Rectangular living rooms are a bit more challenging than the square ones, especially when there is also a fireplace in the picture too. This is because most of the times they are narrower and you have to adjust the positioning of the furniture, in order save enough space for moving around.
The fireplace inevitably becomes the center of the living room, and you most likely have to place the furniture accordingly. You need to arrange them in such a manner, that the heat of the fire reaches equally all the pieces of furniture, and every seat has a view towards the fireplace.
Like square or living rooms of other shapes, rectangular living rooms have some very common pieces of furniture and decoration or practical accessories in place. Here is a list with the most common ones:
- Television
- Couch
- Chairs
- Coffee table
- Ottomans or stools
- Bookcase
All this furniture can be arranged in various different ways so that you can make your living room both convenient and eye appealing. You always have to keep in mind that you do not need to overcomplicate things, and that you just have to make simple combinations to make the living room more comfortable for you and your guests.
How to arrange furniture in rectangular living room with fireplace
Although there are multiple ways you can position your furniture, there are a few very simple rules you can follow in order to make the living room spacious. You have to remember that taking advantage of the fireplace is your main purpose, and act accordingly.
Where to position the TV
Every piece of furniture represents one or more seats for the people that hang out in the living room. That said, every piece of furniture needs to have good viewing towards the TV. To achieve this, you need to find the ideal place to position the television.
One great location to consider is the area above the firebox of the fireplace, in front of the chimney. If you have a TV with a very large screen, like the LG Electronics OLED55C7P 55-Inch, then using the particular area you can save valuable space by keeping the TV and the fireplace in the same living room area.
A second solution would be to place the TV opposite from the fireplace. This way, you and your guests are going to have constant view of the TV and will receive equal amounts of heat, without having to change seats or move around.
Location of the couch
The couch is one of the most important piece of furniture for every home. No matter if you have a sectional sofa like the Oliver Smith Quality Sectional, or a smaller common couch such as the Zinus Classic Upholstered 71in Sofa, you need to find the right place for it in front of the fireplace.
The rectangular shape of the living room might work to your advantage here, as you probably have bigger walls to support the back of the couch. Make sure that you place it in front of the bigger wall so that it doesn’t get in the middle of the living room, and if you can position it in such a way that the arms of the sofa face the fireplace.
Where to put the chairs
The chairs are also pieces of furniture that tend to be included in most living room. Depending on the size of the room, you might acquire one or two chairs. Having high quality armchairs like the Durable Dense Cotton Karlstad Chair, is both going to help you relax after a long day, and make the living room prettier.
Chairs should be placed opposite of the couch, so that people can face each other when chatting and interact effectively. The arms of the chairs similarly to the arms of the sofa should face the fireplace, and it would be perfect if there was little distance between them and the coffee table so that people can place their things on its surface.
Place the coffee table in the center of the room
The coffee table covers the need for placing stuff like cellphones, books or drinks when people gather into the living room. Depending on the size of the room, you should look for either large coffee tables with big surfaces such as the ioHOMES Lansing Rectangular Coffee Table, or fairly smaller ones like the Leick Furniture Boa Collection Coffee Table for smaller living rooms.
The best location to place a coffee table is the middle of the room, which is a common decoration tactic followed by the majority of people. However, if your rectangular living room is too narrow, you could place one or two small coffee tables in each side of your couch, next to its arms.
Location of ottomans or stools
Stools and ottomans are secondary furniture that are used as additional seats in the living room, or as furniture accessories that you can use in order to rest your feet or place your stuff, like book or gadgets. In some cases, some ottomans can be used instead of a coffee table, such as the Kinfine Bonded Leather Square Storage Ottoman.
Ottomans can be placed in the area between the couch and the chairs, next to the coffee table. This way, you can create a circle around the coffee table, so that all the furniture face one another. If the room is too small, consider placing a stool like the Winsome Saddle Seat 24-Inch Counter Stool in order to save space.
The perfect area for bookcases
A bookcase is the ideal solution when it comes to placing your books, so that you don’t have them around your living room. There are beautiful bookcases like the Sauder Heritage Hill Open Bookcase, which can fit to almost any type of living room, making it more welcoming for the guests.
You can position the bookcase ideally behind the biggest furniture of your living room, such as the couch or the chairs. If you end up with an empty corner in the room, like most people with rectangular living rooms do, place it there to make it seem fuller. Keep in mind that books are flammable, so place it as far from the fireplace as possible.
Conclusion
As we can see, there are lots of ways we can arrange our furniture in a rectangular living room. The fireplace is not going to be an issue, as in fact it helps as determine easier where the ideal place of each type of furniture is, according to its position.
Make sure that you try several arrangements until you decide which one fits your own living room best, as all living rooms have differences and furniture of various sizes and shapes. The choice is yours!