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Re-Thinking the Living Room Furniture Plan

Living Room Furniture Plan SimpleDecoratingTips.com

I love putting the Christmas decorations up… but I love, just as much, putting them away! By the end of December my eyes are exhausted with the visually tiring holiday decor and look forward to a clean house in January, (well, ‘clean’ is relative, right?!). This year I was inspired to re-think the living room furniture plan as I was getting ready to get the holiday decorations cleaned up.

Back when we renovated the house, we demoed as many walls on the main level as possible without compromising the kitchen or home office.

After the dust settled, (several months later!) and we moved the furniture in, the living room looked like this:

Living Room Furniture Plan SimpleDecoratingTips.com

The above view is from the front entry… from the dining room it looked like this:

Living Room Furniture Plan SimpleDecoratingTips.com

What was the previous owner’s family room, was changed into it casual dining room once the wall dividing the rooms was gone.

Removing that wall meant it was a clear view from the new dining room through the living room out the front windows.

Initially, the furniture arrangement in the living room seemed fine. (fine, not great) We had a lot of seating in the living room with this arrangement: sofa, recliner, chair and half, plus a chaise.

The sofa and console table was between the living and dining rooms, but it was a vast improvement from how it was:

living room furniture plan simpledecoratingtips.com

This camera shot is from the old family room, (which is now our dining room) before we started renovating. It is directly pointed toward the living room. The wall that is stopping your view into the living room, is one we took down. What a huge improvement!

All this to say, I was more focused on building the bones of the room, and not as concerned with all the details of the furniture plan. We were using pieces we already had and I knew we could weed it out later.

That time came this Christmastime when I was sitting in the dining room by the fireplace enjoying the Christmas tree ornaments, (I’ve been working on collecting vintage ones!). It was then I took the time to define what I wasn’t enjoying, the claustrophobic feel of the furniture plan!

Living Room Furniture Plan SimpleDecoratingTips.com

Problem was the living room seating pieces each demanded so much space. Of course the sofa is large, but the chair and half and chaise were both almost as large one way or the other, and the recliner wasn’t a wall-hugger style so it needed plenty of room to do it’s reclining thing.

I started by taking measurements of the room as well as the furniture. Then those measurements were transposed to a 1/4″ scale sketch. The furniture scaled pieces got individually cut out so they could be moved around in different spots on the floor plan.

I came up with a plan on paper but really wanted to see how it felt once the sofa was actually in the new planned location. Sometimes on paper it looks ok, but in real life not ok.

Thinking about each of the seating pieces, I vetted which ones would stay and which ones I was willing to let go.

Next, I temporarily cleared the room, setting the pieces I was willing to live without way out of the way. This cleared the palette for judging the new arrangement.

With my floor sketch and measuring tape in hand, starting with the sofa, I moved it to the new spot. (So far so good, loved it!) Next, the chair and half with ottoman, they worked well in their new location too. The chaise stayed out, (sold it) and the recliner went downstairs. Now there wasn’t enough seating LOL. Ha, that was a problem for about 5 minutes… I found a new cute pair of swivel rockers, (Basically brand new but at a great price through Craigslist. Previous owner bought them new, didn’t use them and sold them within a few months!) to fill the seating need, (but not the space!).

Here is how it looks now:

Living Room Furniture Plan SimpleDecoratingTips.com

From the dining room, it makes the space feel twice as large!

From the front entry, the living is a little more closed off than it was before, but that’s okay, this a great compromise because the traffic flows from the dining room into the living room naturally, not from the front entry into the living room.

Living Room Furniture Plan SimpleDecoratingTips.com

We’re really pleased with the new living room furniture plan. Our main level isn’t huge, and for just the 2 of us, cozy works. But now when we have people over, even the cozy space is more open and inviting. Plus, with the openness toward the dining room, if we do have a more people than seating in the living room, we can easily pull over a dining chair or two for extra seating.

So my take-away tips for you are: (or in other words, learn from my mistakes…)

  • Start with a floor sketch drawn to 1/4″ scale, both the room and  the furniture, (which should be cut out separate). It’s easier moving pieces of paper than it is moving furniture.
  • Leave the door open to changing up a piece or two. Don’t compromise a good layout just to hold on to a piece of furniture.
  • Consider the flow of traffic when planning a furniture plan.
  • Don’t be afraid to admit maybe the first half-hearted plan wasn’t the best and be willing to re-think the layout… even if you are an interior decorator, (ok, maybe that one was just for me. 🙂 )

Did you know I now offer e-decorating? I can help you with your decorating needs via email, without having to step foot in your home. If you’re interested in more information, visit my e-decorating site: Frame and Frills. I’d love to help you with your project!

