Shrinking a long narrow living room

interior decor/ with pocyline karan

With landlords getting greedier by the day, it is no longer shocking to find oneself with an oddly shaped living room. Probably in the struggle to maximise on natural lighting, or even adding the much-desired space, one may end up with a living room that is hard to decorate owing to its shape.

Take an example of long and narrow living rooms, which tenants have to endure and pay heavily for. Indeed it is true that a long narrow living room can be a challenge when decorating. Here are a few design tips to guide you on changing your bowling alley to look like a living room.

A long narrow living room. This space has been sectioned to reduce the narrow effect. TOP: A section of the living room.

First and foremost think of the room in sections instead of as a whole. When you do this you are able to identify a focal point on a sidewall and not on an end wall. If you had any focal point on any end wall then it is time you removed it because it serves to make the room look longer.

A focal point in this case could be anything from a fireplace, a flat screen to picture window. Then, paint this room a nice, warm, off-white, but give the long wall a rich warm accent colour that will ultimately run behind your sofa. We see the track lights on the ceiling, and these will be great for lighting up that colour and bouncing it into the room.

Visually divide

Consider the different functions for the room and create stations, which help to visually divide the long room according to possible uses using smaller furniture arrangements.

For instance, install a gaming table at the furthest end of the room or add a desk and chair. Have the main sitting area in the centre of the room and add two chairs on the fireplace end.

Floor rugs help in dividing this space into sections. An easy way to visually break up a space is to put down different yet coordinating area rugs. Each rug will define its own space and break up the bowling-alley feel of the room. You should, however, avoid using runners and stick to square and round area rugs.

Traffic Pattern

Before arranging your furniture, consider the flow pattern of traffic in the room. This helps to avoid placing furniture in the way of obvious traffic patterns. Also group your furniture according to those frequented paths. You will not want to place a television on a wall where there is heavy traffic. You will also want to avoid having a traffic area cut through a main seating area.

Orient your living room with sofa along the wall facing media stand and TV on other wall, with coffee table in centre and two chairs on the TV side facing back at the sofa.