Design Direction

January 20, 2010 · Posted in Design Direction, Upholstery fabrics

Do you have a challenging space or need some design guidance? Design Direction is a chance for you to submit photos or videos of your design challenge(s) and a Vastu interior designer will provide you with some help. Every Wednesday we will feature one reader’s submission.

“Hello, My Husband and I live in a rather oddly shaped condo in Arlington VA and are looking for ways to shape up the living room to be both pretty and functional. Here are the purposes the living room serves currently: – TV watching area, work from home area, reading area, entertaining and eating area. We would like to get a new couch and position so that it’s not blocking most of our french windows that open to a beautiful sun room. There are a couple of pieces of furniture (the ottoman, the wine rack, the Manhattan chair) that we would like to keep. We are at a loss as to where to begin, so any ideas you have would be very welcomed. Thanks for all your help!”

Sarita says…

Well, this is definitely one of the most challenging spaces I have seen. The shape of the space does indeed make it difficult to arrange furniture without blocking the doors to the sunroom and the walkway area from the entry. After trying a couple of different arrangements, I have come up with one final solution that I think will fit your needs nicely.

The proposed furniture plan in the living room includes a new sectional sofa, your existing ottoman and arm chair, a TV cabinet, and a new console table behind the sectional sofa. I’ve placed the TV on the diagonal wall, freeing up the wall across from the sliding glass doors for the sectional to be placed against. I would recommend mounting the TV on the wall with an articulating arm that will allow you to position it in a direction facing the sofa when you want to watch TV. Your arm chair is placed close to the wall near the window with a large floor lamp in the corner, which will create a great reading spot. This new arrangement allows for seating of 4-5 people for TV watching, reading, or conversation. In the dining area, I’ve placed a 48″ round dining table with four chairs in the center of the room. The round table will allow for a more natural traffic path through the dining room than a square or rectangle table would. Your existing wine rack will still fit on the back wall next to the window, or even beneath the window.