L-shaped living-dining furnishing ideas
Our new rental with L-shaped living/dining - we are in a small non-Australian country where not much is available locally (certainly no floor coverings, much as we would love rugs).
Looking for furniture ideas, we can get stuff made locally and trades are generally good. I am desperate to ditch the picnic-table-as-dining!
And... go!
Comments (25)
PROBronika Carter Design
5 years ago
JE C
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Need L shape kitchen ideas to incorporate a pantry but not take away b
Comments (4)A big island would be good, if you can afford that space in front of the fridge and dishwasher. Microwave can go up higher in the cupboard space to give you a bit more bench top area, or can go under the bench of the new island....See MoreL-shaped Lounge/dining advice
Comments (20)Will the desk fit on the wall next to the shelf unit or are you are you restricted to the L shape for some reason? Could it work opposite the window & in the other corner better & the piano where white shelf is? If you can get all the measurements including for the new lounge & try taping the floor out to check that the configuration works. Otherwise as you say having the new lounge along that back wall means having the tv where piano is but could work, depending on the view from the dining room. Pictures on the bare walls & a rug will soften what seems harsh at the moment but as you are not sure yet it is hard to say... I have always moved things around many times until it felt right. I feel your pain & hope I have not confused things for you :/...See MoreFurnishing living room
Comments (7)I wouldn't place the TV on the wall between the windows I would position your L shaped couch along the half wall as you enter in and run the longer length along the window wall. This will allow you to position art and the TV and other furniture e.g. a long low cabinet along the TV wall. I think being able to sit on the couch with the sun streaming in the windows would be so relaxing and if the TV was there you would likely have the shutter closed all the time and that makes the room look dark....See MoreOdd shape kitchen living dining area
Comments (12)I would build a sleek new TV cabinet to match your new kitchen cabinetwork along the full length of the wall under the air conditioner, which will visualy extend the space and make the kitchen and living area seem more integrated. Move the couch to the other side of the room, and have it about one metre off the study wall so that you can walk between the back of the couch and the study wall, which becomes a circulation space. If you have room add an open sided bookcase/room divider opposite the front door to give more definition to the entry and more seperation to the living area. Add a couple of pedestal based armchairs in the space between the new TV cabinetwork and couch, which can be moved and rotated around easily, with a large rug to anchor the living area. Best of luck Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls...See MoreMelt In ACT
5 years agoAttached is a hand-drawn sketch of the room. Working off limited resources until our stuff arrives from overseas. We don't have access to online shopping, sadly, at least not for bulky items like rugs, which cannot be purchased locally.
Likely I will have to stick with dark furniture as the wood isn't good quality so they cover it with a dark stain. Perhaps I could self-source some cheaper pieces and play with coloured paint (I like aqua, red, green) - I very much doubt my landlord would be keen to buy stuff like that. "Bland" is their general theme!
I should be able to find some better lampshades (or maybe re-cover the existing ones) and looking at the wiring should be able to hang multiple pendants over the dining table. I need to be able to use the lamps in the lounge area for reading as the overhead lighting is very dim.
It's a horrible space and nowhere to put the TV (a must with kids) nor somewhere to properly group a nice seating area since the main thoroughfare is from the bottom of the picture (front door). All the doors are working and cannot be closed off. They all open inwards to the L-shaped area.
We have had a play with the furniture and I will post a couple of shots further down.
Melt In ACT
5 years agoSo here is the re-jigged arrangement of the couch area, from two angles. We will be able to get some big art to hang on the wall. Perhaps our TV could be wall-mounted on a retractable arm to the right hand side between the curtain and the rear corner. I'd look for an interesting shaped local coffee table and/or side tables. (I can always repurpose these ones in our bedroom as we have no side tables in any of them!)
Melt In ACT
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoMoving furniture around made me re-think our entry. The double doors in the L-shaped zone seem to be used as the defacto front door, but there is a REAL front door people could use. As a test we have now blocked the double doors off from the outside by repositioning our outdoor furniture on the porch. The real front door is to the left of the picture - by using the real entryway our visitors will now enter the L-shaped zone through the door at the bottom of the dining area.
Feeling quite pleased with this idea - that gives us a whole area of the house that is currently just used as shoe storage and entranceway, to use for living - potentially a kids play space or a quiet coffee corner as the light in through the doors is the best in the house.
JE C
5 years agoJE C
5 years ago
siriuskey
5 years agoMelt In ACT
5 years agoWe rotated the couches and looked for art today &
will continue the search. If we can’t find decent art I may just look for some bright Printed fabric.
We have to use the fireplace in winter as there is no other heating so the other couch will stay inlimbo since the house is too small to move it.
Melt In ACT
5 years agoA colleague just returned from holidays with this light for his house. Thoughts on his this would work in either/both lounge/dining? Would the current wall sconces be too much in addition?
julie herbert
5 years agoHi,
What a great job you have done, that light will look fabulous and it will balance your room, love your outdoor furniture, if you place a pot at your front door or either side of door this will define your entry even more, love the bench for your coffee table, your room is looking great, a fab artwork and a large plant will look gorgeous...love your floors too.
JE C
5 years agoMelt In ACT
5 years agoArt shopping..... I love this but thinking a landscape shaped pic may fit better
JE C
5 years agojulie herbert
5 years ago
KK1000
5 years agoThere is lots of brown in the room It needs to be refreshed with blue. Blue is perfect partner to brown and you already have blue curtains so by getting couple blue rugs you can define the zones. I think there is nothing wrong with your table and benches if there is a rug underneath. Make sure you get a rug one size bigger then you think you need, trust me, ha ha. One or two large white plant pots and you are done don’t overcrowd the place.
KK1000
5 years agoAs far as light fittings go I don’t think the one you posted is best for your place. Something lighter and bigger and more open would be better in my opinion. Same for the artwork. Its very personal but something lighter would make the house happier.
Melt In ACT
5 years agoSo many good ideas on lights. I have someone on the hunt for nice fittings here. Locals love chandeliers (cheap ones, not necessarily nice) and over-wrought creations that just aren't me nor would they suit the house. I love some of the suggestions here.
In a win I actually found someone who has some imported carpets. A very small range of mostly plain colours but hopefully I can find something big enough to fit under the couches and keep our feet warm.
We were also thrilled to find a single furniture shop with some reasonably modern furniture. They have this round table and chairs in a 6-seater combo, in stock. With the chairs pulled out, like in the picture we would have clearance of about 50cm behind each chair.
Our dining room is 3.75m x 3.9m an there's a photo of the dining space in the very first post.
Thoughts on this shape versus the traditional shape we currently have?
Alternatively they also have this lovely traditional long table which we also liked, which made me think we could just get the existing picnic table re-finished and then perhaps buy these chairs to go with it.
So that's our Christmas break blown, as we will be driving all over town (nothing closes here) looking for house stuff!Melt In ACT
5 years ago
siriuskey