Options to redesign living room

Trotter

Hi all,

Having decided that theres no point in selling our little house, we're looking at changing the living room to something more cosy. At the moment, its very open plan with the stairs actually in the living room. Theres wood flooring all the way from the front door to the kitchen because wheely bins have to be brought through the house (no side gate). The carpet starts at the first step of the stairs and continues upstairs. All the walls are cream and theres a mat on the floor between the TV and the couches.

The room feels very hollow and almost like its a basement with the stairs and wood floor on the living room floor. The open plan nature means its very "unhomely?" or not very cosy at all. I was thinking of building a wall from the point A to B to make one long hall (although a lack of a window at the front door would make it very very dark). This would enclose the living room a bit.

Can anyone think of anything we could do to improve the feel of the living room and take away the hollow feel and lack of cosiness? Extending into the garden isnt really an option on the window side because the space isnt there to do it.

Here's my best MS Paint effort!
Thanks for any suggestions!

LillyVanilli

I cant offer you much advice but I wouldn’t build a wall from A to B at all, it would make the hallway less welcoming and make the sitting room smaller. Are the doors at A and the door to kitchen solid also or do they allow light through? Is the window to the garden a full length window or just a regular window. Would you consider putting in French doors there? Is it a bright room? How big is the room? Would you consider putting up some photos?

Trotter

Ruby2Shoes wrote: »

Are the doors at A and the door to kitchen solid also or do they allow light through?

The door at A does let light through but since the front door is solid, theres no light coming into the room in the direction.

Ruby2Shoes wrote: »

Is the window to the garden a full length window or just a regular window.

Its a regular window, certainly not floor to ceiling or anything but its quite big.

Ruby2Shoes wrote: »

Would you consider putting in French doors there? Is it a bright room? How big is the room? Would you consider putting up some photos?

French doors might well be an option, but we're trying to give the room more of a homely feel to it. Maybe the extra light offered by French doors could do something for the room. It is relatively bright anyway. The room is about 6m x 4m. Im not too keen on putting up photos of the room itself

The idea of walling off A-B was to enclose it slightly and allow the room to be carpeted to cosy it up a bit. By moving the kitchen door across to the left as you look at the map, it would give a wood floor route from the kitchen to the front door for bins etc.

Ancee

depends how long the space between A and B is but maybe you could put a glazed partition with glazed double doors there? would allow light through to stairs.

fozzle

Trotter, is the stairs itself enclosed or is there a banister there? And what is the distance from A to B?

Trotter

Thanks for the help!
The distance from A to B is 3 metres. Having mulled this over with friends etc, the general consensus is to knock the wall right across and turn the kitchen and living room into one huge room and start from scratch.

That'd cost a fortune we don't have.

Carlow52

Trotter wrote: »

Thanks for the help!
The distance from A to B is 3 metres. Having mulled this over with friends etc, the general consensus is to knock the wall right across and turn the kitchen and living room into one huge room and start from scratch.

That'd cost a fortune we don't have.

Not certain about this but I think there is a Fire regs issue with open plan with kitchen with open stairs therefrom
http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/FileDownLoad,1640,en.pdf

Acoshla

I know these are only small ideas but in an effort to make the space feel more cosy you could possibly get a big rug that would cover the seating area while leaving the kind of walkway area by the stairs clear. This would mean that you would have a soft flooring area but without having to drag bins across carpet.

Also an L shaped couch with the shorter end parallel to the stairs would also enclose the area a bit, combined with a large rug it would definitely make the area seem much more defined as a cosy seating area. Or alternatively push the couches you have together in an L shape and put a little table in the corner of them, these are just little ideas to make it feel more like a room of its own.

If you're considering putting a wall in A to B would it be possible to put an archway? Or did you want a door to keep heat in? If not an arch would be a good compromise, separates the hall/stairs area without darkening it.

icbarros

To be honest you have a terrible layout there.
I don't think the wall from A to B will solve your problem.
I think you should get someone qualified to design this space properly- an architect or interior design.
You may have to look at a bigger picture and include the kitchen in your "redecoration scheme", that will probably give you more options...?

style4homes

By hanging a mirror on the wall facing the window you will reflect light into room. a hall table placed under the mirror will add to the space. You could try injecting colour on to a focal wall picking up a colour in your furnishings/curtains.

By replacing the window with french doors will create a flow from the living space into the garden and bring more light to the room.

Trisha

Trotter

Thanks for all the tips everyone!

ClimateGirl

We put an L-shaped sofa facing the fireplace and a very large coffee table filling the L space in our sitting room and it definitely cozied up the space. Our layout is quite similar to yours with the TV at the same side on an angle. The chaise part of the sofa is directly in front of the fireplace, which is really nice for cuddling in front of the fire - much nicer than having a sofa there that faces the window instead of the fire. We also put a lower hanging chandelier in the room which brought the feeling of the high ceilings down a bit.

We used the space you have next to the stairs for a piano/music area with bookshelves to separate the spaces even further.

You might also consider a long, high "sofa" table behind your long sofa with a lamp or two on it to fill the space and offer cozier lighting. Built in bookshelves above the TV or elsewhere in the room will always help to make a space more cozy too.

Another more expensive option would be to look into putting glass tri-fold/concertina/accordian glass doors between the stairs and rest of the room to break up the space without cutting out any light. That type of door would give you the option of pulling the entire door back and opening up the space again for parties, etc. and could be a really nice feature to the room. Marvin/Dulavin Windows on the canal road in Harold's Cross have a really high spec version in their showroom that is worth seeing as an example if you're Dublin (though there are much cheaper suppliers out there if you decide to buy).

I think your space is really nice and you'll have no problem making the existing space cozy without having to knock everything and start over.

Post pics of before and after if you can!
CG

Design Guru

It's very hard to get quick answers from a sketched plan. Perhaps professional advice would be an option. Check out www.theinteriorsassociation.ie they have a directory of qualified Interior Architects, Designers and Stylists.
If you are considering knocking down walls it is imortant to review this from a structural and building regs perspective.
If you are considering partitioning A-B perhaps a consortina glazed screen or half hieght glazed partitions would be an option. Perhaps using curtains on these also.
Best advice will come from a site visit from a professional

Trotter

*****

Thats bedding.. I'm looking at options for my living room.

gream

Ya, I Know That Very Well Its Bedding But I Just Thought May That Service Help You To Some Extent Thats y I've Suggested You....
Sorry To See That It Couldn't Helped You
All The Best
May U get any other relevant suggestion For you good looking living room

gream

Trotter wrote: »

Thats bedding.. I'm looking at options for my living room.

Ya That I Know Very Well I've Just Suggested You May It Can Help You To Some Extent.....