For many people, the focal point in their main living rooms is easy viewing for the TV. Sadly, not every living room is designed for viewing Netflix, and this is particularly true in older properties. In these spaces, one can often find oddly angled walls, fireplaces, and mantels and floor-to-ceiling high windows.

At Just Wood Furniture, we know that all the features certainly add character, but they don’t really make our TV viewing the easiest experience. So, if you have marri furniture to show off, including marri TV units, what can you do?

In this guide, we will show six tips that can help you to arrange your living room for optimal TV viewing and to create a stunning living space if you are unsure about having wooden furniture in your home, look at this article of the 3 Benefits of Using Wooden Furniture in Your Home

Tip 1: Use the Rear of Your Sofa to Define the Living Space

Many living rooms also serve as an entrance where people are constantly passing through on their way to other parts of the home or arriving and departing. If you’re trying to relax with a movie, this can be very distracting and frustrating, but it can be solved by clearly defining the space. Many people simply place their sofa against a wall and then put their TV on the opposite wall to see the picture clearly. This is fine, but it does introduce a great deal of dead space in the middle of the room, and people have no choice other than walking through the middle of it.

However, you can create a defined walkway by placing your sofa a metre or two away from the wall and towards the centre of the living room. Then the rear of the sofa will act as a low level wall to direct people around the space rather than through the middle of it where they can block the TV. This will allow people to go about their business without disturbing those on the sofa, watching their favourite shows and movies.

Tip 2: Divide Larger Unwieldy Spaces into Useful Zones

Many older homes have large open rooms that can be longer than those found in modern houses. Modern designers might make this room into a single large living space to make it feel open and airy, but this is a waste of space, and many people don’t have that luxury.

It may be a better idea to consider adopting a room layout that breaks the room up into two or more separate areas where different activities can take place, take a look at this article on The 10 Commandments of Furniture Placement. As an example: there could be a casual TV viewing area with a cool coffee table and a more formal space for reading or playing board games. This may seem confusing, but there are ways to clearly mark each space using rugs, decor, and soft furnishings. Smart choices will help to clearly define each separate area and yet keep them connected.

Image Source

 

Tip 3: Fireplaces & Chimneys

A fireplace can add a great deal of character to a room, and if it’s in use, it’s a great way to add coziness and warmth to your living space when it cold outside, take a look at this article on how Tips for incorporating a fireplace into your living room. But, the fireplace will be a dominant feature in the living room, and if you want to watch TV, it can be a real challenge to overcome this fact. The approach adopted by most people is to simply mount the TV on a bracket above the fireplace mantle. This can work, but it can also force the viewer to look up at an uncomfortable angle, and it’s not ideal for everyone.

A better method would be to position the TV on an angle placed on a dedicated sideboard or credenza. This could be a beautiful piece of marri furniture that will also add a great deal of class to your living space. Then you can enjoy the TV and the fireplace without one dominating the other and overwhelming the entire room.

Tip 4: Divide the Space with Your Sofas

We’ve already shown how to use your sofas to create natural paths through your living space, but they can also be used to divide your space for different functions. Perhaps you need a nearby open workroom or a space for studying? Then have a read of this article which goes over the Benefits of Using Natural Wood for Your Office or Home Interior, or even create a dining space using a marri buffet table or a more extensive dining table with chairs.

If you want to adopt this strategy, the sofas will float in a logical location towards the centre of the living room. The sofas will only face a wall where the TV is mounted, and they cannot block the light coming in through the windows. This will create ample space for a smaller dining area behind one of your sofas, and you may have room for a desk near the windows.

Image Source

Tip 5: Avoid Neck Strain with Swivelling Armchairs

Finding the ideal living room layout for every person to watch TV together can be difficult. Inevitably there will be an area that’s not in the ideal position for one or more people. This can be solved by rotating every piece of furniture by 90º in the most logical direction so that the TV is not on the same wall as the fireplace. This will establish the fireplace as the focal point of the room and allow your sofas to face the TV on the other wall. But, if you adopt the approach, you may find that some people still cannot see the TV very well. This can be solved by using one or two swivelling arm chairs in the areas that are not in an ideal TV viewing position.

Tip 6: Make Creative Use of Nooks & Crannies

Living rooms in older houses may have a large number of windows and open spaces with high ceilings. In rooms like this, it can be hard to locate an ideal spot to place your TV and associated devices. Rooms like this often have smaller nooks and crannies that may offer you a solution to these types of problems. Avoid placing your TV in front of a window where it will be backlit and hard to view comfortably.

Instead, you could place your TV in a nook under a staircase or at the side of your fireplace. Or if you have any nooks and crannies in your home that look bare or you’re looking to fill, have a look at this article on 200 Creative Wood & Furniture Ideas, for some inspiration.

Just Wood Furniture