Interested in reading more about our whole house renovation? Here ya go:

Barn-Style-Garage
Blue-and-White-Backsplash-Tile
Re-Thinking the Living Room Furniture Plan
Creating a Built-In Faux Fireplace
Antique Inspired Kitchen Island
Wall Mounted Pot Rack
Front Entry Portiere
Repurposing Vintage Screen Door
Simple DIY Curtain
Tiling the 2nd bath floor
Before and After Living Room Renovation
Before and After Front Entry Renovation SimpleDecoratingTips.com
Incorporating Vintage & New Light Fixtures SimpleDecoratingTips.com
Fireplace Renovation SimpleDecoratingTips.com
How to Install an Interior Storm Window SimpleDecoratingTips.com
SimpleDecoratingTips.com How to tips Window Well Installation
Vintage Window Awning Redo SimpleDecoratingTips.com
hall closet into library simpledecoratingtips.com
front porch addition mostly done SimpleDecoratingTips.com
Hang a Group of Pictures with even spacing SimpleDecoratingTips.com
SimpleDecoratingTips.com
how to install a vintage ceiling light fixture simpledecoratingtips.com
SimpleDecoratingTips.com Renovating the Basement Apartment
SimpleDecoratingTips.com Cedar Closet Lining
SimpleDecoratingTips.com From a Tub to a Shower
SimpleDecoratingTips.com How I Made Curtains without a Sewing Machine
SimpleDecoratingTips.com Renovating a Whole House is a Lot
SimpleDecoratingTips.com Door & Window Decisions
SimpleDecoratingTips.com Adding a Front Porch
SimpleDecoratingTips.com Basement Apartment Bathroom Renovation Done
SimpleDecoratingTips.com Surface Mounted Suspended Ceiling
SimpleDecoratingTips.com we had to cut down 13 trees
SimpleDecoratingTips.com Repurposing Cabinets
SimpleDecoratingTips.com Progress Report on our Whole House Renovation
SimpleDecoratingTips.com Renovating Update Post
Dining Room Progress SimpleDecoratingTips.com
Main Floor Completion Celebration Giveaway SimpleDecoratingTips.com
SimpleDecoratingTips.com How to Change a Door Lock
SimpleDecoratingTips.com Luxury Vinyl Planks
SimpleDecoratingTips.com Basement Apartment Progress

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Welcome to Simple Decorating Tips! I’m Liz, the author, and I’m so glad you’re here!

My goal is to encourage you with DIY tips, techniques and tutorials so you feel empowered to join in the fun! Along with this DIY blog, I have a DIY shop, Redo Your Furniture!
The shop is stocked with amazing DIY products! Fusion Mineral Paints, ReDesign Transfers, Decoupage, Waxes, loads of DIY Goodies and more! Even if you're not close to where the shop is in Wisconsin, good news... I ship nationwide, (USA) daily! Check out the link here and let's get your DIY on!
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Welcome to Simple Decorating Tips! I'm Liz, the author, and I'm so glad you're here! My goal is to encourage you with DIY tips, techniques and tutorials so you feel empowered to join in the fun! Along with this DIY blog, I have a DIY shop, Redo Your Furniture!
The shop is stocked with amazing DIY products! Fusion Mineral Paints, ReDesign Transfers, Decoupage, Waxes, loads of DIY Goodies and more! Even if you're not close to where the shop is in Wisconsin, good news... I ship nationwide, (USA) daily! Check out the link here and let's get your DIY on!


Disclosure Policy: According to FTC guidelines, I want you to be aware that some of the content of this blog may be a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post. Thanks for reading along, Liz

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Sharing is great! Please feel free to share this blog with your friends, as well as on Facebook and Pinterest and Flipboard and Houzz and YouTube the more the merrier! I appreciate you stopping by. But please remember that all photos, images, text and content are owned by SimpleDecoratingTips.com. So anything you share, please be sure it always links back to my original post it came from. Please do not remove watermarks, crop or edit anything without written permission from me first.

Disclosure Policy: According to the FTC guidelines, I want you to be aware that this blog is a source of income and may occasionally incorporate endorsements or testimonials and shopping links. It is important to me to disclose this to you. The content of this blog is a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. Products provided to me by my advertising partners for my review are given to me free of charge with no cost to myself. This does not ensure a positive review of the product in any way. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and always make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post. Thanks for reading along, Liz

Disclosure Policy According to Federal Trade Commission guidelines, I want you to be aware that this blog is a source of income and may occasionally incorporate endorsements or testimonials. It is important to me to disclose this to you. The content of this blog is a source of income and therefore may be used to promote products, services, or other businesses. I will only choose to promote products/services/businesses that I feel will be beneficial to my readers. Products provided to me by my advertising partners for my review are given to me free of charge with no cost to myself. This does not ensure a positive review of the product in any way. My truthful opinion will be what I state, no matter if I'm getting paid or not. Accuracy and truth are the priority for me on this blog's information, no matter if it's about a product or anything else. Not every product or service or store etc. may be mentioned in each and every post as an affiliate. While I hope to generate a small profit for my time and effort to create this blog, I hold myself to the highest standard of integrity. I appreciate my readers, and always make it my goal to deliver quality, honest material on this blog through each post.

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