Living Room Layout Rules of Thumb

Miranda Roehrick
July 24th, 2020 · 2 min read

Dear Landing,

I’m looking to revamp my living room, but before I start designing my space on The Landing, I’d love to get a 101 on living room layouts.  What should I be thinking about from a design perspective when choosing the right pieces for my space?

Signed,

Alicia

Dear Alicia,

We’re so glad that you asked! There are definitely a few rules of thumb that are super important to consider when laying out a living room space, and a tiny bit of math involved that will help you make a space that feels proportional, and will function in a way that supports you in all the ways that you may need. Here are a few rules of thumb to help kick us off:

Seating: Be sure to leave at least 3.5’ for a walkway between large pieces. Space between sofa and seating should be no less than 3.5’ and no more than 10’.

Coffee Tables: The length of your coffee table should be a minimum of half the length of your sofa. Leave 16” to 18” between  your sofa and coffee table.

**Rug: Your rug doesn’t have to be large enough to fit your entire sofa or chairs on it, but at least one side of it should be long enough to have both front legs of your sofa rest on it.**

Art: The center of the art piece is ideally placed at eye level, 5’ to 6’ from the floor.

TV: TV and sofa should be 7’ apart. The center of your TV screen is best placed at eye level from the seated position on the couch.

Side tables: Side tables should not be deeper than the depth of the sofa, i.e. when you place the side table next to the sofa, it shouldn’t stick out from the front or back at all!. Spacing is best when close enough to set a drink down without looking over.

Now that we’ve gotten the basics down, let’s look at some ways to lay out your living room space based on what you’d like to use it for most. Below, we’ve outlined 3 different ways to organize your space based on your needs - let’s take a look:

Layout A - The Family-Friendly Livespace:

This layout is the perfect comfortable and family friendly living space - the sectional sofa and armchairs provide two comfy seating options. It works well if you use the space for socializing with the built-in cabinets, free standing media unit, and oversized coffee table. We love hosting cocktail hour, and game or movie nights in this space!

Layout B - The Live-Work Space:

This layout is the perfect versatile WFH space -  the furniture can easily be moved around to create different living and work spaces. It works well if you align the desks on the same wall as the media unit to prevent distractions. We love how the space mixes the biggest parts of our lives - work and play!

Layout C - The Entertainment Space:

This layout is the perfect entertainment space- the sectional sofa helps divide the space, without really dividing it, creating a formal and informal zone.  It works well for intimate gatherings if you use the space with the U shaped chairs around the circular coffee table. We love hosting events but also love a classic family movie night!

We hope that this gives you a good jumping off point for designing your own space! Remember, if you feel stuck in the design process, or have ANY questions at all, you can reach out to The Landing Support Team via email at hello@thelandinghome.com, or by chatting them directly from your Landing account! No question is too small. We’re here to help!

And let us know how your design layouts are turning out! We’d love to see your designs from The Landing AND your IRL spaces @thelandingsocial or via writing at dearlanding@thelandinghome.com.

Yours in #CreatingSpace,

Miranda & The Landing Team

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