more well-planned long living rooms
Placing a piece of furniture or a large-scale piece of art at the end of the room will fill the space and shorten the linear aspect of the room. In this living room, the swing at the end of this room draws the gaze only to stop at it. Without it, the room would look long and unending.
Browse through images of more well-planned long living rooms
4. Use curvilinear furniture pieces
Eliminate angular furniture with long, straight lines that accentuate the length of a room. Instead, go with furniture that has soft, rounded edges. Oval and circular shapes counteract straight lines – think round coffee tables, side tables, ottomans. The linear elements in this room, as evinced by the large artwork and the beading on the ceiling, are offset by the rounded edges of the plush sofas and the armchair. Even the gently curving light fixture at the far end serves to break up the abundance of straight lines.
Tip: Round mirrors and artwork on the walls work equally well in drawing the eye away from straight lines.
Eliminate angular furniture with long, straight lines that accentuate the length of a room. Instead, go with furniture that has soft, rounded edges. Oval and circular shapes counteract straight lines – think round coffee tables, side tables, ottomans. The linear elements in this room, as evinced by the large artwork and the beading on the ceiling, are offset by the rounded edges of the plush sofas and the armchair. Even the gently curving light fixture at the far end serves to break up the abundance of straight lines.
Tip: Round mirrors and artwork on the walls work equally well in drawing the eye away from straight lines.
5. Create a U-shaped seating area…
It isn’t always easy to know how to place furniture in a long, linear room. This is where sectional sofas come into play, as they work well in breaking up the length of the room. This living room, though large, is much longer than it is wide and the U-shaped seating fits in neatly while leaving a clear walkway on the left side of the room.
It isn’t always easy to know how to place furniture in a long, linear room. This is where sectional sofas come into play, as they work well in breaking up the length of the room. This living room, though large, is much longer than it is wide and the U-shaped seating fits in neatly while leaving a clear walkway on the left side of the room.
…or an L-shaped one
In a relatively smaller space such as this one, a sectional sofa uses the space really well. The L shape sits well in the corner without taking up too much of floor space, while providing plenty of seating room and leaving the opposite side for a clear walkthrough.
In a relatively smaller space such as this one, a sectional sofa uses the space really well. The L shape sits well in the corner without taking up too much of floor space, while providing plenty of seating room and leaving the opposite side for a clear walkthrough.
6. Pick neutral-coloured furniture
Neutral colours visually enhance the size of a space; particularly in a long, narrow room, where they serve to cancel out the tunnel-like effect. The pale sectional couch is the anchor piece in this living room, yet it is almost invisible, fading into the wall behind it. A large round coffee table is placed just off the sofa so that movement is easy, while a credenza opposite balances the room. The glossy white surface of the credenza disappears into the wall and doesn’t feel like it is encroaching into the thoroughfare.
Find out why a neutral palette is evergreen
Neutral colours visually enhance the size of a space; particularly in a long, narrow room, where they serve to cancel out the tunnel-like effect. The pale sectional couch is the anchor piece in this living room, yet it is almost invisible, fading into the wall behind it. A large round coffee table is placed just off the sofa so that movement is easy, while a credenza opposite balances the room. The glossy white surface of the credenza disappears into the wall and doesn’t feel like it is encroaching into the thoroughfare.
Find out why a neutral palette is evergreen
7. Use the middle
Zoning helps fill all of the space in a long living room, but sometimes the centre could end up looking a little desolate. In this image, the two love seats facing each other make a nice change from what would have been the go-to option – one loveseat facing the fireplace and the other perpendicular to it. This way, you not only have a more intimate seating area but also two walkways, one on either side of the sitting area, which visually widens the room.
Read more:
How to Get the Living Room Layout Right
Expert Tips: Ways to Decorate a Long, Narrow Room
Tell us:
Which of these layouts would you use? Do share your ideas in the Comments section below.
Zoning helps fill all of the space in a long living room, but sometimes the centre could end up looking a little desolate. In this image, the two love seats facing each other make a nice change from what would have been the go-to option – one loveseat facing the fireplace and the other perpendicular to it. This way, you not only have a more intimate seating area but also two walkways, one on either side of the sitting area, which visually widens the room.
Read more:
How to Get the Living Room Layout Right
Expert Tips: Ways to Decorate a Long, Narrow Room
Tell us:
Which of these layouts would you use? Do share your ideas in the Comments section below.
A long room serves itself up for an open-plan layout. There is enough floor space to play with, so that the room can be divided to create zones as per your requirements. Consider two entertainment zones, like in this image, or separate the space into a living area at one end and a study or dining area at the other.
Got a long living room? Find a designer on Houzz to help decorate it right