Living room layout ideas: 5 ways to make the most of your space

Looking for the best living room layout ideas to make the most of your new living room? Or perhaps just trying to make a small space look bigger? Whatever your motive for tackling your living room layout, it’s the room you and your family will spend lots of time in, so getting it right is vital. 

The perfect living room layout is one that suits the way that you live, whether you want an area for entertaining, a quiet and isolated room to withdraw to, or a multi-functional space that can be adapted to whatever the situation needs. Here’s how to get your living room layout spot on…

If you need any more tips on how to design a living room check out our detailed guide too, 

1. Find your living room’s focal point

How you want to use the room will dictate what its focal point will be. The living room is usually where the TV is placed, but often you don’t want it to be the central focus, unless that is what the room is primarily for. Quite often, living rooms double as a home cinema space, so if that’s what you’re looking for, make a feature of the TV. Or if you are extra enough to want complete separate room dedicated to movie watching check out our guide to designing a home cinema. 

Alternatively, you could make the fireplace a focal point in yout living room layout with a mirror or artwork over the mantelpiece. This is especially effective in a room where you don’t really have any technology. If your living room is for relaxing and reading, or listening to music, then having a focal point like a fireplace will add to the calming feel.

If you have great views from the windows in your living room, then turning these into the focus of the room is a brilliant living room layout solution. Again, this is a great idea for rooms specified for relaxing, and not sitting in front of a TV. This is a good option if your living room is in an open plan extension, and you have built vast windows to flood the space with light. How to do it? Dressing your living room windows with gorgeous curtains or smart shutters is a good place to start.

Where you position furniture will also depend on your choice of focal point. If a large window looking out onto the garden is the main focal point, the seating should be placed to take in the view, thus creating a comfortable space to relax in.

Finally, if you are going to invest in beautiful furniture in your new living room design, there is no reason that this can’t become the focus of the room. Lay the furniture out in a way that promotes interaction between family members. Designate a well lit corner for your perfect armchair, then when people enter the room, they will notice the furniture over anything else.

2. Choose between open-plan, broken-plan or living room only

If you’re considering extending a house or knocking down walls, it might be that your living room will be at least partly open to other rooms. 

This requires a certain amount of self-analysis, so think about how you are you going to live in the room, and to what extent you want a separate sanctuary to escape from household life. You may wish to isolate the room for other people. For example, the separate room may be a space where teenagers can watch TV and play computer games with their friends while the adults remain reasonably undisturbed in the kitchen or dining room.

On the other hand, you may want to create a more open-plan space where the kitchen, dining and living areas overlap. This layout often allows for more family interaction and can have the benefit of making the entire space seem larger. Learn more about creating an open-plan kitchen in our guide. 

Often, the solution is a combination of both, where rooms have been linked by knocking them through, but still have a defined living space. Double doors, folding doors or even large sliding doors can provide the option to link or close off areas. Have a look at our bi-folding and sliding door ideas for more inspiration. 

3. Think about how will you move about the space

Once you have identified the functional needs and focus of the room, you can think about your living room layout. How will people move in, out and within the space? This will help you decide where it’s best to place the furniture.

If the room doubles up as the main route through to the garden, or is a space in which people will travel between the kitchen and dining room, you can use open shelving or storage units as screens to provide partial separation.

Or, why not consider zoning the room (using the position of the furniture) to define a circulation route that does not run through the seating or TV area? For example, in an open-plan living room, you may choose to use furniture to delineate the living room area. Sofas, especially if they are L-shaped, can be used effectively to mark out the boundaries of a living room.

4. Work storage into the living room layout

Remember to consider living room storage solutions in your design. Bench or banquette seating along one wall of your living room can incorporate storage for DVDs and home entertainment gadgets, while providing additional seating. If you are going for a contemporary design in a Victorian or Edwardian house, a stone-topped plinth about 45cm above the floor level across the whole of the fireplace wall, with storage beneath for logs and kindling, can act as the hearth for a contemporary recessed fireplace.

For more tips of living room lighting have a read through our guide.