Family room layout condundrum!!!
Hi everyone! I need help figuring out how to best lay out my family room. I have a huge problem trying to balance the corner fireplace with the MASSIVE TV we own AND the sliding glass doors (way too many focal points). And no, getting a smaller TV is not an option...haha. It is a 72" DLP which sticks out about 18" from the wall (it has a flat HD screen, but none of the flat compactedness most TV owners enjoy). It can't be mounted over the fireplace and I'm pretty sure I can't recess it into the wall it is on now (the other side of that wall has the sinks/toilet in the master bath). Not that recessing it into the wall would give me much more to work with, anyway. Demolishing the fireplace and/or the sliding glass doors are not options either =P To make matters worse, I have kindof an awkward amount of space to work within and the primary seating has to be AT LEAST 8ft away, ideally more like 9 or 10ft (you literally can't see anything and you get huge headaches if you're too close).
I've included a dimensioned layout of the space, to give you guys an idea of what I'm working with. I didn't draw the entire kitchen peninsula (that large rectangle on the right side); it angles off away from the family room toward the bottom, but it doesn't really matter for our purposes. What matters is that we have bar stools on the family room side of the peninsula, so there has to be space for seating there toward the bottom of the peninsula. Also, that 3'10" angled area is just a rough sketch of where everyone walks through the room. I think furniture can stick out a bit across the doorway at the top of the drawing and it's inevitable that bar stools will end up in that area at the bottom, but for the most part that walkway needs to remain clear. Also, where the wall at the bottom ends is where the dining nook begins, so basically anything in the bottom right corner is a void that is of no use to us for the family room. The sliding doors take up that entire bottom wall.
Previously, our couch was parallel to the wall on the left, somewhat out in the walkway. As you can see, that barely gets us 8 feet from the TV, if even (remember, it sticks out 18" from the wall). I always felt like the couch was in the way, so I tried moving things around a bit. Currently, the couch is set at an angle perpendicular to the fireplace, and I was hoping to try putting the TV in the open corner. This would get us much further from the TV, and it opens up the walkway more, but now the couch basically sits smack dab in front of the fireplace (we don't really use it, but it just looks weird with the couch in front of it). And with the addition of any side chairs, there is almost no room to get around the furniture to sit on it. And we only have a loveseat!
(continued in next post)
I've included a dimensioned layout of the space, to give you guys an idea of what I'm working with. I didn't draw the entire kitchen peninsula (that large rectangle on the right side); it angles off away from the family room toward the bottom, but it doesn't really matter for our purposes. What matters is that we have bar stools on the family room side of the peninsula, so there has to be space for seating there toward the bottom of the peninsula. Also, that 3'10" angled area is just a rough sketch of where everyone walks through the room. I think furniture can stick out a bit across the doorway at the top of the drawing and it's inevitable that bar stools will end up in that area at the bottom, but for the most part that walkway needs to remain clear. Also, where the wall at the bottom ends is where the dining nook begins, so basically anything in the bottom right corner is a void that is of no use to us for the family room. The sliding doors take up that entire bottom wall.
Previously, our couch was parallel to the wall on the left, somewhat out in the walkway. As you can see, that barely gets us 8 feet from the TV, if even (remember, it sticks out 18" from the wall). I always felt like the couch was in the way, so I tried moving things around a bit. Currently, the couch is set at an angle perpendicular to the fireplace, and I was hoping to try putting the TV in the open corner. This would get us much further from the TV, and it opens up the walkway more, but now the couch basically sits smack dab in front of the fireplace (we don't really use it, but it just looks weird with the couch in front of it). And with the addition of any side chairs, there is almost no room to get around the furniture to sit on it. And we only have a loveseat!
(continued in next post)
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My next problem is tying it all together and making it look nice. I want to paint the room, probably a light gray. I will add trim to the sliding door. I would like to build out a white surround for the fireplace (leaving the existing red brick in the center), with a white mantel that meets the walls, and white trim on the wall above it (though I don't know what do to about the arched pad on the floor). If I can build a media cabinet that looks built in next to the fireplace, that would be wonderful (hopefully it won't bury the fireplace with how deep it needs to be). Then there are colors. I like grey paint and white trim and white fireplaces and white cabinets. But I want to put white cabinets in the adjoining kitchen too, so there would be a lot of white... I want to add wood floors eventually. In place of the coffee table we have now, I'm thinking something round would be best (even though I love all the rustic rectangular storage coffee tables at Pottery Barn, a round storage ottoman is probably our best bet). But as for the couch, I think I need to stick with leather, and I'm not sure how I'd work with that (especially with a more modern one). My guy is allergic to cats, and we have 2, so we need furniture that cat fur doesn't stick to... I love all the neutral slipcovered couches at PB, but I'm worried the cats would shed all over it. Ultimately, all the furniture needs to be relatively casual and comfortable, because afterall, we're just going to be using the room to watch TV and play video games and eat dinner on the couch...we're not having any fancy tea parties or anything.
Anyway, so many constraints, huh? Can you see why I need help????? :(
Grey and white colors are usually a good combination that works well in a lot of rooms so your are ok there. However, before you go out and spend a lot of money on furniture and built-ins you may want to reconsider the TV. Having the TV 18" from the wall in such a small space is a huge amount of space to sacrifice, especially if you also need a good distance from the screen for comfortable viewing.
The good thing is that you are looking to declutter the space, which is great. The purchase of a sectional and a Flat screen TV would probably solve a lot of your issues.
Space wise. You don't have a lot of ceiling height and the current brick height is weighing down your ceiling. I would try to remove the brick and consider a stone veneer or sorts from floor to ceiling to visually carry your eyes up wards. You then would have the options of either hanging the TV on the wall or above the fireplace.
You would want to consider sectionals that you walk around in either direction, perhaps open chaises on both sides.
Here are several images for inspiration:
I did noticed that there are differences between the plan dimensions and the actual space. The plan shows an 8'6" wall to the left of the fireplace, if you are standing in front of it, however the photos show other wise, the windows go right up to the angled wall.
Are you planning to remove this window? or? In any case, this would be a good place for the TV, however being that it is the focal destination point and right in front of the arch as you come in from the front door foyer I would NOT hang it in that wall. The 13' wall is a better location and depending on what you end up doing with the angled fireplace wall you could hang it above the fireplace, although would rather you not.
If you absolutely need to have a ceiling fan in this room try investing in one that is mounted flush to the ceiling without any additional hanging lights, instead opt for a built in light like the one shown on sample picture below.