Everything You Need To Know About Arranging Furniture In A Rectangular Living Room

Rectangular living rooms tend to look cluttered if not designed with precision. Here is a detailed guide on how to arrange living room furniture in a rectangular room.

A modern living room interior is all about a clean, clutter-free look with smart space-saving furniture that gives you room to move around freely. But designing a rectangular living room can be tricky. The long and narrow layout can leave little space to arrange all your pieces of furniture creatively. The end result? A clumsily designed space that feels cramped!

Our guide on designing your rectangular living room gives you all the tips and tricks to lay out your living room just the way you want to. From the right choice of furniture to the correct way of laying it out. And from the type of furnishings to ideal wall colours for your living room – we have got it all covered in this guide.

Read on to know everything about how to arrange furniture in a rectangular living room.

How To Choose And Arrange Furniture In A Rectangular Living Room

The placement of furniture in a rectangular living room plays a vital role in making your space look neat and stylish. If you have a long narrow living room, choose minimal furniture and decor. Opt for clean lines and utilise all available corners to the fullest. This will ensure you have maximum space in the middle for free-flow of movement.

Here are a few things you should keep in mind before placing your furniture:

• A Wall Mounted TV Unit: Are you wondering how to create the perfect distance between your TV unit and sofa in a narrow rectangular living room? If yes – then this is what you need to do!

Choose a wall-mounted TV unit and a window bay sofa unit. This is an excellent way of creating the perfect amount of space between the seating area and your TV unit. But be mindful that the width of the wall-mounted unit is not too wide. A wide wall mounted cabinet may end up making your already narrow living room much smaller.

• A Sectional Sofa: Place a sectional sofa with storage in one corner of your living room. This will help utilise the corners and provide extra storage space as well.
• A Day Bed With Storage: Opt for a daybed with storage and utilise the windows to create a cosy window bay seater instead of a conventional (3+1+1) seater set. This helps save plenty of space and compensates for a narrow living room. You can add futons or ottomans as additional seating.
• Add A Jaali: Choose an open layout for your living room and add a jaali partition between the living room and kitchen. This will add to the aesthetics and make this area of your home look spacious and stylish.
• Multifunctional Furniture: Choose multifunctional furniture like an entertainment unit with a study corner. This type of space-saving furniture doubles up the functionality of your room and adds an extra dimension to your rectangular shaped living room’s interior design.
• Opt For Furniture With Legs: Your living room will need smaller pieces of furniture – accent chairs, a side table and a coffee table. The trick here is to choose furniture with legs. They make spaces look more open and spacious.
• Use Corners Well: Use the corners of your rectangular living room to place your side cabinets, bookshelves and showcases. This helps utilise the dead corners and keeps the room clutter-free.
• A Wall Mounted Fireplace: The perfect furniture layout for a rectangular living room with a fireplace is to opt for a wall-mounted fireplace. Add to this a sectional sofa on one side, some ledges on the wall and a textured laminate bookshelf with concealed storage in the corner. Choose brick cladding walls and wooden rafters on the ceiling to complete your industrial-style rectangular living room design.

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How To Decorate A Rectangular Living Room

Now that you are aware of the placement of furniture let’s discuss how to beautify your rectangular living room with artistic decor elements and the right furnishings. The biggest advantage of a rectangular shaped living room is that you get a glimpse of the entire room in one glance. This allows for every piece of decor to get equal attention and nothing remains hidden. But the trick is not to overdo it with decor. Keeping the decor simple and stylish so it does not look cramped but stays high on the style quotient.

• Sheer Curtains: Accentuate your windows with sheer curtains to bring in ample natural light. You can pair it with thick curtains or blinds to avoid the scorching summer heat in your room.
• Deck Up Your Walls With Mirrors: Add decorative mirrors on the walls to make your rectangular living room look spacious. You can also choose a combination of wood and mirror panelling on the accent wall to jazz up your space.
• A Pop Of Colour: A pop of colour to your living room with colourful cushions, curtains, throws and colourful laminates can liven it up dramatically.
• Potted Plants: Add some potted plants in the corners to bring in a touch of greenery to the space. Make sure you choose tall pants to accentuate the height of your living room without hindering the eye-level view of your room.
• Glass Partition: You can use a glass partition or doors with a glass front to separate your living room from other parts of your home. Glass partitions are easy on the eyes and lend an uncluttered look to spaces.
• Go Easy On The Artwork: Avoid too many paintings or frames on the walls of your rectangular living room. This will end up making your space look narrow. Wall murals are a better option and look stylish too.

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How To Choose The Perfect Lighting For Your Rectangular Living Room

Without proper lighting, even a perfectly decorated living room can look dark and gloomy. It is the right lighting that can make and break the look of your rectangular living room. 

Here we have for you designer approved, intelligent lighting options to accentuate your space.

• A False Ceiling With Lights: Choose a false ceiling design with cove lights in the panelling to brighten up your living room.
• A Ceiling Fan With Lights: A separate ceiling fan and chandelier can mess up the look of your living room. Instead, opt for a ceiling fan with light fixtures on it. Not only will it add ambient light to your space but help in air circulation as well. 
• Cove Lights/ Spotlights: Choose cove lights and spotlights on the ceiling to add definition to your room and bring in warmth to your space.
• Ceiling Hugger Chandeliers: Take your lighting game a notch higher with ceiling hugger chandeliers. This type of chandeliers adds to the aesthetic beauty of spaces and brightens it up too. Avoid hanging lights in the centre for a clutter-free look. However, you can use pendant lights to illuminate the corners.

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Paint or Wallpaper What Amplifies Your Living Room The Most?

Wall paints and wallpaper both work well in a rectangular living room. However, the tricky part is to break the continuity of the interior design. So our expert designers recommend using a combination of paints and wallpaper. Choose muted colour paints to give the illusion of space. Pair it with vibrant wallpaper for specific areas like the accent wall or the wall behind your entertainment unit. This will help highlight the area and bring attention to the desired space of your living room. If you are using solid colours then make sure you complement it with lots of lighting and mirrors to brighten up the area.

Flooring For A Rectangular Living Room

You can choose any type of flooring for your living room but it is better to opt for wide planks for your floors. This will help create a seamless look in your room and make your space look bigger. Make sure you opt for light colour flooring for a feeling of space. 

If you already have a dark colour flooring or small planks, cover it up with a light coloured floor carpet/ rug. This helps add layers to your floor and will make your home look cosy. You can check our detailed guide on living room flooring to get a better understanding of your options here.

Well, these were our designer approved tips to place your furniture just right! If you have any more doubts or want our in-house designer to help you with personalised designs book a free consultation with us today. 

You can also check our modern living room interior designs to get some more design inspiration. Design Cafe focuses on interior designs that are modern, functional and save space.