L Shaped Living Room Decorating Ideas

The living room dining room combo is a common floor plan for many average-sized houses. But it can be a bit tricky to figure out the best furniture arrangement for this room interior design, especially if you don't have a lot of space. Which is why we put together some L-shaped living room layout ideas and interior design tips that will help you with creating the best plan for your home.

Lately, I've had a number of people asking me to put together some L-shaped living room layout ideas.

The L-shaped living room dining room combo is a very popular room configuration for your average-sized house. And it can be a bit of a challenge to figure out how to arrange furniture in it. So I wasn't really surprised to get the question.

But when I started looking for room pictures to use, I was shocked! There are almost no articles written about this issue.

I couldn't find one good picture. I guess none of the homes that designers are decorating have an L-shaped living room. (Either that, or they just don't want to take pictures of them).

So I set out to create some drawings of furniture arrangements that will function well for different L-shaped living room floor plans.

A few notes before we get started

Since I couldn't find any decent pictures to share, these are all 3-D renderings, with shapes and sizes based on rooms I've decorated or designed. (In other words, they come from small- to average-sized houses).
I didn't want the decorations in the rooms to distract from the layouts so I used the same color scheme in all the pictures:
- gold for upholstery
- dark brown for case goods like tables and desks
- blue for lamps
- white for area rugs
All of the rooms have at least one place where you could put a TV (although you don't have to use one if you don't want to). In the rooms that are laid out specifically for TV watching, I marked the television placement on the picture. For the other rooms, I will talk about where you can put it in the description.
Many of these furniture layout ideas can be "mixed and matched". So if your room has a different configuration, try putting sections from 2 or 3 drawings together to come up with a furniture arrangement that will work for your home.

1 | Fireplace on the end wall

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Design for an L-shaped living room with a fireplace and a TV

The first room layout has the fireplace at the end of the room with a window on one side and a door on the other.

Which is a little awkward because fireplaces are usually a focal point that you would group furniture around. But in this location, it's difficult to create a seating arrangement because you don't want to block the door or access to the dining area.

My solution is to create a reading nook by the fireplace with a big comfy chair.

Then do the furniture grouping in the center of the room around an entertainment center for watching TV.

I used a bench to separate the TV area from the reading area for two reasons:

First, it won't block the view of the fireplace.
Second, you can sit on either side of it. So you can face one way to watch TV, or face the other way to watch the fire or talk to whoever is sitting in the reading chair.

Designer tip: Place a console table behind sofas that have their back to the door. This makes it more comfortable for people to sit there (it doesn't feel like someone's going to sneak up behind you at any minute). And it creates a natural walkway.

2 | L-Shaped living room with a corner fireplace

Furniture arrangement for an L-shaped living room with a corner fireplace

I always thought I wanted a corner fireplace until I moved into a house that has one.

And found out that it can make furniture arranging a little tricky since there aren't any walls where you can put the sofa. (It looks off-balance on either wall beside the fireplace.)

This arrangement with the furniture on an angle facing the fireplace is one of my favorites (you'll see the other one later on).

Then if you want to have a TV, you can either put it above the fireplace. Or on the wall where the art is hanging in the drawing.

Putting the dining table on an angle, too, makes the room feel more cohesive.

Designer tip: If you don't have much room to pull out the chairs from your dining table, putting the table on the diagonal often provides the few extra inches you need.

3 | Fireplace in the middle of the long wall

L-shaped living dining room layout with a fireplace

Having the fireplace in the middle of the only long wall in the room is another common L-shaped living room configuration.

And it's another case where you'll need to "float" your furniture to make it work.

In this case, making a U-shaped seating arrangement around the fireplace creates a comfortable conservation area.

Putting up bookshelves on either side make sure that wall is the focal point in the room.

If you want to add a TV, you can either hang it above the fireplace, or put it in one of the shelves.

A small desk and chair creates a work space and fills in the empty corner.

Designer tip: Use area rugs to define the different areas of your L-shaped room. Visually, they act like room dividers without taking up any space or blocking the view.

4 | Small L-shaped living room

Floor plan for an awkward L-shaped living room

This living room setup is somewhat similar in design to the one above with the fireplace in the middle of the long wall.

But in this case, the long wall is the dining area wall. And the room is much smaller and narrower.

