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How large is your conversation area within your LR or FR?

Alex House
11 years ago

I'm just trying to get a handle on space planning within my LR and how to allocate space between transit, orphaned oddball space and primary conversation area within a Living Room.

I'm playing with a 300 sf room. I can block out a dedicated area of 12' x 14.5' for a conversation area with transit through the room taking place outside of this area. Should I increase the boundaries? What furniture do you have in that area of your living room? I was thinking of two 6'x3' couches and a chair along with a coffee table and a few end tables near the couches. Do you think that the couches are too large to for that size of space?

Comments (7)

  • live_wire_oak
    11 years ago

    10x10 is about as large as people feel comfortable having a face to face conversation. Larger than that, you lose the intimate connection with the other person and you feel you have to raise your voice. Most "great rooms" are not wonderful for actually talking. They are more architecturally designed for TV viewing.

  • Annie Deighnaugh
    11 years ago

    Our cluster is grouped together with a rug that is 8'x8'...the front legs are on the rug. We find it comfortable.

  • porkandham
    11 years ago

    My family room is 20' x 20', and the conversation area is grouped on an 8' x 10' rug. We have a sofa and two chairs with the front legs on the rug, a coffee table and two end tables. There is a wooden rocking chair angled in the corner (not on the rug) facing the seating group that can be pulled closer when needed.

    The living room is smaller and has a sofa, settee, and chair grouped on an 8'8" x 6' rug.

  • Saypoint zone 6 CT
    11 years ago

    My living room is 17x30. The conversation/seating area is in front of the FP at one end of the room, sofa, two chairs, with a large square coffee table, on a 9x12 rug with the furniture on the rug. Behind the sofa, just off the rug, a sofa table with lamp defines the separate area, and there is room to walk through at one side without walking through the grouping. The other side has enough room to bring in additional lightweight chairs if needed.
    The other end of the room contains the dining room furniture, an arrangement I dislike, but made necessary when we needed the den for a home office and converted the dining room into a den. We rarely used the dining room anymore, but it was pretty and I miss it.
    The den has a similar arrangement of sofa and two chairs, but with furniture partly on and partly off an 8x10 rug with a smaller coffee table and two end tables. Also has room for additional smaller chairs if needed.
    I find these to be comfortable for conversation without being too cramped.

  • nicoletouk
    11 years ago

    My living room is 13 x 22 and the seating area is anchored on a 9 x 12 rug. I have 2 loveseats facing each other with a coffee table in between (all completely on the rug), and also an armoire centered between them on the wall. Behind one loveseat is a desk and chair.

    My FR is weird, laid out to accommodate four entrances and the main path of traffic through the house. However, it also is all anchored on a 9 x 12 rug.

    Nicole

  • Bumblebeez SC Zone 7
    11 years ago

    Our seating area floats in the middle of the room on a 9'x 12' rug. That includes one sofa, two big chairs, a smaller occasional chair, a large coffee table, 3 narrow end tables and a sofa table. The rug is bordered by 4' walkways.

  • sochi
    11 years ago

    Our discussion zone is about 11x10, two long couches facing each other with an ottoman that can function as a coffe table in between them. We have two additional chairs with a coffee table between them across the "passage way" through the LR. These two chairs can be pulled up to the main zone if needed, or they form a separate second conversation area.