13 feng shui-inspired living room layout ideas
Living rooms serve many functions in our homes. They’re a space for socialising, relaxing, hosting and entertaining – which means getting the layout right is a top priority.
In order to enjoy your space to its full capacity, take a look through our collection of living room layout ideas. These beautiful living spaces balance practicality and style perfectly and are endless sources of inspiration when it comes to designing your room.
Covering furniture positioning, sofa styles, feng shui and more, these living room designs are ideal for a range of homes, no matter your size or budget. Take a look through our living room layout ideas and find a design that works for you.
13 living room layout ideas to make your space flow
1. The feng shui way
Credit: House of Oak
Before you look through our living room layout ideas, it’s worth consulting feng shui. This ancient Chinese practice involves arranging your space and possessions in a way which brings harmony and balance.
To create a balanced living space, House of Oak suggests your sofa should be positioned with a clear view of the room’s entrance. They also suggest placing your sofa near a sturdy wall as opposed to in the centre of the space. This layout enables energy or Chi to flow around your space unencumbered, allowing you to truly unwind.
Feng shui teachings also state there must be a clear path throughout your living room. This means clear walkways, no obstructing objects and a gap between all furniture and walls. This clear path again allows for the energy to flow and gives your living room the desired, harmonious feel.
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2. 5 living room layout ideas: seating arrangements
@kivabrent Here are 5 ways that you can layout your living room! #interiordesign #interiordesignhelp #livingroomlayout ♬ Summer - Instrumental - Devinney
Kiva Brent has a brilliant TikTok video talking you through five of the best living room designs for your space. She demonstrates how changing the positioning of your sofas and armchairs can affect the openness of your room.
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3. Parallel sofas
Credit: Pinterest
As Kiva briefly mentioned in her video above, parallel sofas are another great living room layout option.
Parallel sofas create a space that’s perfect for conversation, hosting and game nights! It also decentralises the TV which is ideal for bringing families together.
Place large rugs under your sofas and a rounded coffee table in the centre to soften the straight lines of the sofas.
Paint your living room an on-trend colour
Browse our living room colour trends and pick a colour which suits your living room design.
4. Living room layout ideas for TVs
For many of us, our living room's primary function is a place to relax and watch TV.
Unfortunately, this beloved piece of tech is quite unsightly, so finding a practical place for it within your living room layout is key. We love the way Sarah Joy has blended her TV into a gallery wall.
Here are five more ways you can seamlessly blend your TV into your living room:
- Add your TV into inbuilt wall shelving or units for a flush feel
- Mount your TV above a statement fireplace or mantelpiece
- Stand your TV on a cabinet, 42-60 inches from the floor
- Consider mounting your TV on a wall bracket for easy movement
- Position your TV in a corner of your room for maximum viewing coverage
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5. L-shaped sofas
L-shaped sofas provide a lot of seating without making your living space feel claustrophobic. They’re ideal for small living rooms since they’re only one unit yet provide extra legroom on the corner.
They’re also brilliant for those wanting to section off a dedicated living space from an open-planned kitchen/diner/living room.
Mallory Fletchall’s living room design makes her Brooklyn apartment feel light and breezy while still having plenty of seating for entertaining. The hanging chair and floor pouffe are fun, alternative seating options which leave more floor space, helping the room to feel bigger.
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6. Focal point furniture
Another living layout option is to design your space around a statement piece of furniture. Oversized sofas or two standout armchairs make fantastic focal points. Place your pieces in the centre of the room facing your TV or fireplace and work accessories and furnishings around them.
Geneva Vanderzeil’s living room layout incorporates this design beautifully. Her plush sofa is accessorised with plump cushions and fluffy blankets, creating a cozy living room.
Build wall shelving or place cabinets behind your focal furniture so they don’t distract from your piece. Tall lamps and plants work nicely to frame and highlight your furniture.
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7. Go modular
Modular furniture is trending in the world of interior design and luckily it naturally lends itself to creative living room layouts.
Modular sofas allow you to move sections of the sofa around, creating different layouts and stand-alone armchairs. A six-piece modular sofa can create two three-seater parallel sofas, a three-seat sofa and two matching armchairs or three two-piece sofas.
The versatility of these sofas not only makes hosting a dream but is brilliant for testing out different living room layouts. Get creative with your modules and experiment with what layout works best.
8. Statement coffee tables
Alternatively, this living room layout idea is all about making your coffee table the star of the show. A well-used item in your living room, organic or interesting coffee tables help to draw the eye to the centre of your space.
We love this incredible living room design from Jessica Brydson. The eye is drawn to the interesting rattan coffee table, past the grand sofa to the artwork at the back. It creates a streamlined design with the coffee table acting as the focal point from all angles of the room.
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9. Living room layout ideas for accent walls
For those with an accent wall in their home, it’s important to think of a living room layout which makes this wall the key feature.
Place your sofa facing the accent wall so you can gaze upon it or against the accent wall to highlight your sofa (like Recipes Time’s has here). The parallel sofa layout also works well with accent walls.
If you’re interested in creating an accent wall in your living room, head over to our collection of accent wall ideas. We cover everything from wood panelling to illustrative wallpapers
Give your living room a mid-century modern makeover
Our mid-century modern living room ideas contain lots of interior design inspiration.
10. Living room layout ideas for daybeds
Daybeds give a wonderful laid-back feel to your space. They’re perfect for small living rooms and those without a spare room as they often have dual day and night functionality.
Practical daybeds are best placed against one of the walls of your living room, giving guests security while they sleep. There are plenty of clever ways you can do this including building out a nook area or incorporating the daybed into a wall unit like General Assembly has above.
If your daybed is for everyday use instead of sleeping guests, placing it under the window can create a cosy space for lounging.
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11. Break up your space with a chaise longue
Credit: Sabrina Albanese Interiors
Chaise longues are the daybed’s chic cousin. Less practical but just as stylish, they bring a sense of Parisian elegance to a room.
Chaise longues work well when placed in the centre of spaces. They also work brilliantly when used to cordon off specific areas of open planned rooms.
As you can see above, this chaise longue creates two separate sitting zones within the same living space. This is ideal for those in apartments or with a large open plan downstairs who want to create different zones for different functions.
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12. Placing your sofa under the window
Many living room layout ideas often forget to include the window within their design but we think the windows are worth considering!
Matt Hatt has accentuated his gorgeous bay window by placing his corner sofa underneath. This sofa placement celebrates the natural light streaming in and creates a calming, zen atmosphere.
13. Break the rules!
Fans of cluttercore and maximalism will love this living room layout idea. The secret to this design idea is simple – there are no rules. Forget trends and feng shui and design a living space which suits your personality and lifestyle.
Fill your living room with mix-and-match seating, colourful art and big furniture. Place your seating in a way which feels functional for you and your family and don’t be afraid to experiment. There’s no right or wrong when it comes to designing your living room.
Enhance your space with these living room layout ideas
Changing the layout of your furniture has a huge impact on the way it functions, looks and feels.
You don’t need to buy new pieces to achieve this new look, you just need to work out which living room layout idea enhances the pieces you already have. Consider the size of your space and the positioning of the window and door when picking your layout.
Experiment, test and reshuffle if you find your new layout isn’t working for you. There’s no harm in trying all the living room designs in this article!
Work your living room design around the fireplace
If your living room features a hearth or alcove then head over to our fireplace ideas round-up. It’s full of interesting DIY projects and inspiring images.