So there's not enough room to create a furniture grouping around the fireplace.

Moving the seating arrangement over gives you enough space to have a conversation area. And even though the sofa isn't directly in front of the fireplace, having it face in that direction helps to keep that wall as the focal point.

An upholstered ottoman does double duty: Use it to sit in front of the fire. Or pull it over beside the couch for extra seating.

Adding a TV in this room is a little tricky, but there are three options:

Put a small thin media console under the window to put the television on (if your window is high enough).
Hang a TV over the fireplace
Install the TV on the wall over the settee (to the right of the sofa)

Designer tip: Ottomans are great multi-functional furniture pieces for small spaces. They are easy to move around, and can be used as a foot rest or for extra seating. And if you put a tray on them, they even make a good coffee table.

5 | Narrow Living Room and Dining Room

Narrow L-shaped living room furniture arrangement

This next L-shaped living room layout doesn't have a fireplace but it's a very narrow room. The living room part of the L is only 10 feet wide, while the dining room portion is only 8 feet wide.

Using smaller scale furniture, and breaking the space up into distinct areas will help to make it feel more spacious.

In this room, there are three different spaces in the long narrow part of the room:

There's a work area with a desk under the window at the far end.
A seating arrangement using a narrow coffee table and smaller chairs in the middle. The area rug helps to define it as a separate space.
And finally, a console table with a chair by the front door.

In the dining area, a small round table fits perfectly.

Designer tip: To keep narrow rooms from looking closed in, don't put tall furniture (like bookshelves) on the side walls. They will make the room feel even narrower. However, you can put them on the end walls which may help the room look wider.

6 | Small Living Room With An L-Shaped Couch

Another option for a small, narrow room is to get an L-shaped sofa.

This may seem counter-intuitive since they are such big pieces of furniture.

But sectionals actually fit in more seating than you would get by using a sofa and chairs (or a love seat).

Make sure to measure your room so that you buy the right size. (Some of them can be REALLY big!).

And modular sectionals are more flexible than the one-piece kinds, since they can be re-configured if you ever want to re-arrange.

Designer tip: Use a round or oval dining table in small spaces. They take up less space than the same-sized square or rectangular table while seating the same number of people.

7 | L-Shaped Living Room With Large Dining Area

Large dining room layout for L-shaped living room

While many people with L-shaped living rooms are trying to maximize the living area of the space, some people may want a larger dining area.

If you have a large family or like to throw dinner parties for your friends, then you may want to use a larger piece of the "L" for your dining table.

This is totally do-able, too.

Use smaller furniture for your living room pieces so it takes up less room.

Then you'll have space for a large dining room table. And probably even a buffet and china hutch (like I have in this drawing.)

Designer tip: To store extra dining chairs for entertaining, get a buffet that is at least four feet narrower than the width of the wall. That will leave enough space to put one chair on either side.

8 | Open Concept Kitchen, Living Room and Dining Room

Floor plan for open concept kitchen, living, dining room with a corner fireplace

The last of our living room layouts may not seem like an L-shape at first glance. After all, it's an open concept kitchen, living room and dining room. That looks rectangular.

But since you can't move the kitchen cabinets, the area that's left for the living room and dining room is actually an L-shape. The main benefit is that these open concept spaces are often a little larger than a standard living room dining room combination would be.

This room picture is pretty close to the shape and size of my living room. So as you may have guessed this is my other favorite layout.

And that's because with this furniture arrangement, you get a ton of seating. So it's great for entertaining.

I use a settee in front of the window. It's not high enough to block the light or the view. And it's narrower than a sofa so it fits better in the space.

In this layout, you can put the TV over the fireplace if you want to. But it actually works best on the right side wall. That way everyone has a good view of it. And it doesn't detract from the fireplace focal point.

Designer tip: Settees are a great seating option for small spaces. They provide the same function as a sofa, but are usually much narrower. So they're easier to fit in small spaces.

Well, that's it for my layout ideas. Hopefully you found some inspiration that will help with your living room furniture placement.

Other living room decor ideas you might like

How to arrange your living room furniture
10 common living room layout mistakes (and how to fix them)
Living room decorating tips
Easy living room updates that won't break the bank
Small living room library makeover

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