A fireplace symbolizes a cozy, welcoming home, but it can also feel intrusive, making it challenging to design a comfortable, stylish, and functional room. Many homeowners want to balance the fireplace with their living room furniture and TV. Discover three living room layouts to try if you have a fireplace.
1. Place Sofas in an L
You might like this layout if you have ample wall space next to the fireplace. Perhaps you have a long blank wall perpendicular to the fireplace, or your fireplace is in the corner of the room.
Place your TV on the wall perpendicular to the fireplace. Then, place your sofas or seating in an L-shape. One sofa will be across from the fireplace, and one across from the TV.
This layout creates intimate seating and a clear view of the fireplace and television. To keep your TV from taking up too much physical space, put a console underneath it to hold all your equipment and keep the TV anchored. Artwork and decorative items over the fireplace will also help the fireplace not look stark.
2. Position Seating in a U
Another living room layout to try is to make a U with your furniture around the front of your fireplace. Put your TV above the fireplace to create one central focal point. This is a particularly popular layout if you have a lot of seating or no free wall space or if your fireplace is on the main wall.
The seating is more intimate when you place it in a U-shape in front of the fireplace. Family and guests have more opportunity to sit facing each other rather than facing the TV or fireplace.
It’s essential to keep the TV cool, as the heat from the fireplace can damage it. Read your owner’s booklet to know the safe temperatures your TV can operate under. Mount the TV a minimum of 20 inches above the fireplace with a mantel to protect the TV from heat damage.
3. Make Parallel Lines
Finally, you can position your furniture in parallel lines if your TV and fireplace are on opposite walls. Your fireplace is at one end of the seating arrangement, and the TV is at the opposite end.
Two sofas facing each other create strong parallel lines and look especially striking in a symmetrical room layout. A sofa facing two armchairs looks more relaxed and airy.
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[…] the living room. Often, people have TVs and fireplaces vying for attention. You can find the right living room layout with a fireplace that creates visual balance. Whether you prefer the TV above the fireplace or elsewhere depends on […]